Am I un-patriotic?

[SnapAddict218]

We ain't starting a debate people. I'm asking a question and that's it. ;)

Ok, so some one just sent a forwarded email around the office-some poem about September 11th and how sad it was. It had the office in a tizzy, tears and honking noses; then there were the people that had to announce that that needed to read it in private since it would make them cry. When asked for my opinion of the tear jerking (mass marketed, mass forwarded, suspiciously commercial looking) email I said I had deleted it with out bothering to read it. Well you would have thought that I just pooped on the flag! How discusted my office mates were with me for deleting a poem about the greatest tragedy our country has faced. I don't see the big deal, sure its a nice poem, but am I wrong to say I don't care [about the poem] enough to read it? Am I some kind of horrific un American monster because I'm sick and tired of stupid forwarded emails that are supposed to have some kind of significance???? Oooo you hit 'forward' to further your message. Cant even bother to delete the pages upon pages of other peoples email addresses so I can find the stupid thing you want me to read.

Same goes for any forwared email I guess, its just these people are treating me like I'm a jerk for not wanting to read another "usesless" forward that's fallen into my inbox. It's not like I'm PRO-terrorism, I'm ANTI stupid emails.

Am I a bad guy?

[Pedersen]

Honestly, I've been tired of it since about 9/21/2001. If that's unpatriotic, then I guess I am.

[NotSoInnocent]

I won't open forwarded emails unless it's something that I'm waiting for from a friend. There's really only one person that get forwarded emails opened by me, and that's only because she deletes all the extra crap and usually only sends me truly funny stuff.

I don't think you're "un-American" at all.

[Greenday]

I would have done the same thing. Nearly every forward I get sent I delete immediately. Reading a poem doesn't make you patriotic.

[SnapAddict218]

Reading a poem doesn't make you patriotic.

Well would some one puh-leeze tell that to the ninnies I work with?!

[Greenday]

I vote you just kick the next person in the shin who tells you otherwise.

[Rahmota]

Nope not the slightest bit unpatriotic for that action. Probably make syou a more sensible and intelligent person for not biting into the hypocritical hype and touchy feelie uber patriotism BS thats been floating around since 9/11. Patriotism is about a lot more than just reading poems and sticking a stupid magnet on your car.

Anything else is for Fratching........

[Banrion]

I don't open forwards at work either, and when this stuff gets out of hand like it apparantly has at your job, there is always the loverly corporate excuse for me. "Sorry, I don't open anything at work that is not business related. It all just gets deleted. Can't be too careful these days, especially since John got fired."

For the record, it is in general a load of bull. I am typing this from work. Official company policy is a no-no, but managers can allow some personal use at their discretion. John really did get fired over company internet usage though. He was spending 6-7 hours a day on Ebay from work.

[MystyGlyttyr]

Not unpatriotic in the least.

I admit, I've been dealing with my own mental demons today, but I've been doing it quietly and by myself. While we've done a little discussing of things amongst ourselves, and shared a few memories, but everything has been simply that...quiet reflection and calm discussion. Being hysterical and loud about it just a yell for attention.

We did get a very nice phone call earlier that caused a couple of damp eyes, but I'm putting that in a different thread :)

[RecoveringKinkoid]

Those sorts of emails are virus that are perpetrated by the stupid.

Oh, don't get me wrong, I see nothing wrong at all with sharing a poem, joke, or picture that made you smile, touched you in some way, made you go "right on!" or whatever. But when you add the bit at the end "send this everyone in your address book, including the person that sent it, or it means you are unpatriotic, unChristian, mean, irresponsible, uncharitable, or any other thing, then THAT'S when it becomes stupid.

Why send it to the person who sent it? I'll tell you why...so the jerk who started it can get off knowing how much bandwidth he's gotten all the idiots and saps out there to waste. Like I said...a virus perpetrated on and by the stupid.

The fact that the chain mail is attached to a glurgy poem is nothing more than the most transparent kind of manipulation. If I do read and enjoy the attached message and think someone else might like it, I always wipe off the "chain" bit where it tells you to send it on. And then maybe share it with a person or two. But these things are not usually clever or meaningful, so I usually don't. What I DO do is wipe the ENTIRE message clear, then say back to the sender, "Thanks for sharing. Hope your day is going well." That's it. I never send the original message back to the person who sent it. That's just dumb.

