I am not pushing for $15 at all.  I may have said it's not a big deal either way. I always found the argument that "minimum wage times 40 hours per week should be enough for someone to rent a room for themselves" to be specious.

If you're making minimum wage you can't afford to live on your own.

If you're an adult and all you can find is a job making minimum wage, you've made some very poor choices in your life. I love seeing people complain about not being able to find a good paying job, while they are smoking cigarettes, telling you that they barely made it through high school and they are covered in tattoos. I know people like this.

---

If you're making minimum wage you can't afford to live on your own.

If you're an adult and all you can find is a job making minimum wage, you've made some very poor choices in your life. I love seeing people complain about not being able to find a good paying job, while they are smoking cigarettes, telling you that they barely made it through high school and they are covered in tattoos. I know people like this.

Same. My youngest brother fits that description to a tee. Granted, he's only 19. But hopefully he figures it out soon. Sometimes your dream of being the next great rapper just doesn't come to fruition. But in the meantime. You need a job to sustain yourself. Frying chicken wings won't cut it. Unless you own said chicken wing joint.

---

"What do I know of cultured ways, the gilt, the craft and the lie? I, who was born in a naked land and bred in the open sky. The subtle tongue, the sophist guile, they fail when the broadswords sing; Rush in and die, dogs - I was a man before I was a king."

I remember when the minimum was was REALLY minimum. But you could stretch a $40 paycheck pretty far if you had 3 roommates and a keg dispenser.

---

If you're making minimum wage you can't afford to live on your own.

If you're an adult and all you can find is a job making minimum wage, you've made some very poor choices in your life. I love seeing people complain about not being able to find a good paying job, while they are smoking cigarettes, telling you that they barely made it through high school and they are covered in tattoos. I know people like this.

This is not entirely accurate. Not everyone is raised in a home where they are encouraged to get a good education and become self sufficient. Not everyone is smart enough to get into college. Not everyone has access to trade schools if that is a better fit than college. Not everyone can go into the military if that is their last hope. 

Seriously, you must either be too young to know any better, have never been exposed to a wide range of people and their circumstances, or you're just a snob. 

Life is not as simple as making good choices when oftentimes choices aren't available for whatever reason.

---

If you're an adult and all you can find is a job making minimum wage, you've made some very poor choices in your life. I love seeing people complain about not being able to find a good paying job, while they are smoking cigarettes, telling you that they barely made it through high school and they are covered in tattoos. I know people like this.

This is not entirely accurate. Not everyone is raised in a home where they are encouraged to get a good education and become self sufficient. Not everyone is smart enough to get into college. Not everyone has access to trade schools if that is a better fit than college. Not everyone can go into the military if that is their last hope. 

Seriously, you must either be too young to know any better, have never been exposed to a wide range of people and their circumstances, or you're just a snob. 

Life is not as simple as making good choices when oftentimes choices aren't available for whatever reason.

Sounds like a long list of excuses you listed above. My parents didn't have anything growing up. My dad was dirt poor. Lost his father when he was 20 and got my mother pregnant with me when she was 19. He filed bankrupt to afford his father's funeral costs because his sisters were too young to cover it and his mother was pretty much S.O.L. I don't think you have to be all that "smart" to get into college. At least not some community one. You can do this [BLEEP] online now for the most part. The hardest thing about college is balancing out time for classes while not [BLEEP] up your day job and daily responsibilities. 

My mom's parents split when they were 13 and she hates her mother till this day for a long list of personal reasons I won't delve into. My point is that neither one of them used anything as an excuse. They just got their [BLEEP] out there and worked hard from the ground up and didn't miss anytime. My mom dropped out and got a G.E.D. My dad graduated relatively high within his class out of Englewood but he didn't make the best of choices when he was young. He's a tinkerer. Can fix things. He figured a lot of things out on his own. 

