19 Dec 2011, 8:28 am
19 Dec 2011, 9:03 am
Fnord wrote:
Yesterday, I walked up to three panhandlers near the local market and said that I would pay one of them $50 to help me move some furniture. They all turned me down...
#1 said, "Go hire a Mexican."
#2 said, "I'm an accountant, not a mover."
#3 said, "Just give me the money ... we'll split it."
Lucky for me, my nephew dropped by, helped me out, and didn't want to take the money. So we went to a nice restaurant instead.
When we drove past, those three were still "Occupying" the same place outside the market. What is it with some people?
#1 said, "Go hire a Mexican."
#2 said, "I'm an accountant, not a mover."
#3 said, "Just give me the money ... we'll split it."
Lucky for me, my nephew dropped by, helped me out, and didn't want to take the money. So we went to a nice restaurant instead.
When we drove past, those three were still "Occupying" the same place outside the market. What is it with some people?
This is very interesting Fnord. Are you truly serious about this? This could be partially a reason why when a lot autistics ask for help they seem to get crapped on. It could be because it looks like like we want a handout. I've been reading about American culture and the context of it. Two of the American values America has is self-reliance and working hard. It goes back to America's colonial days when there was no government assistance. Those who do work resent providing for those who they perceive as able-bodied. In their mind, they want you to figure out things yourself. As children you're taught certain basics but after that you're on your own.
When a person is a child they are shielded from certain things that could happen in America. In America, things will go wrong. People will screw you over. It is not like Revenge of the Nerd. The nerd does not always win. This is part of livng in America. What does this lead to? This means there will always be people living in the streets is the conclusion and they will possibly starve in the streets. This means some people will never be able to suceed or have much sucess in america at all. Is everything I said correct? Does this mean that those who need help may not get help and those who are able to help do not have to help and will not help? Is this the correct reality of America that I and everyone else are supposed to have? If this is the truth then why are the responsibility advocates afraid to say it like this in its raw naked form.
19 Dec 2011, 10:31 am
19 Dec 2011, 1:02 pm
cubedemon6073 wrote:
Fnord wrote:
Yesterday, I walked up to three panhandlers near the local market and said that I would pay one of them $50 to help me move some furniture. They all turned me down...
#1 said, "Go hire a Mexican."
#2 said, "I'm an accountant, not a mover."
#3 said, "Just give me the money ... we'll split it."
Lucky for me, my nephew dropped by, helped me out, and didn't want to take the money. So we went to a nice restaurant instead.
When we drove past, those three were still "Occupying" the same place outside the market. What is it with some people?
#1 said, "Go hire a Mexican."
#2 said, "I'm an accountant, not a mover."
#3 said, "Just give me the money ... we'll split it."
Lucky for me, my nephew dropped by, helped me out, and didn't want to take the money. So we went to a nice restaurant instead.
When we drove past, those three were still "Occupying" the same place outside the market. What is it with some people?
This is very interesting Fnord. Are you truly serious about this? This could be partially a reason why when a lot autistics ask for help they seem to get crapped on. It could be because it looks like like we want a handout. I've been reading about American culture and the context of it. Two of the American values America has is self-reliance and working hard. It goes back to America's colonial days when there was no government assistance. Those who do work resent providing for those who they perceive as able-bodied. In their mind, they want you to figure out things yourself. As children you're taught certain basics but after that you're on your own.
When a person is a child they are shielded from certain things that could happen in America. In America, things will go wrong. People will screw you over. It is not like Revenge of the Nerd. The nerd does not always win. This is part of livng in America. What does this lead to? This means there will always be people living in the streets is the conclusion and they will possibly starve in the streets. This means some people will never be able to suceed or have much sucess in america at all. Is everything I said correct? Does this mean that those who need help may not get help and those who are able to help do not have to help and will not help? Is this the correct reality of America that I and everyone else are supposed to have? If this is the truth then why are the responsibility advocates afraid to say it like this in its raw naked form.
I don't think the "once you turn 18 you're on your own" thing is natural human nature. It's only even possible due to the level of technology and prosperity we have in this day and age. In times when existence required more work people naturally banded together. I have a theory that people are generally happier this way as well, even if they had much less leisure time. So Americans have a lot of material luxury today compared to past times and less developed parts of the world. But now relative material luxury isn't enough to allow happiness when some people are on their own and live in constant fear of losing their financial security. Social isolation/alienation and financial insecurity is a psychological plague in the modern world. I wouldn't be surprised if the incidence of anxiety and depression is higher than ever. It's like a giant elephant in the room that everyone is expected to ignore. Just keep everyone distracted with electronic gadgets and reality television. Don't worry if you can't pay the bills anymore and have maxed out one credit card after the other. Just close your eyes and think happy thoughts. Be a good little consumer. Some people don't wake up until they are literally out on the street with no where to go. I think our society is pretty damn f***ed up. If course none of this hasn't been said before.
19 Dec 2011, 1:50 pm
marshall wrote:
cubedemon6073 wrote:
Fnord wrote:
Yesterday, I walked up to three panhandlers near the local market and said that I would pay one of them $50 to help me move some furniture. They all turned me down...
