While I was rebuilding my blog post-by-post, I ran through some trip log posts I had made for drives to nearby areas looking for CDs. I thought I should revisit that idea. Last weekend, I woke up too late to get a good early start, so I planned for this week and this morning, off I went. This time I had less of a plan compared to my previous runs. My initial plan was to go to the flea market and some music stores. You know, just kind of ease back into it and see how I feel about making trips again.
The driving wasn’t bad. Took the beater car so it was loud and rough, but familiar and still comfortable. Traffic wasn’t really bad at all. Got to the flea market maybe 30 mins after opening time and the market parking lot was a little eerily empty. Overall, it wasn’t exactly a pleasant experience. I hadn’t been to Melbourne for 3 years. But I have been to flea markets in Daytona and one up north of me and it’s the same in all of them. Hold on, let’s have this discussion at the end.
I walked all the rows and there were some CD sellers there, but one was not open, and I remember they weren’t open the last time I was there years ago. So weird. And of all the others I looked at, I didn’t buy anything new, just some dupes that I plan on comparing on relative waves (something else I want to get back to). So overall, not really productive. And it was hot. It’s been really really hot this year. I don’t want to really go outside anymore it’s so bad.
So after that flea market, I did a search for music stores and found one not far away. When I got there I recalled being there years ago. Good for them that they’re still around. I ended up buying 4/$10 of new stuff. Nothing valuable, mostly just collection filler. So that wasn’t unpleasant (except for the running and screaming kids who would be scolded half-heartedly by their dad, who just wanted to buy some records – priorities!). And with that done, I located my standard roadtrip lunch – Carrabbas. And with that done, I was just ready to get back home.
And on the drive back, I had a lot of time to reflect on the flea market situation. It feels like, for about 10 years now, going to a flea market is just… offensive. I’m talking specifically about Trump merch dominating the entire place. Now don’t get me wrong, I know flea markets have always been a little offensive. It was like a Super Spencers. You could get bongs and bowls, switchblade knives, and signs that say, "Don’t like it? Suck my dick." and "All white is all right" But even with all that nonsense, there was a sense that people would buy that stuff, and maybe they really were the lowlifes that actually liked and thought that way. But you also felt assured that they would do their bad stuff with their bad friends in their bad backyards and they would still be upstanding, presentable people in public areas. But since that taboo has been shattered and that mask has come off, it seems being a racist or an asshole is just an American trait now. There’s no shame in holding those values. In fact, judging by the merchandising, it’s celebrated. And that is just so saddening.
And I have a less obvious observation on this as well. Flea markets used to be sort of a commoner’s market. People might sell their old belongings, flip or resell stuff, offer services or even do some retail sales. But there’s something different about the Trump merchers. I mean, that’s all they do. That’s a really specific thing to be selling and the customer base is pretty well set in stone. On the way to Carrabbas, I saw a dedicated trailer set up in a parking lot selling merch. What’s the lifespan for that business?
While it would be easy to poke fun or simply call these merchants stupid, are they stupid? I don’t think so. I think they’re predatory. They’re opportunists and they know who they’re taking money from. In a way, they are like drug dealers. And they’re feeding an addiction of hatred. They moved into the flea market like pawn shops and vape store move into distressed communities. And they’ve taken over.
And it’s been the same at all the flea markets I’ve been to (except for the Hispanic flea markets – go figure).
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