You're too old to be giving out so many damn excuses. The people who I find the most lazy and excuse giving among my circle are people who were actually born with well off parents who handed them everything. Nobody actually wants to roll up their sleeves anymore and work hard and climb a ladder. Everybody wants a damn express pass to cut in line and get the nice yearly wage, the nice benefits, etc. That's not how it always works either. 

Sometimes you have to work your way through a mountain of colossal sized horse [BLEEP] to get a whiff of fresh air. To make a good living. Then maybe you can go to school and get a better education. Then maybe you change the rules for yourself. Unless you're genetically born with a handicap or low I.Q there's work to be had and work to be done out there. You just have to get your [BLEEP] off the couch, go out and see, not look, but see. Tired of excuses. While I was working two jobs at the age of sixteen before I came to my current employer my friends were out getting drunker than cooter brown, living at home with their folks, moving out into apartments with friends and then moving back in with their parents, etc. 

I did what I had to do. For years. And I get tired of hearing that "Well. . . I paid my dues". [BLEEP] out of here with that. You don't stop paying dues until the day you die. I get up everyday. Get out into traffic and eat [BLEEP] like everybody else does. Nobody wants to be a working class hero anymore. Everybody wants a camera in their face so you can subscribe to their YouTube channel or follow them on Instagram. Nobody has time for that [BLEEP]. At least the real movers and shakers. 

Stop pampering your damn children at home and maybe they'll wake up and amount to something by the time their 25 years old. Too much pampering and catering these days. Can't stand it. And don't even get me going on my wife's family. 1st generation Bosnian immigrants from a War torn land with a 5 year old and newborn in tote. Had to learn English here while cleaning houses for a few years while my mother in law went to nursing school to relearn everything she just did in her homeland. Now she's a Director and lives in a fancy [BLEEP] neighborhood making well over six figures a year.

/End Rant

---

"What do I know of cultured ways, the gilt, the craft and the lie? I, who was born in a naked land and bred in the open sky. The subtle tongue, the sophist guile, they fail when the broadswords sing; Rush in and die, dogs - I was a man before I was a king."

If you're an adult and all you can find is a job making minimum wage, you've made some very poor choices in your life. I love seeing people complain about not being able to find a good paying job, while they are smoking cigarettes, telling you that they barely made it through high school and they are covered in tattoos. I know people like this.

This is not entirely accurate. Not everyone is raised in a home where they are encouraged to get a good education and become self sufficient. Not everyone is smart enough to get into college. Not everyone has access to trade schools if that is a better fit than college. Not everyone can go into the military if that is their last hope. 

Seriously, you must either be too young to know any better, have never been exposed to a wide range of people and their circumstances, or you're just a snob. 

Life is not as simple as making good choices when oftentimes choices aren't available for whatever reason.

I'm 49.

---

I'm 34 and totally agree with everything that's been said by Caldrac and O-Line.

Take some responsibility for your lives.

---

I worked hard to find my sugar momma.

---

This is not entirely accurate. Not everyone is raised in a home where they are encouraged to get a good education and become self sufficient. Not everyone is smart enough to get into college. Not everyone has access to trade schools if that is a better fit than college. Not everyone can go into the military if that is their last hope. 

Seriously, you must either be too young to know any better, have never been exposed to a wide range of people and their circumstances, or you're just a snob. 

Life is not as simple as making good choices when oftentimes choices aren't available for whatever reason.

Sounds like a long list of excuses you listed above. My parents didn't have anything growing up. My dad was dirt poor. Lost his father when he was 20 and got my mother pregnant with me when she was 19. He filed bankrupt to afford his father's funeral costs because his sisters were too young to cover it and his mother was pretty much S.O.L. I don't think you have to be all that "smart" to get into college. At least not some community one. You can do this [BLEEP] online now for the most part. The hardest thing about college is balancing out time for classes while not [BLEEP] up your day job and daily responsibilities. 

