"I don't understand why the idea that college is not for everyone is considered such a radical idea"

Mostly, I imagine, because that is how corporate powers that be see such a suggestion. Most decent jobs, at least those of the office-and-dress-shirt variety, "require" a college degree...even those that don't actually require a degree to perform the work.

On top of that, with the decline of marriage and continuously falling birth rates, a man today has far less motivation to earn a paycheck. A decent education (maybe) and a steady job used to virtually guarantee a man a wife, a home, and two or three kids. Not anymore.