Attention, Boeing Protectionists: Charleston Not Entirely Overrun By Racist Rubes
We -- and by we I mean Caleb -- have been having a ton of fun with Charleston, the South Carolina city enlisted by Boeing to engage in a pot-sweetening duel with the Puget Sound region over the Lazy B's much-coveted Dreamliner assembly business. Predictably, Charleston's been cast as a right-winged, rednecked, Confederate rube when pitted against cosmopolitan, 21st-Century Seattle. 
Charleston is serious about preserving the past. How serious? You're looking at their primary mode of transportation.
Charleston seems creepily enamored with its slave-owning past; handwoven baskets seem the driving commodity in the local economy, the air smells like horseshit due to an overabundance of carriage jockeys, and Styrofoam is still the go-to to-go material for many a low-country restaurant. But Boeing's would-be Southern Belle is far more progressive than Seattle when it comes to one key area: the preservation of historic infrastructure.
The November 2009 issue of The Atlantic includes a thoughtful examination of the post-Katrina architecture boom that can currently be witnessed in real time in New Orleans' Lower Ninth Ward, an area I visited recently while on a two-week road trip in the American Southeast. In his piece, Wayne Curtis includes an anecdote from a New Orleans building conference, at which Steve Mouzon stated the following: "The very core of sustainability can be found in a simple question: Can it be loved?"
I also visited Charleston on the aforementioned jag. It is, without a doubt, one of the most visually arresting cities in America. Whereas in Seattle, you're hard-pressed to find a building that was constructed before 1900, in Charleston (the core of it anyway), you'll be hard-pressed to find a building that was built after 1900. This is because the city had the foresight to effectively make preservation the law of the land in 1947. The result is a cityscape that makes you feel as though you're in a meticulously-maintained European town, albeit one where the locals say "y'all" and sweet tea is more prevalent than cappuccino.
This has nothing to do with aerospace, unless the powers-that-be in Charleston have a whopper of a Civil War-era artillery basin that can be repurposed for the construction of massive modern aircraft. But it should serve as a reminder that even supposedly ack-basswards Southern cities have it all over Seattle in many respects. Look no further than New Orleans, a surprisingly bicycle-happy town whose slow-moving streetcars provide a genuine public service. Unlike here, shit gets done down there, which might explain Boeing's infatuation with the region.
22 comment(s)
Jeff Arvidson says:
I hope Mike Seely is not paid for this kind of work - 'Lazy B' label provides Seattle Boeing employees just that extra "umph" to distinguish Charleston as THE right-winged, rednecked, Confederate rube.
Posted On: Wednesday, Oct. 28 2009 @ 10:20AM
Seely says:
Easy, darlin'. My dad worked there for several years. Just needlin' the Big B a little with a well-worn nickname.
Posted On: Wednesday, Oct. 28 2009 @ 10:22AM
jCaswell says:
Good points Mr Seely and a valuable and needed lesson for peoples on both sides of any fence. As a San Fran native I'm witness to this hypocritical xenophobia. Theres added benefits from diversifying your manufacturing base. If SC gets the 2nd assembly, lets see some good-natured compeition between the factories. Which area can put them together right and ontime (if any). Kudos to SC and may the more 'practical' team win.
Posted On: Wednesday, Oct. 28 2009 @ 11:15AM
Tiffany says:
What a short-sighted and unprofessional article.
PLEASE keep up these comments... so people sharing your ignorant concerns don't come back to our lovely state.
As for Boeing, I am certain they can make a more informed decision.
Posted On: Wednesday, Oct. 28 2009 @ 1:22PM
Billy says:
Interesting comparisons with a very interesting irony.
Seattle/Washington seems to be the one holding on to the past with your unions.
Keep on holding them. We'll take the work
Posted On: Wednesday, Oct. 28 2009 @ 1:28PM
Nathan says:
Wow, as a Charleston native, I personally feel that this man needs a history lesson. As a part of heritage those hand woven baskets are made everywhere along the coast of the eastern US! Being that they ate made of sweetgrass which is grown EVERYWHERE! as far as slave owning, do some family research, I'm sure you can find through your relatives, there were slaves owned in your families also. So I highly reccomend that you go to your nearest library and open a SC History book. Have a great day! Smilin faces, beautiful places, Charleston a historical place to live.