My mom's parents split when they were 13 and she hates her mother till this day for a long list of personal reasons I won't delve into. My point is that neither one of them used anything as an excuse. They just got their [BLEEP] out there and worked hard from the ground up and didn't miss anytime. My mom dropped out and got a G.E.D. My dad graduated relatively high within his class out of Englewood but he didn't make the best of choices when he was young. He's a tinkerer. Can fix things. He figured a lot of things out on his own. 

You're too old to be giving out so many damn excuses. The people who I find the most lazy and excuse giving among my circle are people who were actually born with well off parents who handed them everything. Nobody actually wants to roll up their sleeves anymore and work hard and climb a ladder. Everybody wants a damn express pass to cut in line and get the nice yearly wage, the nice benefits, etc. That's not how it always works either. 

Sometimes you have to work your way through a mountain of colossal sized horse [BLEEP] to get a whiff of fresh air. To make a good living. Then maybe you can go to school and get a better education. Then maybe you change the rules for yourself. Unless you're genetically born with a handicap or low I.Q there's work to be had and work to be done out there. You just have to get your [BLEEP] off the couch, go out and see, not look, but see. Tired of excuses. While I was working two jobs at the age of sixteen before I came to my current employer my friends were out getting drunker than cooter brown, living at home with their folks, moving out into apartments with friends and then moving back in with their parents, etc. 

I did what I had to do. For years. And I get tired of hearing that "Well. . . I paid my dues". [BLEEP] out of here with that. You don't stop paying dues until the day you die. I get up everyday. Get out into traffic and eat [BLEEP] like everybody else does. Nobody wants to be a working class hero anymore. Everybody wants a camera in their face so you can subscribe to their YouTube channel or follow them on Instagram. Nobody has time for that [BLEEP]. At least the real movers and shakers. 

Stop pampering your damn children at home and maybe they'll wake up and amount to something by the time their 25 years old. Too much pampering and catering these days. Can't stand it. And don't even get me going on my wife's family. 1st generation Bosnian immigrants from a War torn land with a 5 year old and newborn in tote. Had to learn English here while cleaning houses for a few years while my mother in law went to nursing school to relearn everything she just did in her homeland. Now she's a Director and lives in a fancy [BLEEP] neighborhood making well over six figures a year.

/End Rant

It was a general response to what I've seen in my 47 years. I tend to see things from more than just my personal POV and experience. Not making excuses for anyone, just relating the circumstances I've observed. 

So sorry you took it so personally.

---

Sounds like a long list of excuses you listed above. My parents didn't have anything growing up. My dad was dirt poor. Lost his father when he was 20 and got my mother pregnant with me when she was 19. He filed bankrupt to afford his father's funeral costs because his sisters were too young to cover it and his mother was pretty much S.O.L. I don't think you have to be all that "smart" to get into college. At least not some community one. You can do this [BLEEP] online now for the most part. The hardest thing about college is balancing out time for classes while not [BLEEP] up your day job and daily responsibilities. 

My mom's parents split when they were 13 and she hates her mother till this day for a long list of personal reasons I won't delve into. My point is that neither one of them used anything as an excuse. They just got their [BLEEP] out there and worked hard from the ground up and didn't miss anytime. My mom dropped out and got a G.E.D. My dad graduated relatively high within his class out of Englewood but he didn't make the best of choices when he was young. He's a tinkerer. Can fix things. He figured a lot of things out on his own. 

You're too old to be giving out so many damn excuses. The people who I find the most lazy and excuse giving among my circle are people who were actually born with well off parents who handed them everything. Nobody actually wants to roll up their sleeves anymore and work hard and climb a ladder. Everybody wants a damn express pass to cut in line and get the nice yearly wage, the nice benefits, etc. That's not how it always works either. 

Sometimes you have to work your way through a mountain of colossal sized horse [BLEEP] to get a whiff of fresh air. To make a good living. Then maybe you can go to school and get a better education. Then maybe you change the rules for yourself. Unless you're genetically born with a handicap or low I.Q there's work to be had and work to be done out there. You just have to get your [BLEEP] off the couch, go out and see, not look, but see. Tired of excuses. While I was working two jobs at the age of sixteen before I came to my current employer my friends were out getting drunker than cooter brown, living at home with their folks, moving out into apartments with friends and then moving back in with their parents, etc. 

