I have enjoyed getting a small taste of your perspective since signing up to your blog. I signed up to get some insights from our former Bend Mayor, and folks more conservative than me. Context before reading into my words too much. I am a moderate, let me start there. I have voted for liberals and conservatives. I own guns, I own a truck and an electric car (not a Prius), I have worked with my hands my whole life, and in offices for some of it, I’ve started my own companies, I hunt and fish, I like paying taxes (sinful I know), I want to be left alone by the govt in my personal affairs, I voted for Joe Biden, I work in renewable energy and I support lot’s of progressive policies, but not all of them. (Also, full disclosure I got Lasik, so I don't have glasses now, but I know the process of choosing them well).
I am struggling with the point of this post (I suppose this falls under the "whatever else comes to mind" section of the blog description). The connection you draw here is dubious and petty at best, and veiled demagoguery at worst. If it's an attempt at humor, it lands rather flat. It does however leave the reader with lasting images of the former Mayor of Bend hunched over sprawling and scattered notebooks in a small dark room backdropped by walls of paper clippings, Post-It noted ceilings, and strings pinned from thick round glasses to liberals, then from there to lizard people and Q.
Honestly, it reads as if you take this seriously, which is hard to imagine given the ridiculousness of the premise. But, if you do in fact take this as a real analysis of Liberal Fashion, then it again seems like you missed the mark. You don't establish any casual connections between the style of glasses and one's political leaning as far as I can tell. It just seems like a way of dumping on Gov. Kate Brown, and I am no apologist for her. The connection feels forced, and thin, like butter spread over too much bread. If I didn't know any better, I might say that you are instead manufacturing outrage out of thin air (works for your audience maybe, but tastes like $&!+ to me). Take your issue with Priuses for a second from this and other posts (we'll get back to the glasses in a moment); why spend ANY time being concerned with a specific vehicle and the safe speed choices of others? It's utterly harmless to drive slowly and in a Prius however much you want to turn this into a thing, it isn't. So upon reading this, rather than being mad at Priuses, I am instead left cringing at your determined need to be annoyed by your own self fulfilling ( and not self evident) Liberal tropes. I find it particularly illuminating to witness you being all ruffled up by consumer and behavior choices that have zero impact on you or the politics of Oregon. It just feels out of place in a blog called the Oregon Roundup, and by an attorney and ex Mayor no less. Seriously, a small car driving the speed limit imposing very little in the way of impact on its surroundings bothers you? How bazaar. I can only assume this bothers other staunch conservatives, and for the life of me I can't figure why.
Getting back to political ocular fashion; this idea that "Liberal glasses" are "dark and thick-rimmed glasses" but wait... Roger Stone? Even your own image and comment about Former Energy Secretary Rick Perry wearing thick dark square rimmed glasses illustrates my point, is it the exception that...proves the rule? Either way it's confusing. It's just so strange to believe there is a relationship here. And again, you say that " No wire-rimmed, shrinking violets of face-wear," yet in your own image, you feature Rep. Andria Ocassio Cortez wearing wire rimmed glasses. It appears as though you are creating spurious connections to support your notion that there is a pattern here; Apophenia. It's fashion, and I think we can all agree fashion is disconnected from reality - Liberal or Conservative. As to the astonishing depths you’ve gone to dig into Kate Brown’s eyewear over the years, I am at a loss for words. Why? Why does this register for you, when there are so many real issues? If this post were overtly funny and self aware, I would just ignore it, but I found your sincerity to be rather disturbing. My guess, but I will not be spending any time on researching this, is that the trend is purely a function of fashion changes over the same period. Yep, the truth is usually boring and devoid of conspiracy.
My broader point is that this is uninformative and serves only to divide. I’d be more interested in the thought-substance of conservative former mayors, yet perhaps this is the "whatever else" view inside your mind, in which case, how sad.
Hi, Max. Thanks for reading and commenting. I can assure you I took this exactly as seriously as a post about the eyewear of a state’s Governor deserves. Sorry it didn’t land with you. I hope you have a good evening.
