Everything must be free...unless I don't like it then it's communism.

[Mongo Skruddgemire]

So I'm reading customers suck just now. I finished reading about the person in the hotel that was having themselves a total screaming wobbler about the fact that the hotel ran out of complementary toothbrushes.

And it just hit me. There are hundreds of stories from the various incarnations of Customers Suck going right back to the first day it went online those many years ago. Hundreds of tales of customers screaming bloody blue murder about the fact that they can't get something for free.

Hell I just posted one about the person seeing me pay for my desserts with my badge and flipping the fuck out about it wanting his meal for free.

Hundreds of stories on this site alone. God knows how many instances occur in a day's time that never get posted to this or any of the other "Poor Employee Vent" sites out there.

Yet, these same people are the ones who frequently piss bitch and moan about the fact that the concept of a national healthcare system is akin to communism. Or that someone laid off and is on unemployment insurance is a leech on the tax payers (regardless of the fact that unemployment is something you paid into since your first paycheck), or that a single mother with a child who is now on food assistance should be left in the streets to starve.

In short, these people demand that everything be free *for them* and that everyone else in the world who wants the same thing as they do...well they're pinko commie bastards who need to be lined up against the wall and shot.

That's just @#$%ing sad.

[Gravekeeper]

Remember, it's "Fuck ya'll, I got mine."

[Rageaholic]

Remember, it's "Fuck ya'll, I got mine."

That's the American way! (unfortunately)

[Mytical]

These same people forget about roads, schools, military, police, firefighters, and the list goes on and on. *shrugs*

[Greenday]

These same people forget about roads, schools, military, police, firefighters, and the list goes on and on. *shrugs*

I had a friend harping on Obama for being a socialist and how socialism is horrible. I responded with, "Didn't your parents both teach for a public school and don't you want to teach at a public school?" Went right over her head.

[bara]

Its not hard to figure out. They have been told over and over that they are special, they the rules dont apply to them. They are given everything by their parents, are not taught the value of hard work, honesty, integrity, and probably most importantly humility.

This is everywhere we look anymore. Celebrities that seem to get away with just about any crime, reality TV shows where people are essentially pricks to each other, other shows people getting away and even endorsing bad behavior to customer service people to get free stuff.

What these knuckle heads don't see is that everything has a price. Some one is paying for it. Its no wonder stress related illnesses seem to be going up and at amazing speeds. I spent 3 years active duty military, I spent a year in Iraq delivering fuel, and I was still more stressed out at a couple of civilian jobs than I was having to worry about roadside bombs going off next to my 5000 gallon tanker of fuel that I was hauling.

Why? Simple really. I could do something about it then. In the Army, at least in the units I served in, you could invite a guy out to the woodline to talk about his bad behavior. You could fire right back at the assholes (im not talking with guns though, that was a different circumstance altogether and thankfully I was never in a situation where I had an enemy target).

As a civilian working behind the proverbial counter (not all customer service jobs are done in person), you have to take crap from people. You cant tell them they are being a dumbass because you will lose your job and all the fun that entails. By allowing customers to get away with douchebaggery behavior, companies are endorsing the behavior. Its important to note that the people that tell us we have to put up with all manner of insults and abuse are never the ones that have to put up with it themselves. They are so worried about image they dont think about the big picture. They only see numbers on paper and this is why we need some sort of representation to make the crap stop. But they (mostly republicans, are passing laws to stop that).

/end of rant.

[TheHuckster]

I had a friend harping on Obama for being a socialist and how socialism is horrible. I responded with, "Didn't your parents both teach for a public school and don't you want to teach at a public school?" Went right over her head.

Sure, but having those services provided by the government doesn't make one pure socialist. Socialism is a spectrum. On one end you've got "zero socialism" which is, in effect, a form of anarchy or "pure capitalism", and on the other end you've got "pure socialism" which is for all intents and purposes a totalitarian government that controls every means of production in a planned economy.