So back to your question, no, you aren't un patriotic. And I have to wonder about a bunch of idiots who think the sum total of your patriotism and loyalty to country and home can be summed up with whether or not you forward a badly written email.:rolleyes:

[SnapAddict218]

Kink, I'm just surrounded by idiots I'm afraid.

[Acolyte]

I'd tell them that it's unpatriotic for them to sit around wasting Uncle Sam's time and money reading mooshy poems instead of doing the job society demands of them.:devil:

See what they say of that!

[draggar]

OK, the OP says he's in Nebraska, I'm going to assume that is true.

So, my question is:
WHY THE F*** ARE THESE PEOPLE SO DISTRAUGHT BY THIS????

It happened six years ago and unless you were there or lost someone, you need to GROW UP.

I had to SMELL it for THREE WEEKS. We lost acquaintances and friends of ours lost friends. I had to see cars parked in Middletown and Point Pleasant, NJ waiting for their owner who would never come home. We didn't know if the person who was going to marry my wife and I was alive or not for days (he survived, thank god).

I'll admit, it was a tramatic experience, but they didn't live it. Hell, I DIDN"T LIVE IT. My mother in law has a good friend who's husband was severely injured when tower 1 fell (he was thrown 30 feet across the street by wind and debris). HE lived it. FDNY, NYPD and the port authority lived it. Anyone who says that they lived it or are severely affected by it because they saw it on TV needs to either get some real help or grow up. My wedding was planned for 11 days later and we still had it.

Don't get me wrong, if you did live it (either being there or being close to someone who was there) you get a free pass. Something this big hitting you this close gives you reason to be a little distraught, but hell, I was less than fifteen miles away. I could see the towers in smoke and I could smell the stench of burning jet fuel, paper, and human flesh.

I heard none of 9-11 at work and a mention on the radio, which was enough to get the point across without overdoing it. I saw flags at half mast, which was also a nice touch.

What next, these people watch Perl Harbor (or my preference, Tora! Tora! Tora!) and claim they were traumatized by the attack on Pearl Harbor?

Now, back on topic. the OP is not unpatriotic. I'm sure the attack saddened you, but you grieved and moved on which is what you're supposed to do. MOVE ON. Remember it, learn from it, teach about it, but MOVE ON. Each person who acts that way is showing how powerful terrorists are over them.

[Lace Neil Singer]

I'm probably going to get a lot of stick over this, but I don't really think of it at all. I never even thought of Sept 11th being significance til I read this topic. To me, I'm thinking of the Tube bombings in London, cuz a mate of mine from school died there. Then again, I'm English; not American.

[draggar]

I'm probably going to get a lot of stick over this, but I don't really think of it at all. I never even thought of Sept 11th being significance til I read this topic. To me, I'm thinking of the Tube bombings in London, cuz a mate of mine from school died there. Then again, I'm English; not American.

It's all a matter of perspective, the tube bombings were more significant to you, as would the Madrid railroad bombings would be to someone in Madrid.

Hell, my wife used to work with someone from Isreal and if a bus gets bombed (in Isreal), it's a fact of life there, catch the next bus.

[Seshat]

Patriotic is volunteering at the local soup kitchen, animal shelter, public-area-cleanup. Patriotic is researching what the policies are of the parties you have an option to vote for, and making sure to vote.
Patriotic is writing a thoughtful letter to your local council, notifying them that there's a faulty bit of playground equipment in the local park, and in the meantime putting a temporary 'out of order' sign on it, made with whatever you have on hand.

Weeping and wailing (as opposed to genuine grief and recovery from same) is not patriotic. It's a pathetic display of self-interest.

Patriotism is endeavouring to improve your local community, or your society as a whole.

[Will-Mun]

Ah, 9/11, you know... I did ALOT of sniffleing today, my eyes watered ALOT, and I got all choked up...

Okay, thats cause I have a head cold. (Honest I do.)

I agree with Draggar, just not as loudly. :D The way this date has been used to tug on the heartstrings of people, it usually just makes me groan when we get close to it and everyone starts freaking out...

The worst is the people who start freaking out in regards to the airlines, expecting it to happen again. Right, cause a Ter'ist would attack us annually...

I want to go back to Pearl Harbor, see what happened a year after THAT attack, see what happened 6 years after... It's just weird that people want to cling to that date... People seem to think "We will never forget" means that "We can never move on."

Thankfully I didn't have to deal with the weeping and the crying, the faux tears of something people only experienced through a week straight of 24 hour coverage... You have lives people... Say a small prayer today, have a personal moment of silence when the towers fell (not mandated silence like my School did each year after the attack). But don't push your grief onto others cause they don't like POETRY.

