People Reluctant To Kill for an Abstraction

[livius drusus]

When satire brings tears to your eyes, by George Saunders. (http://www.slate.com/Default.aspx?id=2105672)

[viscousmemories]

I liked it a lot, but I have to say when I got to this part at the end it made me think the PRKA are all office workers in a big city, which obviously discounts 20 billion people:
We stand under awnings during urban thunderstorms, moved to thoughtfulness by the troubled, umbrella-tinged faces rushing by. In moments of crisis, we pat one another awkwardly on the back, mumbling shy truisms. Rushing to an appointment,
On a re-read I think I misjudged it a bit, though. It was good.

[livius drusus]

Well, the part you quoted is certainly a urban cog reference, but as part of the larger paragraph I thought it was just one aspect of the regular folk making up the PRKA. Is that the impression you got on rereading?

[viscousmemories]

Well, the part you quoted is certainly a urban cog reference, but as part of the larger paragraph I thought it was just one aspect of the regular folk making up the PRKA. Is that the impression you got on rereading?
Yep, definitely. I realized that the author actually took some pains to use pretty neutral phrasing. Terms like 'work' and 'appointment' in that context on the first reading automatically conjured thoughts off working in an office and running off to a board meeting. But on the re-read it occurred to me that I only ascribed that meaning to the words because of the awnings and umbrella-tinged faces.