The Vent and Rant Thread

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by kindlekitten

DAMN!!!! that's what happened in this last job too! I actually cared and worked my ass off! when will I learn!?

I'm just learning that lesson myself kindlekitty after some 56 years!

[kindlekitten]

*sigh*

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by Steve Jordan

It's not 1984.

"1984" implies all-powerful, all-controlling governments that watch our every move and want to dominate, frighten and cow us strictly to maintain their own power.

Everyone should know by now that the government is also too full of "me, me, ME" to worry one whit about what the public is doing... nor are they bothered to watch us, nor are they even remotely well-enough organized to orchestrate elaborate psychological agendas designed to make us feel frightened and oppressed.

That's actually always been the case. There are two factors at work.

First, bureaucracies exist for the care and feeding of the bureaucrats who work in them. The public they nominally serve comes second.

Second, you have the issue of how you define success. In a private, for profit business, you win by having more revenue and higher profits this year than last year. In a bureaucracy, you win by having plausible reasons to request a bigger budget and more staff next allocation period. There are occasional attempts to "make government more efficient" by bringing ion successful private business executives to run departments, but those private business guys got the nod because they were winners. They very quickly figure out the rules of the new game and start winning there, too. Unfortunately, "winning" consists of doing all the things they were brought in to change...

There is no "Big Brother" watching you. Nobody's watching you... if you think they are, you're just overly paranoid. (I know, because I was for many years, until I wised up and got over it.) "1984" is a Bogeyman.

The people to be concerned about are the ones standing right next to you.

Yep. I'm in occasional contact with the "tin foil hat" crowd elsewhere, who are firmly convinced that Microsoft is in league with the NSA, and has left back doors in Windows so the government can snoop on their computers.

All I can saw is "You wish you were important enough that anyone could be bothered to do that to you. While there are intelligence agency types who do that, there aren't that many of them, and the ones that do exist all have for more important things to do with their time."

Classical paranoia is a defense mechanism. What the paranoid is really afraid of, on a level they can't even admit to themselves, is that they don't matter and no one cares about them. If you can buy into a paranoid fantasy, hey! You're important! You matter! Someone cares enough about you to take the trouble to try to get you.

Personally, I'm not important. Save to family and a few close friends, I don't matter. No one in power cares what I think or do. And you know what? I like that status. Anonymity provides far greater freedom of movement.
______
Dennis

[pdurrant]

and again

I can't see how their thinking on that could possibly be right. "Hey kids, it's OK if you flunked an exam, give the school some money and they'll up your grade."

Originally Posted by desertgrandma

Past frustrating. Heres my vent. WTF???? I fear for our future.

http://www.azcentral.com/offbeat/art...Sale11-ON.html

[kennyc]

You can buy a college degree too!

[Greg Anos]

Originally Posted by DMcCunney

That's actually always been the case. There are two factors at work.

First, bureaucracies exist for the care and feeding of the bureaucrats who work in them. The public they nominally serve comes second.

Second, you have the issue of how you define success. In a private, for profit business, you win by having more revenue and higher profits this year than last year. In a bureaucracy, you win by having plausible reasons to request a bigger budget and more staff next allocation period. There are occasional attempts to "make government more efficient" by bringing ion successful private business executives to run departments, but those private business guys got the nod because they were winners. They very quickly figure out the rules of the new game and start winning there, too. Unfortunately, "winning" consists of doing all the things they were brought in to change...


Yep. I'm in occasional contract wit the "tin foil hat" crowd elsewhere, who are firmly convinced that Microsoft is in league with the NSA, and has left back doors in Windows so the government can snoop on their computers.

All I can saw is "You wish you were important enough that anyone could be bothered to do that to you. While there are intelligence agency types who do that, there aren't that many of them, and the ones that do exist all have for more important things to do with their time."

Classical paranoia is a defense mechanism. What the paranoid is really afraid of, on a level they can't even admit to themselves, is that they don't matter and no one cares about them. If you can buy into a paranoid fantasy, hey! You're important! You matter! Someone cares enough about you to take the trouble to try to get you.

