Let me put it like this:
Mechanics do need at least a 2 year degree in this day and age. I dont think that having a job in manual labor means that you are stupid white trash, as some of you have leaned towards. I know a lot of very stupid rich people who are simply lucky. Born into it, for example. And I know a lot of very stupid poor people too. Your career is not a notation of your mental ability. And yes, you can get school loans and get an education, I am currently 20 g in debt. You can also be a very smart person and work in a factory or mill or as a mechanic.
I think that it is presumptuous to assume that people who work in a manual labor position are less worthy than those with an education. I work very hard at my job and at my education and raising my family. My man works very hard at his job. Now, in my county, most jobs are physical labor. Most of all the Northwest started as logging/mining communities. We have had several mills shut down, downsize and at least 3 mines close, so there are other opportunities, but it is hard to change from a labor force that has been the same for over 100 years to teaching new tasks and abilities.
You can not convince me that I, or a member of my family, is not as good as someone else because we are uneducated or because we are poor. My father is a wild land firefighter, he saves lives and homes. My grandfather who was a mechanic all of his life flew helicopters in WW2. My mother was a homeopathic pharmacist. None of these positions required education. but they were damn good at thier jobs and people relied on them to get thier job done correctly. Does that make them any less than another with an eduction? Fuck, any moron can get a Masters in politics, but how many are going to sky dive into a fire? How many are going to fly over hostile territory because thier country asks it of them, leaving thier wife and newborn child behind? How many are going to take the responsibility of anothers medical safety, bringing affordable and alternative medical care to them? No one in my family ever brought home a six figure income. they barely broke 5 some years. But they are my family, and I will defend them and the average broke ass below middle class worker any day of the week, because we are this countries life blood. We pay more in taxes than any other taxable income earnings person. We fund your streets and your government, and our position may not be one of authority, but it is one that demands an amount of respect.