Although, I DID have to deal with the fact my nose seemed very content on trying to SUFFOCATE me to death, maybe weepy eyes would be better... :cry:

[blas]

I feel the same way. Also in regards to the Tsnunami and Katrina. If you or anyone you know weren't directly affected by it, stop blubbering and bringing it up all the time!

Every time a person says a sentence with the words "9/11" or "Katrina" or "tsunami" in it, I want to strangle them.

Donate your time and things you can spare. Be supportive of people who did suffer. DON'T make it about yourself.

[Rapscallion]

It's all a matter of perspective, the tube bombings were more significant to you, as would the Madrid railroad bombings would be to someone in Madrid.

Hell, my wife used to work with someone from Isreal and if a bus gets bombed (in Isreal), it's a fact of life there, catch the next bus.

We've had several decades of the IRA blowing up workplaces (http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/february/10/newsid_2539000/2539265.stm), shopping centres (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1996_Manchester_City_Centre_bombing), cenotaphs during memorial services on armistice day (http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/november/8/newsid_2515000/2515113.stm) etc, and we'd been bombed by a better class of bastard in years previous. (Lovely phrase I borrowed from someone else's recollection of a news report after the Canary Wharf bombings).

Most of the violence against Americans of this fashion happens in other countries. You've really only started to realise what it means to have it in your back yard. It takes time to get used to something like this.

Rapscallion

[Amethyst Hunter]

Patriotism is endeavouring to improve your local community, or your society as a whole.

Thank you for posting this. It's eloquent in its simplicity and speaks so much truth.

And to all the others who have posted about their mixed feelings regarding The Anniversary - thank you as well. I thought I was the only one who had thoughts like that.

Most of all - thank you to all the nameless, faceless people we never hear about, who work day after day to serve and protect the rest of us.

[Killer Bees]

I don't think you're a bad guy at all.

9/11 was AWFUL and should never have happened. But it's been six years now and honestly, how long can you go on feeling bad and sad a depressed unless you lost someone close to you?

Just ignore the idiots and it will die down. I'm not American, but it upset me no end when it happened (I was living in Canada at the time). But humans cannot keep grieving forever and eventually you have to move on.

People seem to to think that being constantly outraged by things like this makes them seem like they're decent humans and that they care. But you can care and be decent without it taking over your whole life.

[Seshat]

Thank you for posting this. It's eloquent in its simplicity and speaks so much truth.

<snip>

Most of all - thank you to all the nameless, faceless people we never hear about, who work day after day to serve and protect the rest of us.

You're welcome.

As for the nameless, faceless people who risk their lives to serve and protect their community: I make it a conscious, mental exercise to try to think of the less-often-noticed ones. Police, firefighters, soldiers, and emergency-room medical personnel are the obvious ones, here are some others. Honour them all.

State Emergency Service (or your local equivalent). These are the people who go out to the communities where a natural disaster has occurred or is occurring, and rescue people. After a gale-force windstorm or hailstones-like-tennis-balls rainstorm, you see footage of their work.

Search and Rescue people. Fairly obvious once you think about it.

Criminal defence attorneys. Is there anyone else who will voluntarily walk into a room with a probable murderer and get locked in with them? Sure, some of them do it for money or as a stepping stone to a lucrative profession, but there are a hell of a lot who do it for the ideal of Rule of Law and equal justice for all.

Researchers and workers in the more dangerous fields of medical research, especially antivirals and antibacterials and vaccines which require manipulation of deadly virii and bacteria.

Social workers and related fields where people go, day after day, into volatile human situations.

Road repairers, bridge workers, and other risky construction.

High-rise window washers, and other risky maintenance.

[Jester]

I think I have to add to that list the American Red Cross. They are NOT a government agency, and they are absolutely amazing in what they do (and try to do) after disasters. I know they were wonderful to us after Hurricane Wilma, even though there was little they could do other than giving us some supplies and some food.

They are a wonderful charitable organization, and I think more people should be made aware of that fact, and consider contributing financially personally to their efforts.

[powerboy]

I also delete them. The only ones that I do forward, are damn important ones(ones that are warning people about something important). That is only here and there. BUt no, you are not un-patriotic.

[Seshat]

I think I have to add to that list the American Red Cross.

