Fear and Loathing on the Jersey Shore

Manhattan's cosmopolitan atmosphere has a way of making people forget what life is like for the rest of America. Coffee shops, book stores and night life are all tailored to meet the needs of even the most niche-oriented individual. But back on the mainland, a different, more monolithic -- and at times scary -- culture seems to prevail, as we discovered on a recent get-away to the Jersey Shore.

On our way to check out Seaside Heights' notoriously sketchy boardwalk and have our fill of zeppoles, we pulled up behind an old pick-up truck. Plastered on its rear bumper was a sticker that read: "I love the sound of jet noise. It's the sound of freedom."

Reminiscent of the famous quote from Apocalypse Now, when the deranged Robert Duvall exclaims, "I love the smell of napalm in the morning," this sticker was the first of many glaring signs that we had entered another world, influenced -- like much of America -- by the presence of a nearby military base.

Displaying such a statement reveals not only an ignorance about what U.S. military might is used for -- namely the promotion of our economic interests abroad -- but also a complete lack of empathy for those who have the bad fortune of finding themselves underneath our bombers. Most likely, the sound of our "jet noise" does not conjure happy thoughts of freedom for Iraqis, but rather a sense of abject terror that a stray bomb could land in their living room.

Down on the boardwalk we observed a scene that would be recognizable to most Americans: teenagers, junk food, and trinket shops selling an assortment of "ironic" t-shirts. It's not unlike a shopping mall or arcade, pandering to a gluttonous consumerism that is all too distinctly American.

One of the main attractions is a take on the old carnival dunk-tank, except it's called "Shoot bin Laden." A man wearing a bearded Osama mask, dances around in front of a desert scene while paying customers shoot paint balls at him. A few summers ago, the game was called "Shoot Saddam." Perhaps the only thing keeping Iran's president from being the next target is his name, as simply pronouncing "Ahmadinejad" is problem enough for many Americans.

Would such games exist if those playing them stopped to consider how U.S. foreign policy tends to create our enemies? There should be a disclaimer on the "Shoot bin Laden" sign, somewhere amidst the two American flags emblazoned on it, that reads: "Your government once supported the now evil Osama when he fought against the Soviets, as well as Saddam Hussein while he committed many of his most infamous atrocities."

Moreover, this focus on one evil individual creates a simplified fiction of what war is really like. By ignoring the fact that the majority of casualties in any war, despite our "smart bombs," are innocent civilians, games such as these make war an easier sell to the public.

Thankfully, after these jarring experiences, the weekend ended on a lighter note. As we relaxed on the beach, we noticed a house flying the American flag. Just below it, also waving in the breeze, was the old pirate flag, known as the Jolly Roger. In raising the two together, the owners unintentionally made the most accurate statement on U.S. foreign policy that we had seen all weekend.

As our government moves to impose its neoliberal economic model on Iraq - the modern day equivalent of piracy - perhaps we should consider Mark Twain's suggestion for modifying the flag. At the turn of the 20th century, after our invasion of the Philippines, he advised, "We can have just our usual flag, with the white stripes painted black and the stars replaced by the skull and crossbones."

Eric Stoner is a writer based in New York, whose writings have appeared in many publications, including The Nation. He can be reached at [e-mail]

Bryan Farrell is a researcher for Rolling Stone and an independent journalist in New York. He can be contacted at www.bryanfarrell.com

Comments

[Aramingo]

And another thing:

In 2000, the state went solidly for Gore, who won 14 of the 21 counties. Even with 100,000 votes going to 3rd party candidates, Gore beat Bush by close to half a million. In 2004, the state was even more so for Kerry, with only TWO counties going for Bush. Oddly enough, the two counties for Bush were Monmouth and Ocean, nominally considered North Jersey.

BTW: I agree with the bloggers central point about our foreign policy, but what they did is the equivalent of characterizing NYC with a trip to Bed-Sty or the South Bronx.

Mistyroses: There are plenty of really nice boardwalks at the Jersey Shore. You mentioned three of the worst, I mentioned a couple of the best. It's pretty much a mixed bag, but the average is closer to my examples. I think LBI has a gradient from north to south, with the north being more like you described. But I still believe in misty roses.

[mistyroses]

I was born and raised in north Jersey and have now lived more than half my life in Jersey south. Believe me, it's not fair to try and differentiate people into two separate groups according to their vacation spots. I would say that Seaside has always appealed to a certain faction of vacationers. But they are little different than other seaside resorts. Long Beach Island, for instance, is home to some of the snobbiest and close-minded people I know. I prefer to look at the demographics of Jersey in total. We are one of the most highly educated, well paid of populations even if we are dense in number. I would say we are more purple, if you have to count in the Piney types and, you shouldn't forget, the Sussex and Warren Bushies. Jersey is a very mixed bag. Don't just look at the Boardwalk sets - whether it be Seaside, Atlantic City, or Asbury Park.

[elr50]

New Jersey is definitely two states politically. The north is blue, the south red. But the population density is greater in the north, so vote-wise New Jersey is blue. You will also find the income level increases as you go north (except for Newark, but that is changing slowly). Seaside is only representative of south Jersey, with many lower income vacationers in the summer. It has always been a poor man's seaside vacation town, a conservative, low income, low education area, rough around the edges. Perfect for Bushit voters.

