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This is probably going sound a bit ranty because it reflects my own personal frustrations with the world as it is today and how it relates to me but: gently caress "working your way up the ladder". gently caress "opportunity for advancement". gently caress these sentiments so hard. It's funny how they're almost uniformly expressed by either old people who have absolutely zero insight on how the employment cattle market works today or by people who started three rungs from the top telling people fighting just to get a handgrip on the loving bottom rung of that ladder. Working your way up the ladder is a luxury America's poor simply can not afford. Working your way up the ladder is for that lawyer who has a dream of making partner in his firm. Working your way up the ladder isn't for that guy working at McDonald's. The top of that ladder amounts to a loving step stool compared to the people who started 10 stories above where you might end up if you try real hard for a real long time. If you have the ability to plan your finances beyond your next paycheck, to say, "I want to buy a house around the time I turn 30 and here's how I'm going to do it", congratu-loving-lations you're better off than than the majority of us. Opportunity for advancement is the carrot in front of the wage slaves of our economic machine, sitting there in front of you but forever out of reach. And even if you do reach it, 25 or 30 years later, what's the loving point? You've already used up the peak years of your life toiling away in poverty for that chance at the mythical Middle Class life. Can you even enjoy it at that point? The fact that some people are so insulated in this Just World bubble is just so loving galling to me that sometimes it takes all the willpower I have to not scream at the top of my lungs, "Go gently caress yourself!". The owner of the company I work for gave a nice little speech at the 20th anniversary of the company's founding about how proud he was of all the the things the company had accomplished and poo poo. How about you express that pride in giving people who've worked here for 5+ years without a drat raise more than a token 50 cent raise now that you've finally implemented an employee review system? How about you reward the people who make you all your money so you can afford your trips to Tahiti and your $100k Merc and your airplane and all the luxuries you enjoy instead of handing out high salary nepotism jobs to your family and friends? How can anyone look his employees in the eye and say, "Maybe someday one of you will build a company like this" while at the same time taking advantage of desperate immigrants who don't know their rights and former felons to pay them poo poo wages? I'm so sick and tired of being taken advantage of and when I express this sentiment to my peers, for the most part, it's "You have to learn to accept your lot, there's no point in fighting because you can't win" or "You have to make the best of the situation you're in". The saddest part is I'm comparatively lucky compared to a lot of people in America too. My meagre salary is over the joke of a poverty line for a family of four in America. If I'm struggling to put things together for my future, how the gently caress is a single mother with a couple of kids supposed to do the same?
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May 15, 2012 17:57
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prom candy posted:Photoshop his face on to something ridiculous, maybe it'll teach him to be more skeptical in the future. The student ID is ridiculous enough. It fits his idea about the president so he wants to believe it's true. I guess that goes for pretty much every post in this thread.
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May 15, 2012 17:57
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What's funny I'm pretty sure that picture is from 2004
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May 15, 2012 18:15
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red19fire posted:I was in the Marines, and we were saying "...America is at the mall" in 2005. If the war had some kind of tangible effect on the people at home, it would be over real quick. Rationing, a draft, actual journalists reporting the horror on the front page every day, bodies mangled by IEDs on the evening news every night; Any of these things would make a person think about the war and its cost. Instead we had Bush exhorting people to buy lots of christmas presents in order to defeat terrorism. I think the Star Ledger even stopped reporting on the weekly dead count at some point in 2008. The thing is that, even with what you talked about, I don't think Americans would be able to comprehend exactly what's going on because they have no perception of how it's like in regards to what you're describing. Their closest connection to concepts like "oh god gently caress this shithole and everything in it GET ME OUT OF HERE" are movies like Saving Private Ryan, which tend to portray that type of crap as heroic and something that "TRUE HEROES" tolerate because they know it's for the greater good of everyone. In turn, such views makes it look like it's heroic to stay in Afghanistan (or whatever location a current military misadventure is in) because otherwise the bad guys will win and that's sad.  Even then, most American's reaction to what's going on is "I'll donate to Wounded Warriors/a veteran's support charity that will help!  " instead of holding large rallies or calling up representatives in order to tell the gov that they want the military pulled out of whatever half-assed "glorious adventure" some 65 year old draft dodger has cooked up.Americans have a horribly distorted view of the military and those in it (like with the saying "ARE TROOPS") and are more interested in using it to stroke their ego about how good and heroic their country is than to actually comprehend what the hell is going on and to accommodate around that. It's like old, pre-WWI/American Civil War military romanticism, but only with video games, emotional porn movies, and TV ads helping reinforce such views instead of sappy songs and novels.