I did what I had to do. For years. And I get tired of hearing that "Well. . . I paid my dues". [BLEEP] out of here with that. You don't stop paying dues until the day you die. I get up everyday. Get out into traffic and eat [BLEEP] like everybody else does. Nobody wants to be a working class hero anymore. Everybody wants a camera in their face so you can subscribe to their YouTube channel or follow them on Instagram. Nobody has time for that [BLEEP]. At least the real movers and shakers. 

Stop pampering your damn children at home and maybe they'll wake up and amount to something by the time their 25 years old. Too much pampering and catering these days. Can't stand it. And don't even get me going on my wife's family. 1st generation Bosnian immigrants from a War torn land with a 5 year old and newborn in tote. Had to learn English here while cleaning houses for a few years while my mother in law went to nursing school to relearn everything she just did in her homeland. Now she's a Director and lives in a fancy [BLEEP] neighborhood making well over six figures a year.

/End Rant

It was a general response to what I've seen in my 47 years. I tend to see things from more than just my personal POV and experience. Not making excuses for anyone, just relating the circumstances I've observed. 

So sorry you took it so personally.

Nothing personal. Most people speak from their own experiences. I was at work. Slow day. Had a lot of time to kill earlier.

Getting up at 400 to work from 500 to 500 on a Holiday can bring out the inner grump in me. I hate being "lumped" into groups too. I am 31. But I don't feel like a "millenial" if that makes sense.

I just grew up in a working class family that barely scraped by half the time and I watched a lot of people along the way squander premium starting points in life.

It's hard to feel bad for John's and Jane's on the nicer side of town when their mom or dad didn't get them a brand new Mercedes but they got a relatively brand new Lincoln.

Meanwhile I am over here with a 1994 Volvo I bought for a $100 and had to figure out where the [BLEEP] the oil leaks were coming from and all that other fun stuff that comes with being a lot lower on the totem pole.

I don't resent it. In fact. Looking back on it I am more greatful than I cared to admit then.

Regardless. Sorry for being a dick head earlier. Time to eat some banana pudding and call it a night.



Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

---

"What do I know of cultured ways, the gilt, the craft and the lie? I, who was born in a naked land and bred in the open sky. The subtle tongue, the sophist guile, they fail when the broadswords sing; Rush in and die, dogs - I was a man before I was a king."

It was a general response to what I've seen in my 47 years. I tend to see things from more than just my personal POV and experience. Not making excuses for anyone, just relating the circumstances I've observed. 

So sorry you took it so personally.

Nothing personal. Most people speak from their own experiences. I was at work. Slow day. Had a lot of time to kill earlier.

Getting up at 400 to work from 500 to 500 on a Holiday can bring out the inner grump in me. I hate being "lumped" into groups too. I am 31. But I don't feel like a "millenial" if that makes sense.

I just grew up in a working class family that barely scraped by half the time and I watched a lot of people along the way squander premium starting points in life.

It's hard to feel bad for John's and Jane's on the nicer side of town when their mom or dad didn't get them a brand new Mercedes but they got a relatively brand new Lincoln.

Meanwhile I am over here with a 1994 Volvo I bought for a $100 and had to figure out where the [BLEEP] the oil leaks were coming from and all that other fun stuff that comes with being a lot lower on the totem pole.

I don't resent it. In fact. Looking back on it I am more greatful than I cared to admit then.

Regardless. Sorry for being a dick head earlier. Time to eat some banana pudding and call it a night.



Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

This is true but the older I've become and the more exposure I have to a variety of socioeconomic groups the more I see that people and their circumstances dictate a lot in their lives. It doesn't mean I agree or disagree, it just is. 

