A Little Evidence of the Class “Disconnect”

Remember all the stories about George H.W. Bush (i.e., “big George”) expressing absolute astonishment at a demonstration of an everyday barcode scanner (sure, the stories were largely apocryphal, but stick with me here)? Or the inability of Al Gore to determine the price of a loaf of bread? What these stories drove home was the disconnect between the privileged classes and those of us who actually have to do our own chores.

I heard another one this morning that gave me a little chuckle; oh, not as dramatic as those two, but amusing nonetheless. I was listening to WTOP news radio this morning, and meteorologist Doug Hill (who also covers the weather for WJLA television) came on to discuss today’s rather gloomy weather. Basically, we’re experiencing some drizzle in parts, but nothing substantive enough to show up on weather radar.

Here’s how he prefaced his comments (and I’m paraphrasing a bit): “People are saying, ‘Hey, my windshield wipers are coming on. What’s going on here?’”

Now, I like Doug Hill. Particularly on the radio, he comes off as knowledgeable, credible, and quite funny. And I’m sure he’s compensated well for his job — nothing wrong with that. More power to him.

But I’ve got a bit of news for you, Doug: Most folks don’t have cars where the wipers come on automatically.