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May 15, 2012 18:40
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closeted republican posted:The thing is that, even with what you talked about, I don't think Americans would be able to comprehend exactly what's going on because they have no perception of how it's like in regards to what you're describing. Their closest connection to concepts like "oh god gently caress this shithole and everything in it GET ME OUT OF HERE" are movies like Saving Private Ryan, which tend to portray that type of crap as heroic and something that "TRUE HEROES" tolerate because they know it's for the greater good of everyone. In turn, such views makes it look like it's heroic to stay in Afghanistan (or whatever location a current military misadventure is in) because otherwise the bad guys will win and that's sad. "Drift" by Rachael Maddow explains this concept really well and I wish someone who wasn't a boogyman to the right would have written it so more people would pick it up. It basically outlines how we - the majority of American citizens not at war - don't really have any connection to war and haven't since Vietnam. Things like huge tax breaks during conflicts and (up until recently) banning photos of flag-draped coffins disconnects us from the reality of war and keeps us in our insulated bubble. It's a great read.
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May 15, 2012 18:55
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Unconditional troop worship in the US is an incredibly frustrating phenomenon. Recently I've found myself dealing with this ever since this guy I went to High School with announced that he had enlisted in the army on Facebook two months ago. This guy, along with being a total moron, has always been a completely shameless misogynist and hateful/'edgy' 'nice guy.' But of course ever since he enlisted he's been drowned in messages saying how much of a selfless hero he is and how they are so proud of him and I just know that he is eating that poo poo up. Shimrra Jamaane fucked around with this message at 19:17 on May 15, 2012 |
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May 15, 2012 19:13
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rscott posted:This is probably going sound a bit ranty because it reflects my own personal frustrations with the world as it is today and how it relates to me but:
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May 15, 2012 19:46
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Have you seen my apex seals? I seem to have lost them.
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rscott posted:I like this post. A Good Rant. mintskoal posted:"Drift" by Rachael Maddow explains this concept really well and I wish someone who wasn't a boogyman to the right would have written it so more people would pick it up. I just got this in the mail yesterday and I'm excited to read it. It's amazing the disconnect that people of the US have between the actual military and The Military that exists only as mythology. My nephew was in the marines, served two tours in Iraq, his best friend was killed and so he got the gently caress out asap. He's told me that he has nightmares about still being enlisted or being forced back in. And yet, he posts jingoistic pro-war, pro-military, anti-muslim garbage to his facebook. It's bizarre.
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May 15, 2012 20:18
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800peepee51doodoo posted:I like this post. A Good Rant. You're going to like the book then. It's a great perspective of how our "wars" do not have any impact on our lives except when someone we know gets wounded or killed. I mean think about it, we started two wars almost simultaneously and gave ourselves a big fat tax cut. People bought a yellow ribbon made in China and declared their support for ARE TROOPS and didn't give it a second thought. Would those same people support the war if the president would have said "Ok, this is going to be expensive. We need to raise taxes" Maybe right after 9/11, but it sure as hell wouldn't have lasted for 10+ years. Hell, we still haven't accepted that and instead fund the military by cutting programs that really only affect the poor. Your average, middle class family is largely unaffected by those changes. God drat it.
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May 15, 2012 21:15
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Glitterbomber posted:The right in this country really does have some kinda bizarre samurai logic huh? "Sure you'll die in the cold hungry and alone, but you'll die with your honor!" I saw an article once praising the loving Donnor Party for this. They actually asked "Where did all those people go?" An article in response gave a great response, "They went into each other." The best/worst thing about the is that the pampered rich assholes who want to cause this will, after praising the poor for dying with honor, will pretend that they somehow share that honor.
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May 15, 2012 22:37
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Aeka 2.0 posted:Holy poo poo:  ) as wages go down. Because if the pay goes low enough, some people will no longer see the point of working themselves to an early grave for $1/hour when they could just scavenge and steal. Eventually we reach an equilibrium where demand meets supply and everyone is happy - because that's what an equilibrium means, right?