My dad was a mechanic (Nimnicht Chevrolet on Cassat Ave for the win!), my mom was a nurse but became a stay-at-home mom when she and my stepdad got married and went from two kids to five. Stepdad was a UPS driver. Seven people in the house on one income we never owned a new house, new car, new washing machine and used a clothesline to dry clothes. We wore second hand clothing. We were disciplined when necessary, taught to be respectful of people, especially our elders, and had to do chores around the house with no financial incentives. 

I've only been given one thing in my life and that is my now 17 year old Silverado by my dad 10 years ago after my grandfather passed away and dad received money from his estate. Dad paid off the truck as a gift from my grandfather. I will drive that truck until the wheels fall off. 

So yeah, I don't come from anything much either but I have a good life and an thankful for every single thing I have. 

Apology accepted for being a dick head. We all have those moments.

---

Nothing personal. Most people speak from their own experiences. I was at work. Slow day. Had a lot of time to kill earlier.

Getting up at 400 to work from 500 to 500 on a Holiday can bring out the inner grump in me. I hate being "lumped" into groups too. I am 31. But I don't feel like a "millenial" if that makes sense.

I just grew up in a working class family that barely scraped by half the time and I watched a lot of people along the way squander premium starting points in life.

It's hard to feel bad for John's and Jane's on the nicer side of town when their mom or dad didn't get them a brand new Mercedes but they got a relatively brand new Lincoln.

Meanwhile I am over here with a 1994 Volvo I bought for a $100 and had to figure out where the [BLEEP] the oil leaks were coming from and all that other fun stuff that comes with being a lot lower on the totem pole.

I don't resent it. In fact. Looking back on it I am more greatful than I cared to admit then.

Regardless. Sorry for being a dick head earlier. Time to eat some banana pudding and call it a night.



Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

This is true but the older I've become and the more exposure I have to a variety of socioeconomic groups the more I see that people and their circumstances dictate a lot in their lives. It doesn't mean I agree or disagree, it just is. 

My dad was a mechanic (Nimnicht Chevrolet on Cassat Ave for the win!), my mom was a nurse but became a stay-at-home mom when she and my stepdad got married and went from two kids to five. Stepdad was a UPS driver. Seven people in the house on one income we never owned a new house, new car, new washing machine and used a clothesline to dry clothes. We wore second hand clothing. We were disciplined when necessary, taught to be respectful of people, especially our elders, and had to do chores around the house with no financial incentives. 

I've only been given one thing in my life and that is my now 17 year old Silverado by my dad 10 years ago after my grandfather passed away and dad received money from his estate. Dad paid off the truck as a gift from my grandfather. I will drive that truck until the wheels fall off. 

So yeah, I don't come from anything much either but I have a good life and an thankful for every single thing I have. 

Apology accepted for being a dick head. We all have those moments.

I grew up in a working, lower middle class family as well. My mom worked at a hardware store and my dad worked shift work at a paper mill. Pretty much all my friends were either farmers or came from blue collar families like myself. My dad worked every holiday he could for the bonus pay and would also work as many double shifts as the company would allow. It really took a toll on his health, now that he is old. He's had a new heart valve, two new knees, glaucoma, a detached retina, he almost lost a hand in the machinery, a seious staff infection, he's had a heart attack, a stroke, sleep apnea and dangerously high blood pressure. I'm sure I'm missing some more, but that's just what I can remember off the top of my head. I was raised to get an education and make something of myself, so I won't have to nearly kill myself in a factory like my dad did. I'm certainly not wealthy at all. In fact I drive a 1998 Lincoln Navigator and I'll drive it until it dies, because I cannot afford another vehicle. I just call things like I see them.

---

This is true but the older I've become and the more exposure I have to a variety of socioeconomic groups the more I see that people and their circumstances dictate a lot in their lives. It doesn't mean I agree or disagree, it just is. 

My dad was a mechanic (Nimnicht Chevrolet on Cassat Ave for the win!), my mom was a nurse but became a stay-at-home mom when she and my stepdad got married and went from two kids to five. Stepdad was a UPS driver. Seven people in the house on one income we never owned a new house, new car, new washing machine and used a clothesline to dry clothes. We wore second hand clothing. We were disciplined when necessary, taught to be respectful of people, especially our elders, and had to do chores around the house with no financial incentives. 