#1 said, "Go hire a Mexican."
#2 said, "I'm an accountant, not a mover."
#3 said, "Just give me the money ... we'll split it."
Lucky for me, my nephew dropped by, helped me out, and didn't want to take the money. So we went to a nice restaurant instead.
When we drove past, those three were still "Occupying" the same place outside the market. What is it with some people?
#1 said, "Go hire a Mexican."
#2 said, "I'm an accountant, not a mover."
#3 said, "Just give me the money ... we'll split it."
Lucky for me, my nephew dropped by, helped me out, and didn't want to take the money. So we went to a nice restaurant instead.
When we drove past, those three were still "Occupying" the same place outside the market. What is it with some people?
This is very interesting Fnord. Are you truly serious about this? This could be partially a reason why when a lot autistics ask for help they seem to get crapped on. It could be because it looks like like we want a handout. I've been reading about American culture and the context of it. Two of the American values America has is self-reliance and working hard. It goes back to America's colonial days when there was no government assistance. Those who do work resent providing for those who they perceive as able-bodied. In their mind, they want you to figure out things yourself. As children you're taught certain basics but after that you're on your own.
When a person is a child they are shielded from certain things that could happen in America. In America, things will go wrong. People will screw you over. It is not like Revenge of the Nerd. The nerd does not always win. This is part of livng in America. What does this lead to? This means there will always be people living in the streets is the conclusion and they will possibly starve in the streets. This means some people will never be able to suceed or have much sucess in america at all. Is everything I said correct? Does this mean that those who need help may not get help and those who are able to help do not have to help and will not help? Is this the correct reality of America that I and everyone else are supposed to have? If this is the truth then why are the responsibility advocates afraid to say it like this in its raw naked form.
I don't think the "once you turn 18 you're on your own" thing is natural human nature. It's only even possible due to the level of technology and prosperity we have in this day and age. In times when existence required more work people naturally banded together. I have a theory that people are generally happier this way as well, even if they had much less leisure time. So Americans have a lot of material luxury today compared to past times and less developed parts of the world. But now relative material luxury isn't enough to allow happiness when some people are on their own and live in constant fear of losing their financial security. Social isolation/alienation and financial insecurity is a psychological plague in the modern world. I wouldn't be surprised if the incidence of anxiety and depression is higher than ever. It's like a giant elephant in the room that everyone is expected to ignore. Just keep everyone distracted with electronic gadgets and reality television. Don't worry if you can't pay the bills anymore and have maxed out one credit card after the other. Just close your eyes and think happy thoughts. Be a good little consumer. Some people don't wake up until they are literally out on the street with no where to go. I think our society is pretty damn f***ed up. If course none of this hasn't been said before.
The western world calls this "progress."
Yeah, it's pretty strange. Take my father and his partner for example. They're not millionaires, but they're well off. Normally, I would never choose to live with them, or even see them more often than is absolutely necessary to make my father believe I don't hate him. However, at this point I have been left with no other choice but to stay with them for the time being, so I have had the opportunity to observe their patterns.
This is their pattern.
They wake up at roughly 6 every morning, get ready for work, then leave the house at about 7:30. They each commute 45 minutes to their jobs. (My father is the finance director at a Toyota dealership, and his girlfriend works for Wells Fargo.) Then they work till about 6 or 6:30, and arrive home at around 7 or 7:30 pm. Once home, the first thing they do is turn on the television. Next, they go change into sweats, "getting comfy" as they call it. Then they each pour themselves an alcoholic beverage, and the girlfriend makes dinner while my father watches television. Once dinner has been prepared, they sit down, watch television, eat, and drink. They watch shows like the X-Factor, Survivor, The Biggest Loser, various crime dramas, and also football. They watch T.V. and drink until they go to bed. This is what they do everyday they work. On days they have off (1-2 per week), they shop for things they couldn't conceivably need during the day, then do what they do on days they work once it is dark (i.e. watch T.V., drink.) They, (two people, remember, who share one bedroom) live in a 5 bedroom, 5 bath house in an affluent neighborhood. There are literally three completely empty bedrooms. (Wait. Lie. One of them has the girlfriends 50 pairs of sandals hung on the back of the door...her other hundred pairs of shoes are in the closet in their bedroom.)
Now, in my view, they lead a very vacuous existence. The girlfriend is on anti-depressants, and my father claims he "hates working, no one likes to work, son, but this is what everyone does"..(it is my personal opinion that they live in a 5 bedroom house, drive ridiculously large SUVs and shop for things they don't need in order to justify the amount of time they waste working jobs they hate, but maybe I'm wrong.) But anytime I bring anything up about their habits, they answer I invariably get, as though I were putting a coin into a slot and pressing a button for a soda, is "yup, it sucks, but that's just the way it is." They term this stale sort of existence as "real life."
Is this the American Dream? Because if it is, I want no part of it.
19 Dec 2011, 2:00 pm
19 Dec 2011, 6:25 pm
19 Dec 2011, 7:32 pm
20 Dec 2011, 10:16 am
20 Dec 2011, 2:07 pm
