Lindberg: As in ‘Hunger Games,’ the dystopian Capitol is Vermont

By Stu Lindberg

A few years back, in 2012, my two pre-teen daughters convinced me to bring them to the movie “Hunger Games.” I am pleased that they did. This science-fiction thriller is based is an adaptation of the 2008 best-selling book by author Suzanne Collins.

Wikimedia Commons/Gage Skidmore

Actress Jennifer Lawrence is Katniss Everdeen in the movie series “Hunger Games.”

As found on Wikipedia, “The Hunger Games takes place in a nation known as Panem, established in North America after the destruction of the continent’s civilization by an unknown apocalyptic event. The nation consists of the wealthy Capitol and twelve surrounding, poorer districts under the Capitol’s dictatorial control. The Capitol exploits the districts for their natural resources and cheap labour.”

It is not difficult to find similarities between the Capitol of Panem and our own capitals of Montpelier and Washington, D.C. The citizens of the districts in the Hunger Games have lost their rights to local self determination. They have also been disarmed. They are useful only for offering resources to the ruling class in the Capitol. The citizens of the towns in Vermont have also lost their rights — the rights to local self determination through local democracy. Act 60 and Act 46 have ensured that. Rural Vermonters are mined for their resources, tax dollars, as much as the rural citizens of Panem are mined for commodities. The ruling elite, the beautiful people of the Capitol of Panem, do not operate under the false pretense of caring about the people of the districts. The ruling elite in Montpelier, cleverly disguise their real intentions towards the people of Vermont by constantly and loudly declaring how much the care about the peasant class. They claim to legislate for the “common good” and the “general welfare.” This has been a hugely effective strategy for winning votes. How else could you convince a large majority of Vermonters to give up their rights to local control, and their rights to both public and personal liberty and their tax dollars, just to feed and entertain the beautiful people in Montpelier.

In the film, the young protagonist, Katniss Everdeen, inspires the people of the districts to rebel against the tyrannical rulers in Panem. Where is Vermont’s Katniss Everdeen?

Stu Lindberg writes occasional commentary for True North Reports. He lives in Cavendish, Vermont.

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons/Gage Skidmore

7 thoughts on “Lindberg: As in ‘Hunger Games,’ the dystopian Capitol is Vermont

  1. This mentality isn’t limited only to Montpelier and DC, it also is found in many towns (and cities). With no viable jobs, individuals have to migrate to local Gov jobs, inflating that work force hence become puppets to the bureaucrats in the Capitols.They become zombies being dictated to, to rule over the hard working-just existing working class. The despairing taxpayer becomes hopelessly a slave to Governments that pass laws to control more and more. Dumb people desire power, so they love Gov jobs and a paycheck.

    The town of Brattleboro being close to MA has an overflow of Flatlanders that have moved to Townshend (Brattleboro’s suburb) with their Flatlander mentality and via their city attitudes falsely assess property values to increase taxation making it difficult to live there.That’s why you now have “A property view assessment”. Looking at city building where they came from, guess a view is an asset to tax. They’ll even assess POTENTIAL views (where none exist). This happened to me, have the grievance result papers, can publish. I’m sure this scenario exists in many towns, ref the number of people moving out.

    Things need an attitude adjustment, can’t keep quiet as they keep coming at you.

  2. Vermont’s Katniss can never get any publicity, she’s invisible to any of the propaganda machines aka the press. The subversion of our state to the socialist utopia is almost complete.

    People can not understand how they have no money despite having one of the highest minimum wages on the planet, but they feel good with those fighting for them in Montpelier at every propaganda release, I mean presstitute meeting, I mean press release.

    Yes Virginia, Vermont is very expensive, when the fat man takes 50 cents here, 10 dollars there, 1.5 dollars hear, suddenly your minimum Vermont wage buys less than your neighbors wage that’s $2 less per hour.

    But Santa Sanders says it will all be free. College, healthcare surely we can believe in Santa Sanders, he’ll leave gifts for all the poor. But every year the elves count the poor in Vermont and their growing in numbers, they are becoming hopeless, families are broken. Santa Sanders says it’s all the mean gRinches that are doing this in Vermont.

    Virginia has heard this story every year. She wonders, if there are very few gRinches and many of santa’s elves why are more people poor? If our wages are higher than everyone else’s why are we so poor? Virginia waits for he stockings to be filled with free goodies every year, she’s never seen them, she wonders, am I giving up hope? She’s beginning to question if Santa Sanders is real.

    • Sorry,Vermont isn’t even in the top 20 for highest minimum wage.Even Canada is higher.Australia is $19/hr. for minimum wage.
      Paying for heat in Vermont’s climate evaporates any advantage.

      • Vermont minimum wage is higher than 96.7% of all wages in the world, spin it any way you like that is a fact. These countries you mention have very high taxes too, which make their minimum wage not so delightful.

        We could have prosperity for those starting out, home ownership for $600 per month, but the elites, PSSC (progressives, sjw, socialists, communtists) Agenda 21 and those becoming rich of making more Vermonter poor won’t have anything to do with people charting their own course to prosperity.

        Clearly you’ve made good money and haven’t dealt with any of the issues most Vermonters have to needlessly suffer from a state that makes it too difficult and expensive to get by.

        • In an earlier comment by Moriarty, he gest FREE VT stuff
          Ref: In the TNR article Eshelman: There is no such thing as a free lunch
          http://truenorthreports.com/no-such-thing-as-a-free-lunch

          Moniarty states on December 15, 2018 at 9:42 am
          My 4 kids get free lunch at school, and free breakfast too. A lot of people say I shouldn’t have had them if I couldn’t afford them. You need the kids to get the free housing though.

          I suspect he’s not a hard working native Vermonter, but a transplant seeking freebies. All his comments indicate so, little realism. Another gimme me boy.

          He must work hard getting free stuff from the taxpayer.

Comments are closed.