Dive! Dive! Dive!

Prodded by the outburst from the peevish, moralistic hipster in this week’s City Page, I met a couple of friends at the Gopher Bar last night.

Unlike most of the “dive bars” so beloved of today’s hipsters, it actually is kind of a dive.  It reminds you of that one bar on mainstreet in every small town in the Midwest – the Wonder Bar in Jamestown, the Ace in Carrington, the Sportsman in Thief River Falls, or fill in the blank in whatever town of less than 20,000 you can think of.

Although the Gopher is a little like that guy every talk radio station used to have back in the eighties, back before talk radio was political, who used to want to offend a little bit of everyone as his gimmick.

Even the front door has something to piss of both liberal and “libertarian” hipsters:

…although their sentiments are pretty clear.

Still, the place doesn’t take itself all that seriously…:

…certainly not nearly as seriously as the kinds of hipsters who write letters to the City Pages (most of whose staff couldn’t find the Gopher Bar, or Saint Paul, if it occurred to them to try).

Of course, while the City Pages doesn’t know much about Saint Paul, the Gopher has read the City Pages.  The staff had heard plenty about the letter to the editor.

And so there it is – the worst flag in the world, without which all racism would disappear:

Of course, if the petulant hipster had turned around, he’d have noticed two more, flanking an apparently racist sailfish.

And there was one other thing the hipster might have noticed had he turned around, observed, and shut his precious yapper; African-American customers.

There were no less than seven in the house when I was there last night (no, I didn’t take pictures of people who just wanted to have a coney and mind their own business).

By the way, that’s seven more African-Americans than have ever worked for the City Pages.

They were no more there to see and be seen than and my dinner companions were.  They were there, like us, for a beer, a coney and fries for under $10.  And as much as I personally hate chili dogs (lots and lots and lots.  Don’t test me on this), the Coneys at the Gopher are really, really tasty.

I know – not a great picture. But trust me; the Coney is as tasty as the photo is blurry.

Anyway – keeping ahead of the ire of Twin Cities social justice warriors is introducing me to some great eats (as I discovered at the River Oasis last summer).

Keep ’em coming, Warriors!

22 thoughts on “Dive! Dive! Dive!

  1. Only been there for a carry meet, but more power to them to run the place as they like.

  2. Generally we on the libertarian right keep our opinions to ourselves in public settings, unlike the loony left. Maybe its because we have more diversity in our lives so know there are tons of people out there who don’t think like us. Unlike the mono-lithic left.
    So I appreciate a place/person/car who just wants to give a big FU to the fascist left. There is a newer convenience store/travel center in western Wisconsin that has a rack of rightish bumper stickers for sale. Things like “Welcome to America. Now learn English”.
    Or I was in an auto salvage yard in NW Iowa recently. Behind the counter they had a sign that said “We elected hope, but got a dope”. Its actually very refreshing.

  3. I’ve been to the Gopher bar several times and talked with the staff. The bartender was an unapologetic bigot. He called blacks “niggers” several times. Glad you like the place, seems like it’s precisely what your words describe. By the way, apparently he/they don’t believe folks like Eric Rudolph deserve constitutional protections. The folks who put up signs like that are anti-Constitutional knuckle-draggers, and little more. Also, Chuck, really? The right doesn’t trot out symbology routinely? What a lark. Have you seen them oh, carrying around hats with tea bags, or wearing revolutionary apparel, or, strapping on, to convey their message, what a load.

  4. That’s not a dive.
    The old biker bar in Forest Lake (Harvey’s?) was a dive.
    Ever barmaid was pregnant. And had a black eye.
    Want to play pool? Gotta leave a $20 deposit with the bartender to get the cueball.
    Gotta leave your DL to get a bent cue.

  5. Pen,

    I’ve been to the Gopher bar several times and talked with the staff. The bartender was an unapologetic bigot. He called blacks “niggers” several times

    Stop the presses; a bartender – not the manager? Do we know? – at a biker bar has unsavory opinions.

    Assuming the conversation occurred as you said; given your history of neighbors who happen to be world-class experts on every subject under the sun, who nonetheless can not be identified, I’ll look for independent corroboration.

    I don’t tolerate bigotry, and I’ll ignore your suggestion that I do.

    The real point of my comment is – well, you completely missed my point.

    Go back and see if you can find it.

  6. Sweet Penigma, I remember listening to you having a discussion with another moonbat a few years ago; you didn’t see me, but oh yes, I was there. Every other word out of your mouth was “coon” this and “zipper head” that…your companion just sat there and giggled.

    Also, as I recall, you expressed to your companion (I think it might have been DG), the hope that she’d be “strapping on” soon as you both got to your house.

    I’m not judging you; own it with pride.

  7. He called blacks “niggers” several times.
    Must have been a Democrat. Party of slavery, the Civil War, the KKK, and Jim Crow.
    I hope Pen called 911 when he heard the Word of Dread uttered.

  8. Regarding the use of the “N” word, I’ve been in places where it was used a lot like Gary, IN and Compton, CA. And I know people who will not use it racially, but will use it to describe a person of depraved character who is also of color. The big operative is that the person is of lesser character, not their race, and I wonder if that’s the case at this bar.

    But that said, let it be repeated; blacks apparently are more comfortable at a biker bar where “that word” is used in a derogatory way while the Southern Cross is flown than among liberal whites. Can’t say as I blame them.

  9. We don’t have to tip toe around the word “nigger” anymore BB, as long as we’re taking up on their behalf. Obama said so.

  10. So you are cheering on racism at the same time the national leadership is pretty much driving out your right wing racists from any and all positions of power or influence, and telling them to take their nasty racist flags and emblems with them?