[Aramingo]

I wonder how different this post would have been if our friends had gone to Avon or Belmar? Had they gone to those towns, they would have seen dozens of anti-Bush bumper stickers. Even more so in the winter.

And of course, it's totally reasonable to characterize hundreds of thousands of people based on one bumper sticker. BTW: What state was that truck registered in?

Max:

Spot on about the Pineys. Even New Jersey, the most urban state in the country, has rednecks.

[maxpower]

Shame you didn't travel a little further south into the Pine Barrens, where rednecks are called Pineys and pick-up trucks with gun racks and "Back Off" mud flaps. This is the home of the Jersey Devil, cranberries and blue berries. You'll think you just woke up on the set of "Deliverance." "Honk if you love Hillary" sticker will get you a busted windshield and a black eye. Yes I was born and raised in NO JERSEY and can't wait to be an Ex-Pat.

[realpolitic]

Its true that we demonize enemies or at least, those who fall out of favor. Saddam was at one time the lesser of two evils between he and Iran. Hugo Chavez- is he really a danger to America or does he just not like Bush very much? And Iran, far too little do we hear that most of the population is under 15 and the Iranians really have an affinity for American culture and people. They do not control the policies of their leaders as we here in America do not control ours. Will President Musharraf in Pakistan one day be our enemy and hated here? We need a more sophistacated press, but we still like our news watered down, like junk food.

[maddogbitesback]

I thought this post was significant. I mean why can't you oppose the war in Iraq without being considered a traitor and a person who doesn't care about the troops. The troops would be much better off if everyone demanded they be returned right away. Their presence in Iraq is creating problems, not solving them and they know that. The war is bankrupting the richest country in the world. America is hated around the world. Bush has destroyed America. I doubt if it can be reclaimed without a great change in attitude by the average American. Everyone is like the coal miners in Utah - far below the sight of government and working for a meager wage so everyone can buy cheap shirts or toys or pots or whatever from China. Where is the pride. Now there are just a few rich people and a lot of people running running running just to break even. People have to be taught to speak truth to power and to vote for their best intersts.

[TRUE BLUE AMERICAN]

Where is the pride? It's with all the conseratives that can actually grasp the reality of the world we live in. Who gives a frogs fat ass if the rest of the world likes us?Liberal, social progessives have destroyed this country.The islamic movement has been attacking us for 28 years resulting in 9-11. Wake up you fools before it's to late.
God Bless America

[seawolf77]

They don't hate us becasue of our freedom. They hate us because of our greed. Pride, reality, who cares if the world likes us, liberals, destroyed, Islam attacking us, 9/11, God Bless America. All the major talking points and as usual you have not said a thing, only pulled your Republican string on your George W Bush blow up doll.

[schmuckwithearlaps]

What is scary is reading blogs in which the average American is the enemy. You do not have to go to NJ, just go to dozens of neighborhoods in NYC and see people living lives based on working for a living, with little time for bookstores and coffee houses after the second shift of the day.
No one who works for a living has the luxury of taking offense at someone else's bumper sticker. That privilege is reserved for people with a lot of time on their hands, and who spend most of this free time putting down America and its people. Then come election time and we wonder why the Republicans are swept back into power. Yes, as JFHill says, people vote against their class and again their personal interests. The reason is that the alternative is supporting the snobs who see them as sub-human. OK, that's a stretch, because the authors of this post are not running for office yet.

[JFHill]

I'm with you on this, SWE. I hope I did not imply anything but identification with, and compassion for, the bloggers' subjects, some of whom may see me as their enemy because of my views and lifestyle.

It may be the bloggers and their subjects are predestined by circumstance to see each other as enemies. It cuts both ways. Some of those who put "down America and its people" have long experience in being themselves put down by the same. Too easy to snobify.

And, to end on a lighter note, with all the fine chimps, bonobos, baboons, dolphins and whales in the world (parrots, too) what's so bad about being sub-human?

[KenoshaMarge]

The average American IS their own worst enemy. Too tired after work? I've been a working woman all my adult life. I was never too "tired" to care what happened to my country. Perhaps some people are; or perhaps they're just too lazy and too foolish to care what is happening under their noses. People are responsible for who and what they are. You can only blame Bush and the Republican Party for so much. Then you have to blame the fools that voted for them. And voted for them because they think Democrats, who have always supported the working class, think them sub-human? Nonsense.

[islandgirlca]

Excellent post, guys. You've just described why I moved to California twelve years ago (born and raised in NJ). Thank you for the incredibly accurate depiction.

[jukesgrrl]

As far as I can tell, most of the people frequenting Jersey Shore boardwalks are tourists from NYC and Philadelphia. I don't know many Jersey natives who go there for anything but to hear music and maybe walk on the beach ... in the winter.

[JFHill]

It's true, Jukesgrrl, there's an elitism about this blog entry, which doesn't change its essential truth.

It occurs to me there's a fatal similarity between the political attitudes of these Jersey Shore natives and the Stockholm Syndrome, in which hostages come to identify with their captors. Because it is their children who are fighting and dieing, they who have inadequate preventive medical care and often die before their time, they who suffer most from globalization and the concentration of wealth, their Centrist and Conservative views are counterintuitive.

The Jolly Roger deathshead is an appropriate flag for them to fly. In the world of Hostages, Death Rules.

[SamEllison]

Fellas, the Mason-Dixon Line runs smack through New Jersey. Check it out, it might explain a few things. Don't you love EZPass though (just pay the toll and keep moving).