I'll agree with that, and up it to the international Red Cross/Red Crescent. And other such agencies. Medicines Sans Frontiers (sp?) and Oxfam come to my mind, I'm sure other people can add to the lists.

[draggar]

This is patriotic:

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/09/10/smeaton.hero/index.html

[Knightmare]

Most of the violence against Americans of this fashion happens in other countries. You've really only started to realise what it means to have it in your back yard. It takes time to get used to something like this.

For work, I'm taking a class from the Dept. of Homeland Security. It talks about terrorism and how it can affect WWTF and water systems.
There have been more terrorists attacks on this country than most people realize. Scary stuff. What makes it even scarier is that the terrorists were Americans. Not a fanatical group from the Middle East. Not some crazy drug cartel from South America.
American.
Just thought I'd share that with you.

But I agree; you are not un-patriotic. I delete those things. I hate forwarded emails, trying to guilt me into sending it along to everyone I know.
I am patriotic because I vote. I pay attention to my community and what happens in my country. I help out when I can, with what I can, when I can.
Say a prayer, have a moment of silence, donate blood, thank a veteran. Thank your police and fire deparment. Donate to the Red Cross (Jester is correct. The Red Cross is a wonderful organization). Then move on with your day and life.

[Lace Neil Singer]

The only ones that I do forward, are damn important ones(ones that are warning people about something important).

I hope you check snopes first before you do; a lot of warnings like that are debunked on snopes.

[Acolyte]

What makes it even scarier is that the terrorists were Americans. Not a fanatical group from the Middle East. Not some crazy drug cartel from South America.
American.

Hey, nobody kills more Americans then other Americans. If I remember correctly, more people are killed in Detroit each day then Iraq.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

I also delete them. The only ones that I do forward, are damn important ones(ones that are warning people about something important).

Here's the thing with that: damn important info is not transmitted solely by email chain letters.

I promise.

If the only place you hear about it is in a chain letter (be it a warning type letter or whatever), its' not important. And it's probably not even true.

[justZu]

Am I a bad guy?

Nope, you are not.
I hate forwarded glurge emails and usually delete them unread. My aunt is our family's source for these detestable things and it really pisses me off to see my inbox filled with mushy poems, giant pictures of angels and unsubstantiated urban legend "warnings".

9/11 was terrible. But terrible things happen all over the world and if we dedicated a day for each tragedy in human memory, our years would quickly be filled with nothing but tears and mourning.

[SnapAddict218]

Well don't I feel a hell of a lot better. Tanks forum buddies!! Tanks a lot!

[digilight]

No reading and forwarding a stupid chain letter does not make you patriotic or unpatriotic. Being proud to be an (insert country of existance here) does. I consider myself to be patriotic, I want to go up to men and women in uniform (military types) I see out in public and thank them for putting their lives on the line to protect the American way of life for my family. Do I get a little misty eyed when I here about a 18 year old kid injured or killed in the line of duty in (insert what ever country he was stationed, does not have to be iraq), you're cotton picken right I do. Do I feel the need to be a big vocal douchebag about being a patriotic american, hell no I don't.

P.S. I am so impressed that this was able to stay on topic, and not turn into a big old fuckyou fest like most message boards would have done. A big kuddo's is in order to everone here for making this a great place.

[NightAngel]

I'm anti- stupid emails also. I'd be even more anti- stupid email at work.

I despise those emails that attempt to make the reader get all emotional and forward it to 500 of their closest friends. I delete them all. However, I also don't get too many of them anymore because I usually go to either Snopes or Break The Chain and verify (what I already know) that they are, indeed, bogus.

I then take great delight in sending the person who forwarded it to me the link proving it's bogus, telling them they've been had and that in the future they need to verify the story before forwarding.

I'm not unpatriotic either. But I can think of much better ways to show my patriotism than forwarding an email.

[Princess-Snake]

My sister sends me these damned chain emails all the time no matter how many times I ask her to stop. She gets them from her friends, then she sends them to other friends, and then she sends them to me. My friends used to do that, but I asked them to stop. And you know what? They listened! Why is this such a hard concept for my sister to understand?!

[Banrion]

My sister sends me these damned chain emails all the time no matter how many times I ask her to stop. She gets them from her friends, then she sends them to other friends, and then she sends them to me. My friends used to do that, but I asked them to stop. And you know what? They listened! Why is this such a hard concept for my sister to understand?!

Ban your sisters e-mail for a while. Set up a rule to auto-respond to anything from her with "I do not read or appreciate chain letters. Please cease and desist." I bet after one or two bouncing back to her like that she will stop.

