01 August 2007

Another day at the beach

So this week I've been enjoying a fine week in the city by the sea, Ocean City, Maryland. You take the good with the bad, of course, so along with the sand, sun, and surf, you put up with, for lack of a better term, the redneck showcase that is OCMD.

Whether it's the multitude of Confederate flag themed t-shirts both in the shops and on the backs of the boardwalkers or the constant parade of jackasses hawking tobacco loogies out of their jacked up pickups, you can't avoid them.

I suppose you could say I'm being elitist, if of course you define anti-racist, anti-sexist attitudes as elitist. Oh well. Seriously, though, the preponderance of racist, sexist merchandise speaks to the market for such trinkets, and that in turn indicates that we've much work to do as a society before we're ready to put the Civil Rights movement behind us, despite what this Supreme Court claims.

4 comments:

Grad School Reject said...

Have you ever taken the family to Rehoboth Beach, DE? I grew up on MD's esteemed Eastern Shore (sadly, I can't defend it from what you have outlined), and got to watch all of the beaches develop. Rehoboth has a substantial gay/lesbian community that has largely been accepted by the other residents of Rehoboth (though that took years of work/patience) This has led to Rehoboth becoming a more tolerant/laid back area, and not a bad place to take the family.

cs said...

Gsr- actually I taught school for two years in slower lower Delaware. It was great, and I love Rehoboth and Bethany. However, OCMD is a thirty-three year tradition with my family -- back before the route ninety bridge and anything known as "west ocean city" emerged. So I have a soft spot.

m.a. said...

I know. But you gotta love the boardwalk fries!

Reya Mellicker said...

Avert your eyes from the rednecks. Gaze into the sea. It's the only way to enjoy the scene!