83: One of Us
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Like a lot of high schools. It had a social structure like the Balkans during the Yugoslav Civil War totally divided It was jocks, stoners, and farmers each with their own native dress Each with their own customs and traditions each with their own music The jocks listed a classic rock the farmers to country music the stoner kids to hardcore The only band they all agreed on Metallica Metallica was kind of big. Metallica is one of the few groups that can bring people down there. That's right That's right. It no knows boundaries. It knows no boundaries The place Menominee, Wisconsin Small town an hour east of St. Paul Our guide a resident who has chosen to appear here under the name Jim Steele situation A night toward the end of the school year when chocks stoners and farmers are together Getting along no conflicts Jim and some stoners even convince a farmer kid named Chad Richter to smoke pot for the first time We're hanging out and then we decided to go to this party is the place called the pole shed About 10 miles out of town, you know way out in the country, and it really is just a machine shed for storing farm equipment I'm not even sure, you know who owned the property so we pull in there's about you know five of us in the car and We're feeling pretty good looking forward to more beer and hanging out on a slow Friday and Menominee and Chad Richter the guy that had just had first smoked smoked out for the first time that night Gets out there in a few minutes pass and we're just kind of hanging out milling around talking I don't think there's even music out in middle of the country and just hanging out by the shed and All of a sudden we start to notice there's there's something going on back on the gravel the gravel driveway It's this guy Brady Henderson, who's Chad Richter's best friend and Brady. He was an all-state wrestler a really really small kid But wiry and tough and pretty mean And he's in he's in Chad's face is kind of you know shoving him and getting angry with them and so people start you know kind of congregating like it always happens and Kind of the next thing the next thing I see is Brady Hanson does some crazy move just tackles Chad brings him right out of the gravel and Punches him right in the face twice hard right right to the face and he grabs him by the shirt He's shaking him. I'm still like what is going on these guys are best friends and Brady screams at Chad. He says Chad you're a farmer farmers. Don't smoke pot. We drink beer This is what happens if you violate the rules of your own social group This is what happens if insiders suddenly see you It's an outsider and I don't think Chad ever ever smoked marijuana again after that Well from WDEC Chicago and public radio international it is this American life myra glass each weekend a program of course We choose a theme invite a variety of different kinds of writers and reporters and performers to bring you stories on that theme today's program one of us How you get included how you get kicked out of any group you can name? Act one today my crap life We're gonna start at the moment in American life when the division between outsiders and insiders is usually the most intense high school When the wrong haircut can change everything act two My work life the story of one public radio reporter who goes down to tell a very public radio style story about regular working Joe's down Louisiana way and What happens when the working Joe's decide that he is not just an outsider?
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