[powerboy]

I hope you check snopes first before you do; a lot of warnings like that are debunked on snopes.

Don't need too.


Here's the thing with that: damn important info is not transmitted solely by email chain letters.

I promise.

If the only place you hear about it is in a chain letter (be it a warning type letter or whatever), its' not important. And it's probably not even true.


I never forward any chain mail. I only forward charity links, that I know, is the actual charity. And that they are not scammers.

Links like
Red Cross (http://www.redcross.org)
American Humane (www.americanhumane.org/site/PageServer)

I could have made that clear in the first post on this thread, and I am sorry for not doing that.

I know if it is in a chain mail, it is not real.

[daleduke17]

Being a volunteer firefighter around September 2001, I was amazed at the out pouring of gratitude from people just for the very mention of someone being a firefighter. I will echo the words of one of the guys from Lincoln I used to hang out with: "Give it time, and this firefighter and police lovefest will go away. Then it will be back to normal" (give or take a couple words). And he was right. Within the next year people weren't all "ga-ga" over saying thank you or anything to firefighters or police officers or any public safety person. Cops were back to being those assholes who only do "revenue generation" (tickets) and hang out at the donut shop. Firefighters were those incompetent jerkoffs who could only save someone's foundation (despite being five miles out on a country road). EMTs, Paramedics and other medical first responders "killed my family member". The list goes on.

One thing that irritates me more than anything are the people who want a reliable response system for first responders, but keep saying no when the agencies in question want put up a new radio tower. These same people will get mad when their tax monies bought a new fire engine or ambulance but want state-of-the-art equipment to protect them from the terrorism. Heaven forbid responders take any sort of training, the community would have a heart attack saying "It won't happen here". But when it does, they'll say "Why weren't you trained?"

I'll stop here. I'm starting to rant again.

Point is: no, you're not unpatriotic. Some of the above people are unpatriotic. Oh, wait, but they are because, by God, they slapped a 50 cent magnet on the side of their car that says "Support the troops" or whatever group they are supporting.

[Banrion]

"Give it time, and this firefighter and police lovefest will go away. Then it will be back to normal" (give or take a couple words). And he was right. Within the next year people weren't all "ga-ga" over saying thank you or anything to firefighters or police officers or any public safety person. .

I just want to say, not everyone is like this. I say "Hello, and thank you" to between 4 and 6 police officers, firefighters and EMT's every single day. I walk home from the train at shift change right past the public safety bulding, and I am lucky enough to live practically next door as well. I have never had occassion to really get to know any of these men and women personally, but they have never been anything other than polite. In fact, one day last summer, it was 109 degrees with about 98% humidity, 3 of these fine gentlemen stopped and asked if I needed a ride somewhere.

[lordlundar]

Gah! I will never understand what is with people and saying that if you don't exhibit a public display supporting your country you're a communist or terrorist or whatever the popular enemy at the time is.

Do I like my country, yes. I can visit half the countries in the world and be treated politely because of the fact. Do I need to be going to work waving a flag around and singing the anthem at the top of my lungs? NO!

[Jester]

"Give it time, and this firefighter and police lovefest will go away. Then it will be back to normal" (give or take a couple words). And he was right.

I'd like to respectfully disagree here. Or at least partially respectfully disagree here. And I am not speaking merely of myself, but many people I know still hold such people in high regard.

Now, there is ALWAYS going to be some distrust of the police by a lot of people, and part of the reason is that there are ALWAYS going to be some cops who are just downright assholes. (I am sure there are firefighter assholes too, but since they don't have the power to fuck with your life in the same way, people don't see that nearly as much.) Everywhere I go, people still love the firefighters and EMTs, not just here in Key West, but on all of my road trips out and about.

Maybe it is different in Nebraska, I don't know. *shrug* But while the level of love for such people is (naturally) not as high as it was immediately following 9/11, it is certainly higher than it was before that day, and overall I would say pretty high in general. Just my 3.5 cents. :D

[daleduke17]

Banrion and Jester - Thank you both for still keeping first responders in high regard. I know there are always assholes around in everything, but for a while around 9-11 you didn't hear about them at all. Everyone LOVED first responders and military and whatnot.

I guess it was like having a winning sports team. There's your "hardcore" fans, then your "bandwagoners" who show up only when the team is good.