Posted On: Wednesday, Oct. 28 2009 @ 1:46PM
Mark says:
Mike, go suck a cappuccino from your achingly cool cups from Seattle among the delightfully pungent smells of fish tossed across the market.
We back a** folks down here in C-town will be pleased to have you stay out of our city and state.
Posted On: Wednesday, Oct. 28 2009 @ 1:49PM
Seely says:
Never ceases to amaze me how people can interpret the same piece so differently. To be clear, I loved spending a few days in Charleston. Gorgeous, lively city, albeit one with some interesting quirks (too much art depicting slaves, too many basket merchants in the tourist-trap Market, too much Styrofoam). I'll take it, warts and all. Same for Seattle. Point of the piece was for Seattleites not to be too quick to dismiss Charleston as a hillbilly backwater. Hence, the "supposedly" modifier before "ack-basswards." Plenty of people think of Charleston that way. I don't, necessarily.
Posted On: Wednesday, Oct. 28 2009 @ 1:52PM
Jennifer says:
This just shows you how small minded and ugly a jealous mind can be. You obviously didn't take the time to go to the beach or anywhere else did you, say maybe Charleston International Airport or any other facilities, factories, colleges or companies?
Hummm, kinda makes you wonder if the "horseshit smell" you speak of just may be coming from your close minded brain!!!!
Posted On: Wednesday, Oct. 28 2009 @ 1:58PM
Crazy says:
I think you're just a sorry looser who need to go choke on a dick and die.
Posted On: Wednesday, Oct. 28 2009 @ 2:38PM
TeqrozeSC says:
Obviously, Boeing made the best choice!
Posted On: Wednesday, Oct. 28 2009 @ 2:41PM
Tim says:
I hope the sniveling union workers who ignorantly drive away employers by repeatedly striking and costing companies billions enjoy watching others take their jobs.
Posted On: Wednesday, Oct. 28 2009 @ 2:52PM
Lowcountry Native says:
Obviously Boeing made the right choice. If others in Seattle share the same brain waves as this sorry blogger, we'd all be doomed. What an idiot.
I'm sure that "horse shit" smell followed you home. After all, you brought it here.
Posted On: Wednesday, Oct. 28 2009 @ 2:56PM
just as crazy says:
I agree with "crazy" ...you, mr. Mike Seely, are just a sorry filthy cunt who needs to get off that dick your sitting on and get a life.
Posted On: Wednesday, Oct. 28 2009 @ 3:03PM
Riggins says:
Mike, these Southerners seem to have quite a predilection for gay-fantasy threats, "get off that dick your (sic) sitting on" & "sorry looser (sic)...choke on a dick and die."
Can't imagine any of them nabbed 1st in their home-schooled spelling bee.
Nothing like the voice of the people to prove your point for you.
More power to Boeing when pulling Wal-Mart greeters off their swing-shift to build cheap Dreamliners...some day.
Posted On: Wednesday, Oct. 28 2009 @ 10:24PM
Linda says:
We're not all "home-schooled" or Wal-Mart greeters/swing shift workers. Do a little research on the Charleston area before you bash us. Have you ever even ventured outside of Seattle? Charleston is a thriving, historic town, that wins top awards yearly from Conde Nast, Travel & Leisure, etc. Our Wando High School principal just won National Principal of the Year. One of your Seattle collegues recently wrote a more well-informed article- (See Seattle Times, Dominic Gates, 10/23 Charleston Boasts Upscale Homes, High School with Aerospace Class).
Posted On: Thursday, Oct. 29 2009 @ 5:34AM
A true conservative says:
Boeing made an excellent decision by relocating the second "Dreamliner" production line to South Carolina.
