While I believe we all have a moral obligation to subvert The Man and his minions, I find this brand of unfocused paranoia and societal FUD a bit frustrating.
Which "freedoms" you are losing, and what "power" is being stripped away by the evil corporations you mention? What precise facets of the government and society have you itching to expatriate? Be specific. Give examples from your own life.
And once you answer those questions, I'd like you to answer this one: what could/should be done differently? Provide a solution. Complaints without solutions are only slighty better than useless...
I wasn't trying to piss you off by replying, Mr. b0z, but your original post pissed me off. The ideas you expressed about charity echo those often touted by the spoiled, (relatively) rich, bitter loudmouths that make up most of the Slutdot readership. Now, I'm not saying you're one of those (from reading your post it seems that you certainly are not), but for a while you sounded like it and it got my juices going.
I respect your cynical view on giving, but I offer up a few more tidbits and/or rejoinders as food for thought...
but I would not say that the majority is mentally ill.
Most studies show that the vast majority of the homeless are indeed mentally ill. Not cukoo for cocopuffs mentally ill, but unstable enough to slip out of society. Not all, but most.
As far as AFDC, I don't know what it is
Aid for Families with Dependent Children. It's what most people are thinking of when they use the term "welfare". Yearly we spend about 20 billion nationally --- about the cost of a few new planes (don't get me wrong, I dig that stealth shit as much as the next guy, but...). It's a drop in the bucket when you consider that our national budget is around 5 trillion.
You can not tell me that the majority of people recieving welfare are not cheating the system.
I'm not saying that people don't cheat --- they do. But someone is going to cheat any system (income tax, environmental regs, free soda at work, etc.). Just because there's a few scumbags scamming the system doesn't mean the system itself is bad. The fact is, the majority of people who go on welfare stay on the program for less than six months. Like your mother, they use it to pull their lives together; when the dust settles, they get a job. That's a fact; you can look it up.
Good for you. I'm sure Jesus would be proud of you to throw your pocket change to someone on the street so they can go buy that rock they have been wanting to smoke.
I dunno about this one... does Jesus smoke the rock too?
then got a job at a supermarket to buy my own car, because my parents couldn't buy one for me like your parents probably did
Made me feel better knowing that I wasn't the only one making assumptions. No one (but me) has ever bought me a car. I paid for all the crap I had with money I earned (I've had my share of stupid, if not humiliating, jobs). Now, like you, I'm an over-paid tech professional. And the thing is, I consider myself quite lucky. We both should...
This is why no one likes to read slutdot. Gotta love the angst. Teenage (if not physically, by maturity) idiots who post now, think later. Yes, Mr. b0z, you are in that vaunted 99.9% of which you write. Congratulations. Now onto our show.
Re: the homeless. Do you know any homeless people? Do you ever talk to them? Find out what their lives have been like, where they come from, how they got where they are? Did you know that most of the homeless are mentally ill?
Re: welfare. Your comments are sort of funny; sounds like you have a Limbaugh-level IQ. Have you ever looked at the welfare recipient statistics in your state? Do you know exactly how many women who are receiving aid are "popping out more babies"? Do you know what the yearly budget for AFDC is? Do you know what AFDC is?
Re: why we give. I give to charity, smart guy. I grew up pretty easy: suburbs, parents, good schools. I was lucky. Most kids aren't so lucky, so if I can help make this a better place for them, I will. I don't do it out of guilt, ignorance, or for the tax breaks (which you don't even get in my state). I do it because in my opinion it's the right thing to do.
Most people who talk down about the poor have never been poor. Most people with money grew up with money? What have you done?
Ahhh, the joys of The Road Trip. Throw the crap in the car, throw it in first, throw your head back and get moving. Wind in your hair, good tunes, good times.
Why you gotta go bring the damn geek box? In this jackass's mind, a road trip should be about getting the hell out of Dodge and leaving your daily existence behind. If you can't stomach not having email, not reading Slutdot, and not uploading to your web site for a month, maybe you shouldn't be on the road.
I'm not trying to be a dick here, I just think that some experiences should remain unwired.
Slashdot Mirror
Agreed... whitespace blocking makes me think of --- horror of horrors --- VB. Thus it must be bad, right? ;)
Which "freedoms" you are losing, and what "power" is being stripped away by the evil corporations you mention? What precise facets of the government and society have you itching to expatriate? Be specific. Give examples from your own life.
And once you answer those questions, I'd like you to answer this one: what could/should be done differently? Provide a solution. Complaints without solutions are only slighty better than useless...
I respect your cynical view on giving, but I offer up a few more tidbits and/or rejoinders as food for thought...
but I would not say that the majority is mentally ill.
Most studies show that the vast majority of the homeless are indeed mentally ill. Not cukoo for cocopuffs mentally ill, but unstable enough to slip out of society. Not all, but most.
As far as AFDC, I don't know what it is
Aid for Families with Dependent Children. It's what most people are thinking of when they use the term "welfare". Yearly we spend about 20 billion nationally --- about the cost of a few new planes (don't get me wrong, I dig that stealth shit as much as the next guy, but...). It's a drop in the bucket when you consider that our national budget is around 5 trillion.
You can not tell me that the majority of people recieving welfare are not cheating the system.
I'm not saying that people don't cheat --- they do. But someone is going to cheat any system (income tax, environmental regs, free soda at work, etc.). Just because there's a few scumbags scamming the system doesn't mean the system itself is bad. The fact is, the majority of people who go on welfare stay on the program for less than six months. Like your mother, they use it to pull their lives together; when the dust settles, they get a job. That's a fact; you can look it up.
Good for you. I'm sure Jesus would be proud of you to throw your pocket change to someone on the street so they can go buy that rock they have been wanting to smoke.
I dunno about this one... does Jesus smoke the rock too?
then got a job at a supermarket to buy my own car, because my parents couldn't buy one for me like your parents probably did
Made me feel better knowing that I wasn't the only one making assumptions. No one (but me) has ever bought me a car. I paid for all the crap I had with money I earned (I've had my share of stupid, if not humiliating, jobs). Now, like you, I'm an over-paid tech professional. And the thing is, I consider myself quite lucky. We both should...
This is why no one likes to read slutdot. Gotta love the angst. Teenage (if not physically, by maturity) idiots who post now, think later. Yes, Mr. b0z, you are in that vaunted 99.9% of which you write. Congratulations. Now onto our show. Re: the homeless. Do you know any homeless people? Do you ever talk to them? Find out what their lives have been like, where they come from, how they got where they are? Did you know that most of the homeless are mentally ill? Re: welfare. Your comments are sort of funny; sounds like you have a Limbaugh-level IQ. Have you ever looked at the welfare recipient statistics in your state? Do you know exactly how many women who are receiving aid are "popping out more babies"? Do you know what the yearly budget for AFDC is? Do you know what AFDC is? Re: why we give. I give to charity, smart guy. I grew up pretty easy: suburbs, parents, good schools. I was lucky. Most kids aren't so lucky, so if I can help make this a better place for them, I will. I don't do it out of guilt, ignorance, or for the tax breaks (which you don't even get in my state). I do it because in my opinion it's the right thing to do. Most people who talk down about the poor have never been poor. Most people with money grew up with money? What have you done?
Why you gotta go bring the damn geek box? In this jackass's mind, a road trip should be about getting the hell out of Dodge and leaving your daily existence behind. If you can't stomach not having email, not reading Slutdot , and not uploading to your web site for a month, maybe you shouldn't be on the road.
I'm not trying to be a dick here, I just think that some experiences should remain unwired.