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May 15, 2012 23:51
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Aeka 2.0 posted:You don't. But don't quote me like I was the one that said that stuff. I'd like to distance myself from that. Sorry, didn't mean to imply that it was you who said that. It's just insane to me that these people can't even think one bit about the results of what they want. As if experience for some menial job that pays nothing is going to be experience that will help people rise up. Working at Wal-Mart for a dollar a hour isn't going to get anybody anything besides another entry level job in retail. Labor would become expendable as everybody races to the bottom.
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May 16, 2012 00:10
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Would likely have a really terrible deflationary side effect too.
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May 16, 2012 01:04
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prom candy posted:Photoshop his face on to something ridiculous, maybe it'll teach him to be more skeptical in the future. Just combine the best of everything into one  Can you spot them all? Communist, Muslim, Fascist, and Anti-Christ
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May 16, 2012 01:12
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^^nice.Sporadic posted:Sorry, didn't mean to imply that it was you who said that. Jobs are primarily a result of demand. If people are paid 2 dollars an hour, demand for products will go down and thus the demand for jobs themselves will go down. I don't know why those assholes don't see that.
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May 16, 2012 02:03
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I'll take "Invisible Hand of the Free Market" for $300.
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May 16, 2012 03:06
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LP97S posted:Just combine the best of everything into one You forgot to include a swastika  .
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May 16, 2012 03:10
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mintskoal posted:All it took was me typing in "obama columbia student id" into the Google. What school puts "foreign student" on their IDs anyway?
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May 16, 2012 03:18
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rscott posted:This is probably going sound a bit ranty because it reflects my own personal frustrations with the world as it is today and how it relates to me but: I completely agree. But at the same time, I do get frustrated when people say "it's all just luck", because it's not. Success, whatever, (whatever you want to call it), is a combination of both. But yeah, you're completely right about being taken advantage of. That CEO can go gently caress himself.
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May 16, 2012 03:25
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rscott posted:This is probably going sound a bit ranty because it reflects my own personal frustrations with the world as it is today and how it relates to me but: Very, very good points. One that you didn't touch on is that it's literally impossible for everyone to "work their way up the ladder." There are simply not enough higher level or managerial positions for everyone to hold one, most people are always going to be on one of the lowest rungs of the ladder and not rise much further. The point here is not to be some dickish social Darwinist and blame these people for what is simply the fault of reality and economics, but rather to make those entry-level and similar positions pay well enough so that full-time workers will receive a living wage and not have to worry about things like health insurance or maternity/paternity leave. The real problem here is that conservatives have so embraced this nearly messianic form of capitalism where the "Invisible Hand" of the market is just going solve all our problems, so they don't actually need to do anything or sacrifice at all. you can see how obtuse conservatives are through former Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels when he said in reaction to Obama's comments about the injustice of our system, "We do not accept that ours will ever be a nation of haves and have nots; we must always be a nation of haves and soon to haves."
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May 16, 2012 03:32
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VideoTapir posted:What school puts "foreign student" on their IDs anyway? None, ever. That should be the first whiff of bullshit to most people.
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May 16, 2012 03:58
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Vorpal Cat posted:You forgot to include a swastika It's the 88, H is the 8th letter in the alphabet, you get the rest.
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May 16, 2012 04:12
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Does the bar code encode the number, or something else?
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May 16, 2012 04:23
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VideoTapir posted:Does the bar code encode the number, or something else? Look directly to the left of his picture.
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May 16, 2012 04:51
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Bruce Leroy posted:Very, very good points. One that you didn't touch on is that it's literally impossible for everyone to "work their way up the ladder." There are simply not enough higher level or managerial positions for everyone to hold one, most people are always going to be on one of the lowest rungs of the ladder and not rise much further.
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May 16, 2012 06:18
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RPZip posted:Look directly to the left of his picture. What?
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May 16, 2012 06:21
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mintskoal posted:None, ever. That should be the first whiff of bullshit to most people. Aside from the barcode on a "student" ID from the 70s?
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May 16, 2012 06:24
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Sadly most of the people it's targeting probably never went to college to know what a college ID looks like.
