Much of the following information comes from Martin Kaufman in a wonderful article he did for Popular Paranoia called "The Manhattan Project to Manufacture the First Yuppies" published in 2002 and edited by Kenn Thomas. In 1984
Newsweek wrote: "much of the energy and optimism and passion of the sixties seems to have been turned inward, on lives, on careers, apartments and dinners." Martin Kaufman writes: "Note the passive verb; been turned suggests it happened by itself, that nothing caused the rebellious sixties spirit to turn inward...Do a little bit of cultural archaeology, however, and you discover that the yuppies were a created phenomenon. The manufacturing process didn't start with Reagan, but all the way back in the days of Ford, even Nixon. Its goal? To transform the anti-materialistic sixties generation back into responsible Americans; i.e., get them to buy on command. Some background: With the pullout from Vietnam and ouster of Nixon, many people in the 70s felt they could really make change happen. The 60s spirit was alive-in 1975 seven bills to legalize marijuana were introduced in the New York legislature. (4) David Rockefeller's elitist Trilateral Commission termed such attempts by the people to influence their government "a crisis of democracy" that had to be dealt with."
How do you like that my fellow Americans? OUR attempts to have a say in what is supposedly OUR government are "a crisis of democracy." If I am not mistaken David Rockefeller (coulda been his bro Nelson-I get the slimy fucks mixed up) also said that the United States "suffered from an excess of democracy in the 1970s." Hey at least the rat bastards kinda tell it like it is anyway -eh?? The illusion that this nation is "of the people by the people, for the people" has never been anything more than a sick joke-and the joke is on us-sadly. Getting back to Martin Kaufman, "On November 10, 1976, the world's most influential newspaper, The New York Times, debuted its Wednesday "Living" section. In the very first issue we find all the tokens and value systems of yuppiedom that would "mysteriously" arise eight years later. Kaufman continues on in his article to give us examples of the names and subject matter of these articles. For the purposes of this post some of the names will be quite sufficient I think. "The Best Pates in New York" by Mimi Sheraton, Craig Claiborne begged us to cook "Volaille au Coulis de Poitreux et de Truffles"-I don't have an effin clue as to what this dish might be-except maybe something with truffles in it-hey private investigator at work here! "Wine Talk" was a section telling people to drink ultra fine and expensive wines and champagne and not as Kaufman writes, "the plebian California stuff but the real champagne from "the valley of the Marne River east of Paris." Kaufman goes on to say, "Mike Wallace pondered his dream to open a restaurant ( a future yuppie cliche). William F. Buckley, Jr. shared veal recipes with a typically yuppie (and typically Buckley) unconcern for the disgraceful torture veal calves undergo."
Let me interject some of my own thoughts about Mr. Buckley if I may. A nice boy wouldn't say this-but then who says I am a nice boy? I am happy Buckley is no longer on this mortal coil and probably rotting in whatever circle of hell slimy fascists go to when they pass on-probably sharing space with Falwell, Franco, the "Gipper", Jesse Helms and a host of other personalities. Unfortunately they'd better save some room! Just in this nation alone people like Ollie North, 41, 43, Kissinger, Zbig, Limbaugh, O'Reilly -well you get the picture are still around-not to mention kind-hearted folks like Le Pen in France and other nations-so save room down there please! Back in the 1980s Mr. Buckley suggested that people with HIV/AIDS be tattooed and interned in camps-kinda reminds you of another time and place eh? Mr. Buckley began the neo-fascist rag (at least in spirit anyway) The National Review in 1955. In a memorable debate on 27 August 1968 in an exchange with the extremely talented novelist/essayist/playright and almost politico -Gore Vidal this exchange occurred involving the debate raging over America's involvement in the Vietnam war: Gore Vidal: "the only pro or crypto-Nazi here is yourself." William F. Buckley: "Now listen, you queer, you stop calling me a crypto-Nazi or I'll sock you in the goddamn face and you'll stay plastered."