    You keep using the word hipster. I can only conclude from reading this that you are hypocritically trying to deride hipsters, in spite of so often trying to demonstrate how hipster-ish you are, in the hopes of being relevant.

    Y’all are losing. And your party’s racism is getting kicked to the curb everywhere as it should. Time to shrink the tent, and instead of purging those who are not extremist enough, and instead toss out the bigots.

    Or wouldn’t that leave anyone left?

  11. A little truth to follow the dog droppings . . .
    The Democratic party was founded in 1824 specifically to resist any effort by the federal government to eliminate slavery. The Republican party was founded out of the collapsed Whig party in 1858 to prevent the expansion of slavery and the recognition of polygamy in federal territories and newly recognized states.

  12. Who was the last president — before Obama — to use the Dread Word on the record? Progressive icon Woody Wilson, I suppose, around the time that he resegregated DC.

  13. Doggone, I’m not cheering on racism. I was appalled when the President brought racism into our discourse a few days ago by using that word. I was more appalled when some then-Senator known for plagiarism described Senator Obama in racial terms, and when Mrs. Clinton used a faux-ghetto dialect in speaking. I was, and remain, appalled at nasty racial sentiments expressed by those such as Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, both of whom have incited hate and even violence against Jewish communities. I am appalled that the “City Pages” have such a biased environment that blacks can’t get a job there.

    I hope that these racists DO get kicked to the curb, and soon.

  14. Seems simple to me: you don’t like the decor in a bar, don’t eat there. Personally, I hate ferns so I don’t go to hipster places. Doesn’t make them evil, just not my cup of tea. That is the point of celebrating a richly diverse culture – plenty of choices increase freedom. Why do liberals hate freedom to choose?

  15. I see Hillary! will be headlining the Democrat party of Virginia’s annual Jefferson-Jackson dinner this week. Jackson was pretty pro-slavery, but at least he had ignorance as an excuse. He received the education of a field-hand. Jefferson was worse. Jefferson was a highly educated raper of slaves.

  16. Oh, I see what you did there DG. Slipped in a little Southern slang, Hillary style!

    Are ya in no ways tarred, darlin’?

  17. The proud progressive heritage of today’s democrats:

    In 1912 Woodrow Wilson, the Democratic candidate for president, promised fairness and justice for blacks if elected. In a letter to a black church official, Wilson wrote, “Should I become President of the United States they may count upon me for absolute fair dealing for everything by which I could assist in advancing their interests of the race.” But after the election, Wilson changed his tune. He dismissed 15 out of 17 black supervisors who had been previously appointed to federal jobs In 1912 Woodrow Wilson, the Democratic candidate for president, promised fairness and justice for blacks if elected. In a letter to a black church official, Wilson wrote, “Should I become President of the United States they may count upon me for absolute fair dealing for everything by which I could assist in advancing their interests of the race.” But after the election, Wilson changed his tune. He dismissed 15 out of 17 black supervisors who had been previously appointed to federal jobs

  18. Sorry, mangled that paste:

    In 1912 Woodrow Wilson, the Democratic candidate for president, promised fairness and justice for blacks if elected. In a letter to a black church official, Wilson wrote, “Should I become President of the United States they may count upon me for absolute fair dealing for everything by which I could assist in advancing their interests of the race.” But after the election, Wilson changed his tune. He dismissed 15 out of 17 black supervisors who had been previously appointed to federal jobs and replaced them with whites. He also refused to appoint black ambassadors to Haiti and Santa Domingo, posts traditionally awarded to African Americans. Two of Wilson’s cabinet ministers, Postmaster General Albert Burelson and Treasury Secretary William McAdoo, both Southerners, issued orders segregating their departments. Throughout the country, blacks were segregated or dismissed from federal positions. In Georgia, the head of the Internal Revenue division fired all black employees: “There are no government positions for Negroes in the South. A Negro’s place in the corn field.” He said. The President’s wife, Ellen Wilson, was said to have had a hand in segregating employees in Washington, encouraging department chiefs to assign blacks separate working, eating, and toilet facilities. To justify segregation, officials publicized complaints by white women, who were thought to be threatened by black men’s sexuality and disease.

    http://www.pbs.org/wnet/jimcrow/stories_events_segregation.html

  19. Used to think DG just did her business here to troll some right-wingers like me who couldn’t believe any sane person could hold those opinions; now I wonder if it’s just her form of reinforcement to herself:? “I can see my opinions being discussed on Mitch’s website so obviously they carry a lot of weight …..” Can not remember the last time she engaged in a discussion/disagreement ? Did she really type “so you are cheering on racism ……” What an embarrassment

  20. Penigma- I hope there was a fainting couch nearby when you got the vapors from those nasty words. DG- When you said “your party’s racism is getting kicked to the curb everywhere as it should”, I’m sure you were alluding to recent SCOTUS rulings upholding voter ID laws, as only racist liberals believe blacks would be unable to obtain something so simple. Or did you mean Affirmative Action, where racist liberals think the only way blacks can get a job is by government decree. Haven’t heard about A.A. getting kicked to the curb yet, but those racists that support it will be “kicked to the curb” soon.

  21. DG,

    Let’s see how far you get before you pull something, to put it in the original Latin, “De Anus”:

    So you are cheering on racism…

    Wow. You made it six words before, essentially, making s**t up.

    You keep using the word hipster. I can only conclude from reading this that you are hypocritically trying to deride hipsters, in spite of so often trying to demonstrate how hipster-ish you are, in the hopes of being relevant.

    What in the hell are you talking about?

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