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May 16, 2012 06:58
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A Fancy 400 lbs posted:Sadly most of the people it's targeting probably never went to college to know what a college ID looks like. This is also true of the endless liberal atheist professor/Marine/Einstein/anthropomorphic bear chain e-mails. They target people who have never set foot on a college campus.
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May 16, 2012 07:29
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prom candy posted:Photoshop his face on to something ridiculous, maybe it'll teach him to be more skeptical in the future.
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May 16, 2012 10:48
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constantIllusion posted:This is also true of the endless liberal atheist professor/Marine/Einstein/anthropomorphic bear chain e-mails. They target people who have never set foot on a college campus. To be fair, though, there are plenty of insufferable College Republicans that seem to honestly believe that any professor who disagrees with them is some kind of dirty, liberal gaythiest trying to hide the conservative truth with their commie fascist propaganda. The College Republicans at my school invited a bunch of pretty extreme right wing speakers, including Bay Buchanan. After her speech, another student questioned Buchanan's xenophobic political views, saying that she was a foreign exchange student who worked hard to get to where she is and isn't some kind of parasite destroying America like Bay and her brother like to claim. Buchanan congratulated her on her achievement and told her she should go back home to her own country after she graduates.
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May 16, 2012 12:22
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constantIllusion posted:This is also true of the endless liberal atheist professor/Marine/Einstein/anthropomorphic bear chain e-mails. They target people who have never set foot on a college campus. And yet who are still obsessed with college football.
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May 16, 2012 14:17
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Ying Par posted:And yet who are still obsessed with college football. To be fair, college football is many times more entertaining than the NHL.
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May 16, 2012 15:13
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Bruce Leroy posted:To be fair, though, there are plenty of insufferable College Republicans that seem to honestly believe that any professor who disagrees with them is some kind of dirty, liberal gaythiest trying to hide the conservative truth with their commie fascist propaganda. It really never makes any sense, and I don't understand the mentality of going into college thinking that your ideology is going to be beset on all sides and must be defended at all costs. Doesn't it defeat one of the purposes of going to college, to be exposed to new ideas?
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May 16, 2012 16:07
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They only say "life isn't fair" to blow off people who are suffering so they don't have to feel guilty about actively supporting policies that keep things the same or make them worse. Ultimately they don't think life is fair, they just think it is just. If you work hard, eventually you'll overcome the unfairness, and people who don't are just getting what they deserve.
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May 16, 2012 16:18
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You guys must have gone to some weird colleges. At mine, lectures would be interrupted constantly by the professors declaring that God did not exist. Maybe you just had more ex-marines so professors knew they couldn't get away with that nonsense. Even though it wasted lots of class time, it did have some benefits. Since every lab experiment was to prove that capitalism was evil, I could reuse the same reports in physics, chemistry, and bio.
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May 16, 2012 16:30
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At least until it happens to them. Then they are the rare case. I think the only real "crazy" lefty thing I heard in college was that "the only physical difference between men and women is ability for lactation" by a history professor. My physics professor also brought up the stupid "Third law of thermodynamics disproves evolution" thing the Evangelical students were trotting around at the time in class. He (like most of us) brought up the fact that we have this thing called the "sun" that makes a big hole in that theory. Eggplant Squire fucked around with this message at 16:38 on May 16, 2012 |
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May 16, 2012 16:30
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See, life isn't fair, so who cares if I help or not? It's like, life man. *calls a person on food stamps a literal parasite, demands the removal of all safety nets* Life, man...
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May 16, 2012 16:31
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Ghost of Reagan Past posted:It really never makes any sense, and I don't understand the mentality of going into college thinking that your ideology is going to be beset on all sides and must be defended at all costs. Doesn't it defeat one of the purposes of going to college, to be exposed to new ideas? The vast majority of people go to college so they will be "guaranteed" a higher salary and more secure future. It's goofy to think most people are there out of a sense of intellectual curiosity of genuine thirst for knowledge.
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May 16, 2012 16:37
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BrotherAdso posted:The vast majority of people go to college so they will be "guaranteed" a higher salary and more secure future. It's goofy to think most people are there out of a sense of intellectual curiosity of genuine thirst for knowledge. Sad but true. It's why I went. But ever since marrying into academia and seeing how much it means to people in the field (and maybe this is just liberal arts) I've been aching to go back not for an engineering master's, but for a liberal arts bachelor's.
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May 16, 2012 16:53
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