Friday, July 26, 2019
Never believe.
Latest issue of Collectible Auto has an interview with Stuart Chapman. He wasn't a major player in the earlier era of autos, so he doesn't have any major revelations. But he was present at one important event, and his story is still a warning for people who are entangled in similar events.
Chapman took a job as Public Relations director of the Canadian division of Studebaker in late 1963. Since 1956 Studie had been "managed" by Curtiss Wright Aviation, which was using Studie as a tax evasion. Pretty much the same as modern LBOs, and the quintessential USA crime.
When Chapman was hired, the Canadian plant was just a foreign subsidiary. Two months later, Curtiss Wright decided to halt production at South Bend and use the Canadian factory as sole producer. The Canadian executives and workers were happy and proud, and even the government got into the act. Now is our chance to shine! Now we can show those overbearing Yanks what we can really do! Studie is OUR car!
The Canadians didn't learn the truth until 1966. Curtiss Wright was just pulling the usual LBO trick of gradual shutdown, and never intended to continue production in Canada. The resentment and sadness still resonate in Chapman's narrative 53 years later.
Survival in Sorosian lands requires MAXIMUM PARANOIA. Never believe anything a corporation or government tells you. Always assume that the worst imaginable version of reality is just a tiny tiny tiny baby step toward the infinitely evil and infinitely crazy truth.
Labels: meta-experiential education, skill-estate
¶ 11:38 PM