I have enjoyed getting a small taste of your perspective since signing up to your blog. I signed up to get some insights from our former Bend Mayor, and folks more conservative than me. Context before reading into my words too much. I am a moderate, let me start there. I have voted for liberals and conservatives. I own guns, I own a truck and an electric car (not a Prius), I have worked with my hands my whole life, and in offices for some of it, I’ve started my own companies, I hunt and fish, I like paying taxes (sinful I know), I want to be left alone by the govt in my personal affairs, I voted for Joe Biden, I work in renewable energy and I support lot’s of progressive policies, but not all of them. (Also, full disclosure I got Lasik, so I don't have glasses now, but I know the process of choosing them well).
I am struggling with the point of this post (I suppose this falls under the "whatever else comes to mind" section of the blog description). The connection you draw here is dubious and petty at best, and veiled demagoguery at worst. If it's an attempt at humor, it lands rather flat. It does however leave the reader with lasting images of the former Mayor of Bend hunched over sprawling and scattered notebooks in a small dark room backdropped by walls of paper clippings, Post-It noted ceilings, and strings pinned from thick round glasses to liberals, then from there to lizard people and Q.
Honestly, it reads as if you take this seriously, which is hard to imagine given the ridiculousness of the premise. But, if you do in fact take this as a real analysis of Liberal Fashion, then it again seems like you missed the mark. You don't establish any casual connections between the style of glasses and one's political leaning as far as I can tell. It just seems like a way of dumping on Gov. Kate Brown, and I am no apologist for her. The connection feels forced, and thin, like butter spread over too much bread. If I didn't know any better, I might say that you are instead manufacturing outrage out of thin air (works for your audience maybe, but tastes like $&!+ to me). Take your issue with Priuses for a second from this and other posts (we'll get back to the glasses in a moment); why spend ANY time being concerned with a specific vehicle and the safe speed choices of others? It's utterly harmless to drive slowly and in a Prius however much you want to turn this into a thing, it isn't. So upon reading this, rather than being mad at Priuses, I am instead left cringing at your determined need to be annoyed by your own self fulfilling ( and not self evident) Liberal tropes. I find it particularly illuminating to witness you being all ruffled up by consumer and behavior choices that have zero impact on you or the politics of Oregon. It just feels out of place in a blog called the Oregon Roundup, and by an attorney and ex Mayor no less. Seriously, a small car driving the speed limit imposing very little in the way of impact on its surroundings bothers you? How bazaar. I can only assume this bothers other staunch conservatives, and for the life of me I can't figure why.
Getting back to political ocular fashion; this idea that "Liberal glasses" are "dark and thick-rimmed glasses" but wait... Roger Stone? Even your own image and comment about Former Energy Secretary Rick Perry wearing thick dark square rimmed glasses illustrates my point, is it the exception that...proves the rule? Either way it's confusing. It's just so strange to believe there is a relationship here. And again, you say that " No wire-rimmed, shrinking violets of face-wear," yet in your own image, you feature Rep. Andria Ocassio Cortez wearing wire rimmed glasses. It appears as though you are creating spurious connections to support your notion that there is a pattern here; Apophenia. It's fashion, and I think we can all agree fashion is disconnected from reality - Liberal or Conservative. As to the astonishing depths you’ve gone to dig into Kate Brown’s eyewear over the years, I am at a loss for words. Why? Why does this register for you, when there are so many real issues? If this post were overtly funny and self aware, I would just ignore it, but I found your sincerity to be rather disturbing. My guess, but I will not be spending any time on researching this, is that the trend is purely a function of fashion changes over the same period. Yep, the truth is usually boring and devoid of conspiracy.
My broader point is that this is uninformative and serves only to divide. I’d be more interested in the thought-substance of conservative former mayors, yet perhaps this is the "whatever else" view inside your mind, in which case, how sad.
Hi, Max. Thanks for reading and commenting. I can assure you I took this exactly as seriously as a post about the eyewear of a state’s Governor deserves. Sorry it didn’t land with you. I hope you have a good evening.