I hope to post a link to this exchange from you tube. What a typical Amero-fascist maneuver-call Vidal a queer (he is a bisexual man-getting up in years now-but talented and smart-very handsome also in my opinion-not that that has anything to do with anything-I just mentioned that part because I always thought Buckley was an ugly as sin-slack jawed and slack brained phoney) and threatening him with physical violence. I hope the video is as good as it was when I viewed it for you all. For you young folks who may not know who these people are -well I will put it this way -Buckley and his ever so precious mannerisms strike me as about as threatening as one of the Seven Dwarves of Snow White fame-to bad they didn't have a dwarf called Dorky Fascist Bootlicker! Buckley was also a defender of McCarthyism. In McCarthy and His Enemies he stated that "McCarthyism...is a movement around which men of goodwill and stern morality can close ranks." Uh yeah Bill-if you happen to be an admirer of Adolph Hitler! Well as usual I am getting way off-topic.
Back to Martin Kaufman and the yuppies or rather the creation of them: "In 1977-79, still years before yuppieism, "Living" tackled such important issues as: "The Best of Brie." Late autumn marks...the year's best season for game, truffles, fresh foie gras and especially brie, France's King of Cheese and the Number One status choice in this country as well. We also discovered the wonders of Supreme de Volaille aux Polvons. "The succulence of Caneton Etrange a la Suedois...The "newspaper of record" seemed intent on setting record for sheer single-mindedness of purpose. Their super-salesmanship (and they were selling class consciousness for the would- be nouveau riche more than food), was obsessive, overdone, and showed an appalling lack of gentility and moderation-exactly the characteristics that came to typify the new-money yuppies."
Martin Kaufman goes on a bit later in his article: "By the time 1984 rolled around and the name "yuppie" had been coined, the New York yuppies had been programmed for over a decade and were obedient robots. The Times and New York (magazine) were now joined by innumerable other publications celebrating excess (and the economic system that made it possible). But the 1987 stock market crash found the Times in a reflective mood, noting that the yuppies' "huge incomes and ostentatious consumption, an inclination highlighted in both advertising and news coverage (italics mine; when you create a phenomenon, can you really be said to be 'covering it?)-generated deep resentment...Get it? That distaste many of us felt for status-seeking and egotism was mere jealousy. That disgust at people without consciounces, disguised envy. Post-crash, however, the Times quickly rejoined the party, with gift ideas: For your son: "A yuppie, he likes the new and different, so give him a BMW in milk, dark or white chocolate , $14.75 at Li-lac."
Well I have let Mr. Kaufman tell so much of our tale here why stop now? "What a feat of social engineering. Moving masses of people awar from flower power, and toward materialism, class-consciousness and rightest politics. And making it seem like it all just happened spontaneously, unassisted. In 1977, the first year with both new sections, Times income more than doubled from 1975. It's interesting how the Times' interests and Wall Street's coincide. More interesting still is how the Times' duties as lapdog to the power elite (a role well documented by Noam Chomsky and others) go well beyond just whitewashing U.S. foreign policy and printing corporate PR in the guise of news, all the way to ineventing lifestyles and zeitgeists that bolster elitist values. Thus setting the course not just for educated professionals' lives, but those of the millions who emulate them. And all other societies that emulate the U.S. (or, more accurately, are having U.S. culture forced down their throats). Yes the Times really outdid itself with its "coverage" of the yuppie phenomenon. We thought it was time they received the credit they were due."
Thank you Martin Kaufman! This isn't a typical MFM post-of course what really is typical here? I zig and zag and mix and match so much I bet folks are glad I am not a pilot or bus driver! I just really enjoyed that article and wanted to share some of it here. The parts here are not nearly the whole thing. I found it fascinating -the "cultural achaeology" Mr. Kaufman did to let us know that the yuppies and their admirers didn't arise out of a cultural vacuum. The fact that this social engineering was in the works so long before the actual "yuppies" arrived on the scene interested me a great deal also. In the same article Mr. Kaufman mentions an article by Stanley H. Brown, "People's Capitalism is killing Wall Street", in New York magazine from way back in April of 1970! It does worry me a great deal sometimes about what other goodies the social engineers are thinking of to mold our reality. Thanks again for all of your kind, intelligent and thoughtful comments! I will try to post the You Tube link and some others. Vidal and Buckley in 1968-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYymnxoQnf8 and Gore Vidal Link