I've only been given one thing in my life and that is my now 17 year old Silverado by my dad 10 years ago after my grandfather passed away and dad received money from his estate. Dad paid off the truck as a gift from my grandfather. I will drive that truck until the wheels fall off. 

So yeah, I don't come from anything much either but I have a good life and an thankful for every single thing I have. 

Apology accepted for being a dick head. We all have those moments.

I grew up in a working, lower middle class family as well. My mom worked at a hardware store and my dad worked shift work at a paper mill. Pretty much all my friends were either farmers or came from blue collar families like myself. My dad worked every holiday he could for the bonus pay and would also work as many double shifts as the company would allow. It really took a toll on his health, now that he is old. He's had a new heart valve, two new knees, glaucoma, a detached retina, he almost lost a hand in the machinery, a seious staff infection, he's had a heart attack, a stroke, sleep apnea and dangerously high blood pressure. I'm sure I'm missing some more, but that's just what I can remember off the top of my head. I was raised to get an education and make something of myself, so I won't have to nearly kill myself in a factory like my dad did. I'm certainly not wealthy at all. In fact I drive a 1998 Lincoln Navigator and I'll drive it until it dies, because I cannot afford another vehicle. I just call things like I see them.

I used to, and still do when I know I am right, but I've learned how we see things isn't always the whole story. 

My husband's world has always been very small because he was born and raised in the same county he's lived in his whole life, he's lived in two houses his whole life, his work and family/social circle is very tight. He's never travelled outside of less than a handful of states and never flew in a plane until he was 40 (he's 48 now). He always called things like he saw them too, but his view was very narrow because of his very structured life. That changed when I moved here and we married. We could not be more opposite in how we were raised and our life experiences.

Most of our views are a direct result of our world, our life, our upbringing, our personality, etc. Our capacity to see things a different way only comes from experiencing different ways of life, observing and listening to others who are not like us, and so on. I am not just a product of my upbringing but of a lifetime of the different people I've known, places I've been, and things I've been exposed to, and not all of it by choice. So when I reply to a subject this thread was started in I'm not just seeing it from my POV, I see it from many. It's how I see almost everything. I don't always agree with points of view that are not mine but I recognize that my life experience that leads to my POV is not everyone else's.

---

Sounds like a long list of excuses you listed above. My parents didn't have anything growing up. My dad was dirt poor. Lost his father when he was 20 and got my mother pregnant with me when she was 19. He filed bankrupt to afford his father's funeral costs because his sisters were too young to cover it and his mother was pretty much S.O.L. I don't think you have to be all that "smart" to get into college. At least not some community one. You can do this [BLEEP] online now for the most part. The hardest thing about college is balancing out time for classes while not [BLEEP] up your day job and daily responsibilities. 

My mom's parents split when they were 13 and she hates her mother till this day for a long list of personal reasons I won't delve into. My point is that neither one of them used anything as an excuse. They just got their [BLEEP] out there and worked hard from the ground up and didn't miss anytime. My mom dropped out and got a G.E.D. My dad graduated relatively high within his class out of Englewood but he didn't make the best of choices when he was young. He's a tinkerer. Can fix things. He figured a lot of things out on his own. 

You're too old to be giving out so many damn excuses. The people who I find the most lazy and excuse giving among my circle are people who were actually born with well off parents who handed them everything. Nobody actually wants to roll up their sleeves anymore and work hard and climb a ladder. Everybody wants a damn express pass to cut in line and get the nice yearly wage, the nice benefits, etc. That's not how it always works either. 