So, while your friend is technically wrong in saying she dislikes Obama because he's a socialist (assuming she isn't an anarchist) she would be more accurate in saying she dislikes Obama because he's too socialist. Of course, that's provided she is accurately understanding of just what Obama's socialist-like policies are.

I disagree with the argument that one cannot hate socialism because of existing public services. That's like saying one cannot hate killing because of existing death penalty laws, laws excusing self-defense, or police taking lethal action against a deadly threat. Most arguments aren't about all or none.

[Seifer]

My mother is like that. When I tell her that Social Security is a socialistic program, she gets defensive and says things like, "Well, I've been paying into SS since I was 16! People who haven't paid a dime into SS don't deserve it!"

That's when I tell her that her SS is going to be paid by EVERYONE who is currently paying into SS. Her money hasn't been squirreled away with a sticky note saying, "THIS BELONGS TO _____." Plus, the amount she's paid into it is probably not going to be enough to last her more than a few years.

[crashhelmet]

My mother is like that. When I tell her that Social Security is a socialistic program, she gets defensive and says things like, "Well, I've been paying into SS since I was 16! People who haven't paid a dime into SS don't deserve it!"

That's when I tell her that her SS is going to be paid by EVERYONE who is currently paying into SS. Her money hasn't been squirreled away with a sticky note saying, "THIS BELONGS TO _____." Plus, the amount she's paid into it is probably not going to be enough to last her more than a few years.

I had pretty much the exact same argument with my dad and then again with a friend of mine, except with him instead of SS, it was unemployment. he was going on and on about how socialism is bad and I had to remind him about the Unemployment he lives off of upto 6 months out of the year when the work dies down and he gets laid off. He's likes to bitch about how evil unions are too, yet he's been a union carpenter for most of his adult life. The hypocrisy is astounding.

[anakhouri]

I have seen this on a very small scale with my toddler. When we go to the bank, post office, or doctor, they offer him lollipops. At the dentist it's toys, at the grocery or drug store they fork over stickers. The first time we walked into the post office and he DEMANDED a lollipop from the clerk, I nixed it. I sometimes allow him to have one if he has been good, but I refuse to let him think he is entitled to these treats.

With companies constantly handing out bonuses and free stuff to customers, combined with the 'You are special and perfect just the way you are' mentality that is encouraged in this country (I even hear this message in pop songs, God help us all), it's no wonder people think they deserve everything gratis, since they have been brought up to think this way.

[Nekojin]

When a company gives you something for free, it's just customer service. When a government gives you something for free, it's SOSHULIZM.

[wolfie]

That's when I tell her that her SS is going to be paid by EVERYONE who is currently paying into SS. Her money hasn't been squirreled away with a sticky note saying, "THIS BELONGS TO _____." Plus, the amount she's paid into it is probably not going to be enough to last her more than a few years.

According to one item I read in the news recently, the U.S. has reached a transition point with SS. Previous generations (already collecting) can expect to receive more than they paid into it, subsequent generations (not yet retired) can expect to receive less than they paid in.

[Amanita]

In regards to government subsidies, I read something interesting a while back, referring to government bailouts for banks, factories, and other businesses vs artists and other creative types.

Nobody would think to spit on an unemployed steel mill or auto plant worker, saying "Sucks to be you, maybe if you had a degree and a "real" job, you could afford to eat right now".
But if somebody makes a living through creative means, such as playing in an orchestra or doing anything else remotely "artsy", then it's gloves off. "Get a real job, you're just playing around". Never mind the years of work it takes to get good enough to be a professional musician, dancer, designer, or artist. If a government bails out a factory, it's a Good Thing. But any hint at helping the creative class is "OMG communism".
We've seen this before during the depression, when the "New Deal" funneled a lot of money into the arts, leaving us with an amazing assortment of public works. I've seen some of the results in NYC and San Francisco- the murals in the lobby of Coit Tower are truly amazing- Deigo Rivera, anyone? You can't tell me that the cities which received these creative works aren't better off as a result. Not to mention that the fabrication and installation of public art often requires the assistance of tradespeople and technicians.