Personally, I'm not important. Save to family and a few close friends, I don't matter. No one in power cares what I think or do. And you know what? I like that status. Anonymity provides far greater freedom of movement.
______
Dennis

Hear! Hear! The Conway Costogian way of life.... the only downside is you have to settle for common, inexpensive toys...

[desertgrandma]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

and again

I can't see how their thinking on that could possibly be right. "Hey kids, it's OK if you flunked an exam, give the school some money and they'll up your grade."

Well, at least it didn't make it thru......but the fact that the school principal approved of the idea and felt "it wouldn't make a huge difference in grades" is just mind boggling.

http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2009/...-examples.html

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by desertgrandma

Well, at least it didn't make it thru......but the fact that the school principal approved of the idea and felt "it wouldn't make a huge difference in grades" is just mind boggling.

http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2009/...-examples.html

Just one more thing that makes me crazy. Where in the world have ethics, accountability, and caring gone to these days?

[Laz116]

Originally Posted by kennyc

Just one more thing that makes me crazy. Where in the world have ethics, accountability, and caring gone to these days?

Being strapped for cash apparantly took it away.

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by kennyc

You can buy a college degree too!

You can, but see if it gets you anything. The ads for such things talk about degrees from "prestigious unaccredited universities". Uh-huh. And you claim it on your resume and HR takes one look and puts your application in the circular file...
______
Dennis

[desertgrandma]

Originally Posted by Laz116

Being strapped for cash apparantly took it away.

Disagree. Thats just an excuse for lack of ethics, accountability and caring.

[Laz116]

Originally Posted by desertgrandma

Disagree. Thats just an excuse for lack of ethics, accountability and caring.

Sure. And very easy to say when you're not strapped for cash.

Listen: I think it's an outlandish story. It really blows my mind that someone would do such a thing and not think that it was wrong. Especially when it is happening in the USA.

What I'm trying to say is just that ethics and morality are easy notions for the well endowed. Not so easy for the one who has nothing.

You can't just say that ethics, morality, caring are universal principles. Perspectives are probably quite different from, for example, the gutter.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by DMcCunney

You can, but see if it gets you anything. The ads for such things talk about degrees from "prestigious unaccredited universities". Uh-huh. And you claim it on your resume and HR takes one look and puts your application in the circular file...
______
Dennis

Yep, pretty much my point.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by Laz116

Sure. And very easy to say when you're not strapped for cash.

Listen: I think it's an outlandish story. It really blows my mind that someone would do such a thing and not think that it was wrong. Especially when it is happening in the USA.

What I'm trying to say is just that ethics and morality are easy notions for the well endowed. Not so easy for the one who has nothing.

You can't just say that ethics, morality, caring are universal principles. Perspectives are probably quite different from, for example, the gutter.

I disagree. I think it has much more to do with pride and knowing right from wrong (morals) and acting on those beliefs. And as DGM said lack of cash or position is nothing more than an excuse for not following them. And I do believe they are universal, built into our species survival mechanism.

[Laz116]

Originally Posted by kennyc

I disagree. I think it has much more to do with pride and knowing right from wrong (morals) and acting on those beliefs. And as DGM said lack of cash or position is nothing more than an excuse for not following them. And I do believe they are universal, built into our species survival mechanism.

Say that to the pocket thief in Bombay.

Edit: I might agree with them as universal principles, if the rich western world (my self included) seemed just a tad bit more interested in not exploiting but helping less fortunate people around the globe.

Where is the ethics in me opening a 40$ bottle of wine when it could sustain a person in Africa for half a year. The notion that we are ethical because we keep our own little garden neat and fine is laughable imo. We are all sinners. We all live on the corpses of others.

Therefore I find it troublesome when we, the rich, start to cast guilt and blame upon others. We should look inwards first... if we find that we are holy, we may cast the first stone.

Edit 2: sorry I seem to turn every topic into something serious. It's really not my intention. Gotta practice on my jokes.