Farm Fetish

From Kung Fu Monkey:

He wants to know why we spend so much time interviewing farmers on newscasts to get a sense of what Real America thinks. A sample, from CNN:

ANDERSON: We stopped by the Lebanon [Kansas -- ed.] hotspot, Ladow's Market, where one local told us Hollywood just can't relate to a farming way of life.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They've never been back in here to know what it's like to actually have to make a living doing this.

You know what, Unidentified Male? You're right. I don't know what it's like to have to make a living farming. NOBODY DOES.

His analysis only gets better...

For chrissake, only 17% of Americans live in rural settings anymore. Only 2 million of those people work on farms or ranches (USDA figures). Hell, only ten percent of the average farm family's income even comes from farming anymore (did you know that? I didn't. Funky).

Compare that 2 million this this final Monkey fact:

Four million people in the US play World of Warcraft.

Of course, I have no idea how many of them are in farming.