I've been to Charleston, S.C.. One of Charleston’s ORE memorable attributes is that it still exudes a quaint aire of "southern gentility", a place where strangers are friendly, the BBQ is delicious, and men are men, and woman are woman. Add to this laid back, easy (but not "lazy") way of life, stable weather, and it’s nothing short of a paradise. Seattle, by contrast, has consecutively cold rainy days, and extremely over-priced "uber" coffee shops, gingerly sipped by pretentious people plugged into ipods, and despising anyone who is not a left wing environmentalist. Oh, I apologize, there’s the “space needle” – a somewhat pleasing restaurant that’s been rotating since the days of JFK, nonetheless – not the loveliest city to be found in, and certainly does not stand up to historic Charleston, S.C., being a focal point since the 15th century.
Boeing has made a smart move by pitching a tent in a town where unions are very powerful. Be reassured, the move will save the company millions of dollars in the coming years. Unions have become nooses around the necks of legitimate businesses and corporations, who otherwise would enjoy a more competitive stance, and thus able to produce for less - positively affecting the wallets of consumers. We have seen how GM (Ford and Chrysler) has been besieged by the UAW for years. The UAW saw these three giants as endless streams of profits and outrageous benefits. GM slowly lost its competitive edge by allowing itself to be pushed around by the UAW thugs (and their own damn stupidity); agreeing to ridiculous contracts and demands. Ultimately, GM was forced into becoming a healthcare provider for legions of GM retirees; people who no longer produce anything - but are still at the trough sucking. It is a solid fact that GM began spending more to support retiree benefits (and this does not even address “current” employee) and less on producing automobiles. Thank god for unions.
So it is not difficult to understand why Boeing chooses South Carolina to set up shop.
Posted On: Thursday, Oct. 29 2009 @ 6:27AM
Thomas T. Hamlin says:
Boeing made a terrific decision in choosing Charleston. A great wealth of technology fromm Google to Vought to our miltary hub make us a logical landing spot for Boeing. Our technology schools, med school, law school and our fabulous quality of life is a secret now out. Come see us.
Posted On: Thursday, Oct. 29 2009 @ 3:37PM
BMF69 says:
This has nothing to do with Charleston or Seattle. This has everything to do with the Unions. Take a look at Detroit or any other big Union city. They are going backwards and fast. Take a look at all of the foreign auto companies. Every new factory that has been built in the US in the last 20 years are non union and in the South.BMW in South Carolina is a prime example. They are adding positions currently, while Obama runs a cash for clunker deal that adds more to the budget deficit.
Posted On: Thursday, Oct. 29 2009 @ 5:59PM
Philso says:
Okay so boeing moves to SC. So lets get busy luring boeing competitors here since they are going to leave this area eventually to China, Southern States, etc. Let's start making deals to locate Airbus, Fokker, and other aeronautical companies here!
Posted On: Thursday, Oct. 29 2009 @ 9:42PM
Anonymous says:
So I take it you cannot swallow art created by Gullah people? The art, the baskets and the open communication regarding the past are all a part of the culture. I turned down a job offer in "beautiful" Seattle after staying for a few weeks. Seattle proper is a dump. I watched as a homeless man was accosted by gestapo looking officers of the law in your tourist trap of a downtown market. The police then conducted several raids on the fairly upscale hotel where I lived during my stay. I guess it was a hot spot for middle class adolescent junkies using mom and dad's cc to support weekend long binges. The people all thought themselves very intelligent by default it seems. I have learned through life that those who think themselves intelligent and open minded are usually the most backward, ignorant and shallow among us. Maybe we southerners have a ways to go before achieving enlightenment but at least we admit our shortcomings and work to improve ourselves. We do not have all the answers but in knowing that we have the ability to seek the truth. Knowing everything must be pretty fucking boring...how is that working for ya'll out west anyhow?
Posted On: Sunday, Nov. 1 2009 @ 9:09AM
Elwood Blues says:
All of you fine folks who have so joyfully castigate Charleston are correct..we are hicks..we are rubes..we are uneducated..we are all ravaging rednecks run a muck.....WHO TOOK YOUR CROWN JEWEL FROM SUCH AN ENLIGHTENED SOCIETY THAT YOU HAVE THERE.....
SO who is the dummy now?
Posted On: Monday, Nov. 2 2009 @ 10:59AM