Sometimes you have to work your way through a mountain of colossal sized horse [BLEEP] to get a whiff of fresh air. To make a good living. Then maybe you can go to school and get a better education. Then maybe you change the rules for yourself. Unless you're genetically born with a handicap or low I.Q there's work to be had and work to be done out there. You just have to get your [BLEEP] off the couch, go out and see, not look, but see. Tired of excuses. While I was working two jobs at the age of sixteen before I came to my current employer my friends were out getting drunker than cooter brown, living at home with their folks, moving out into apartments with friends and then moving back in with their parents, etc. 

I did what I had to do. For years. And I get tired of hearing that "Well. . . I paid my dues". [BLEEP] out of here with that. You don't stop paying dues until the day you die. I get up everyday. Get out into traffic and eat [BLEEP] like everybody else does. Nobody wants to be a working class hero anymore. Everybody wants a camera in their face so you can subscribe to their YouTube channel or follow them on Instagram. Nobody has time for that [BLEEP]. At least the real movers and shakers. 

Stop pampering your damn children at home and maybe they'll wake up and amount to something by the time their 25 years old. Too much pampering and catering these days. Can't stand it. And don't even get me going on my wife's family. 1st generation Bosnian immigrants from a War torn land with a 5 year old and newborn in tote. Had to learn English here while cleaning houses for a few years while my mother in law went to nursing school to relearn everything she just did in her homeland. Now she's a Director and lives in a fancy [BLEEP] neighborhood making well over six figures a year.

/End Rant

It was a general response to what I've seen in my 47 years. I tend to see things from more than just my personal POV and experience. Not making excuses for anyone, just relating the circumstances I've observed. 

So sorry you took it so personally.

I think early in life the excuse you listed matter. But at some point early in adulthood things stop being your parents fault and become your responsibility. Not everybody gets a good path, but at least in the US there is a path for those who are willing to grind. I took a much longer path to my career than many others because of my background, and it stunk, but once I got over self-pity I made a plan to deal with my deficits and move forward. It was trogging thru crap, but eventually I started to make it.

Its like I tell my wife, when your born poor you only get two options: stay poor forever or work real hard and maybe get some moneyy when your older. Capitalism is the only reason we have the second option at all, and too many are just too dense to get that.

---

Yes, it's improvement, but it's Blaine Gabbert 2012 level improvement. - Pirkster

http://youtu.be/ouGM3NWpjxk The Home Hypnotist!

http://youtu.be/XQRFkn0Ly3A Media on the Brain Link!
 

Peyton must store oxygen in that forehead of his. No way I'd still be alive after all that choking.

 

It was a general response to what I've seen in my 47 years. I tend to see things from more than just my personal POV and experience. Not making excuses for anyone, just relating the circumstances I've observed. 

So sorry you took it so personally.

I think early in life the excuse you listed matter. But at some point early in adulthood things stop being your parents fault and become your responsibility. Not everybody gets a good path, but at least in the US there is a path for those who are willing to grind. I took a much longer path to my career than many others because of my background, and it stunk, but once I got over self-pity I made a plan to deal with my deficits and move forward. It was trogging thru crap, but eventually I started to make it.

Its like I tell my wife, when your born poor you only get two options: stay poor forever or work real hard and maybe get some moneyy when your older. Capitalism is the only reason we have the second option at all, and too many are just too dense to get that.

The real problem is that very few Americans have any understanding of what it really is to be "poor." We also have very few Americans who've ever had to face any real societal challenge. We've had no great war to fight, we've had no real challenge to overcome and, except for very few, no crippling poverty to defeat. That is, IMO, why we have such significant depression and mental illness in our society. We have it better than any people ever in the history of history...and we have a biological impulse to view everything in the most negative light. That's why people lose their [BLEEP] at the barista for putting the wrong milk in their coffee, never considering how privileged they are to have a choice. Or milk. Or coffee. Because they don't know real adversity in any form and have to manufacture victimhood for their self-esteem. Otherwise they have to accept that they are spoiled pansies living the fat life that billions of people before them (and billions in the present) could barely even dream of living. And we can't have the kind of intellectual honesty, the mind will not permit it.

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“An empty vessel makes the loudest sound, so they that have the least wit are the greatest babblers.”. - Plato