Jester - did you want me to make change for you, or was the extra 1.5 cents a tip? :-p

[Jester]

Jester - did you want me to make change for you, or was the extra 1.5 cents a tip? :-p

Neither. I always adjust for inflation. :D

[SnapAddict218]

Neither. I always adjust for inflation. :D

Boo!!!!!

:roll:

[Seshat]

One thing that irritates me more than anything are the people who want a reliable response system for first responders, but keep saying no when the agencies in question want put up a new radio tower. These same people will get mad when their tax monies bought a new fire engine or ambulance but want state-of-the-art equipment to protect them from the terrorism. Heaven forbid responders take any sort of training, the community would have a heart attack saying "It won't happen here". But when it does, they'll say "Why weren't you trained?"

If it helps any, there are plenty of people who think otherwise. I'm always pleased to see a new police station, or ambulance or fire station going up. (Especially if it's close to me - yay, I'm safer!)

My family maintains a membership in the ambulance service, which is probably a local thing - pay an annual fee, get free ambulance transport when you need it. It probably costs us more in the long term, but it's a cost I'm happy to pay.

I guess I'm just chiming in with Jester and Banrion. If we want a safer society, we've got to pay for it. Some of the cost is in training, equipment, and the like. Some of the cost is in people's lives and health. It's only fair to spread the cost of training and equipment around among the whole society, and it's fair and reasonable to spread the cost of supporting those who were injured doing the job, and the families of those injured or killed in the line of duty.

[Jester]

Speaking of spreading the cost around, I forgot about this.

One of the main planks to my campaign for President in 2004.

What's that? Jester ran for President?

Why yes....yes I did. Of course, I was on no ballots, I didn't raise any money, I ran no advertisements, and technically I was ineligible for the position (as I was only 34, and the age requirement is 35), but still... I ran!

And the plank in question was simple: I was going to DOUBLE the salary of every single teacher, police officer, firefighter, and EMT in the U.S.A.!

Sure, you say, noble idea...but where would the money come from?

Not taxes. Not levies. Not tariffs. Not even the conventional governmental budget.

I was simply going to cut in half the salary of every professional athlete in all the major sports in America.

Hell, they're ALWAYS saying that they believe in the community, and they want to help out, right? Well, that's how they're helping out! Half of their contract just went to Uncle Sam to pay for REALISTIC salaries for educators, law enforcers, protectors, and rescuers--people athletes call "the real heroes" all the time.

Time for them to pay more than lip service to them, don't you think?

Now, some of the more pro-business folks might say that that is un-American. That these athletes "earned" their money.

$2 million dollars a year? To play ball? And they can't be satisfied to take a simple cool million to help out their community? THAT, my friends, would be un-American!

If you simply took half the salary of the big-name players, like Jeff Gordon, Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Barry Bonds, Alex Rodrigues, Roger Clemons, Derek Jeter, Curt Schilling, Dwanye Wade, Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, Amare Stoudamire, Dontrelle Willis, Ivan Rodriguez, Greg Maddox, Tom Glavine, John Smoltz, Sammy Sosa, Albert Pujols, Manny Ramirez, David Ortiz, Randy Moss, Brett Favre, Warren Sapp, Nomar Garciaparra, Carson Palmer, Chad Johnson, Larry Johnson, LaDanian Tomlinson, Ray Lewis, Yao Ming, Dirk Nowitzki, Miguel Tejada, Jake Delhomme, Brian Urlacher, Brady Quinn, Willis McGahee, Steve McNair, Terrell Owens, Donovan McNabb, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Tony Stewart, Andy Roddick, Venus Williams, Serena Williams, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Sidney Crosby, Torii Hunter, Drew Brees, Reggie Bush, Ben Roethlisberger.....

Well, you get the idea. If we only took half the salaries from the BIG guys, it would be enough to seriously bump up the salaries of all educators and emergency workers throughout the country significantly. Even the scrubs, whose minimum salaries are above $2 million dollars, would be happy with just half of that.

Why? Well, how could they say no and keep face? And how could they not be happy with half a fortune when they were doing so well even with that?

Sure, they would probably still fight it. Fuck 'em. They would show their true colors, and I would still win.

And this is just one reason why I will never be President. Because the people would have their priorities all fucked up and would rally to the support of the precious fucking athletes, who make tons more than they do. Even though I am a sports fan, that would just be idiotic.

And more proof that people are stupid.

*sigh*

As I said, I am a fan of first responders, emergency workers, and educators. Ya think?