One thing that doesn't happen enough is that we don't often enough communicate across the partisan divide. I still believe that no matter how different ones opinion and view of things may diverge from someone elses, there's still something valuable and worthwhile in the exchange, even if all you discover are the flaws in your own thinking.
So hence, after my glowing post yesterday about my First Obama Rally at USC I received a single random piece of heckling email.
Now, I've been on the net a long, long time - since the early 90's. And during that time I cut my teeth on debating those on the Right. On Immigration. On Affirmative Action. On Zipper-gate. I've been over it all, but not in recent years.
Not until today.
It started like this:
Funny-you don't have an "operational vehicle" (does that mean you don't own a car that works?) and you can't write a post without profanity.....You will be able to tell your friends, "I went to the rally and watched the worst President who is incapable of giving a speech read from a teleprompter". What a great experience.
Oh, you "toughed it out" not like Juan Williams? Really? Did Juan Williams tell you that when he sees Muslims in an airport he cancels his flight and goes home ? No, he didn't jackass.
America will be regurgitating hope and change shortly.
My initial answer was as follows:
I technically have a car, and it does work - but needs some repairs to make it "Street Legal". I haven't had the spare funds to repair or replace it since my industry (20 plus years in IT) was essentially outsourced to India. I went 12 years without a drivers license (I have one now), so Public Transpo is just fine for me. Living within tight economic limits is the reality for a lot of America these days, especially in the aftermath of the Bush Crash.
Juan Williams is a Modern Day Steppin Fetchit. A Shuck'n Jive Shill who promulgates cultural intolerance, rationalizing racial fear and bigotry to make it palatable for the Fox Freaks. He makes all their racial grievances seem justified since "Juan's just as scared of THEM as I am" - I've clocked his act multiple times, including yesterday.
Here: http://www.dailykos.com/...
His cowardly punkass wouldn't be caught live or dead in the neighborhood I grew up and work in everyday without calling Blackwater/Xe and Joe Miller's "Crack" Security Team for backup and an emergency extraction.
And yes, I can write a post without profanity just fine, although you clearly didn't realize that in his case I was actually paraphrasing the Vice President. Perception Challenged much?
P.S. Fuck-diddly Fucktastic Fuckity Fuckballs!
Vyan
Now, just as a background I'm an IT programmer and web developer by trade with actually 30 years experience, as of this year, starting first with Defense Contractor Northrop Grumman in the 80's. In the 90's I became a freelance Contractor with the State of California and have worked on projects with Cal Trans, the Department of Consumer Affairs in Sacramento where I handled requirements analysis for the web version of their License Lookup system. I did a stint in Oakland developing a Lotus Notes application for Kaiser Permanente that would allow each of the Department Chief's to evaluate and set compensation levels for all the physicians in their group for all of Northern California.
In 2000 a lot of IT work started to dry up, especially after the end of Y2K. My state work went dry right after Enron busted California's budget that same year. That led to a bankruptcy. An Eviction. Then another. I bounced back, learned some more up to date programming languages and joined a dot com - just in time for that industries crash and burn. That particular company survived the purge, but didn't survive losing one of their largest clients - The World Trade Center Marriot - when Tower 2 landed on it.
Things really have not been the same in my life since, not even close. I've had to adapt, severely downgrade my living expenses and conditions. Learn new skills. Dreamweaver. PHP. ASP. Photoshop. Illustrator. Flash. Javascript. CSS. I've had to get by on a whole lot less than I would like, as have so many Americans who've just joined me in that situation over that past 2 years.
In the meanwhile I wrote, sang, played all the instruments, recorded and produced my own solo CD and placed it on iTunes and Amazon through my own Independent Record Label. I also have a Licensing Deal for TV, Movies and Videogame Soundtracks through Firewire Records. My Band page has over 20,000 Friends on MySpace although I've been focusing more on Facebook lately. Sales so far, have at least covered the production expenses and in this day and age, that's a rarity.
Here's my first video:
I'm currently working on a second CD of my favorite covers, and then a release of my old Sacramento/Yuba City Band - GliTCHeD. After that a new original CD probably in 2012.
My wife, whose suffering from multiple back fractures and has an osteophyte (bone growth) pressing into her spinal cord, makes and sells custom jewelry through Etsy. She's focusing on "Steam Punk"" Designs these days.
And I have my own independent Web Development Company. Right now I'm working on 4 different websites. Nothing glamorous. Not too flashy. With all this I can buy groceries and pay the bills. Just barely.
And now, because I dared to openly and proudly support President Obama's efforts to make my life, and all our lives a little better - I've got to justify my life to this guy? Brilliant.
But then again, it could prove fun in the process. Fundie bashing has it's perks. His latest with my responses.
"Hey, maybe if Obama hadn't increased the costs of used cars by
destroying them in cash for cllunkers you would have a car? Maybe Obama
should pass a program that gives you a new car? "
Actually, that program worked well - but my clunker is a Honda and already fuel efficient so it wasn't for me.
"Oh, your job was "outsourced" to India? Really? Is that why you don't
have a job or a) you suck and never should have had a job b) the
economy sucks because of the idiot you are fawning over? Let me
guess-Obama's economic policies have nothing to do with employment ?"
I work in IT, don't you read well? I have a job, two of them actually - one as an independent contractor. The Economic Crash was before his Presidency, it was on Bush's watch. What he's done so far, by all reasonable accounts, has saved Millions of jobs. He's nearly generated more jobs this year, than Bush did during his entire Presidency.
During the Bush presidency, net total employment went up by 1.08 million jobs. With Population Growth, that's an overall Loss. Since December Private Sector Job Growth is up 863,000 jobs, adding an average of 91,000 per month.
See?
"I went 12 years without a license"-sounds very strange unless you live in NY...
I was in Sacramento which has fine public transpo and light rail. Didn't need one. (There's more to that story, but let's move on for now...)
Right-let's use racist terms to describe someone who has a long history of being on the left of the aisle and is an advocate of tolerance and rights for expressing common sense.
Juan Williams is not "On the Left". I'm actually in the Center compared to most on Dailykos, he's a LONG way to the right of me. Why don't you ask somebody whose really on the left, what the left actually thinks ok? As far as "Not using racial terms" - isn't that what got him fired in the first place? He started it, he can take it.
Let me guess-if you see 3 Middle Eastern men outside a cockpit it doesn't worry you at all because you have no common sense?
No, it doesn't - because anyone that would be that easy to identify as Muslim wouldn't be a terrorist. Actual terrorists don't want to be noticed, they don't want anyone taking a second or third look at them - that's why they'll put their bombs IN THEIR PANTS not on their foreheads. A bunch of Muslims, who have the "Nerve" to look Muslim in public are just Muslims, period. They're not dangerous, they're just people. His entire premise is false, and bigoted.
I've read the 9-11 Report Cover to Cover - twice - as well as various book on al Qeada (including the one by the former head of the CIA's Bin Laden Desk) and RIchard Clarke's book which goes back 15 years before 9-11. Williams is trying to RACIALLY PROFILE them, and he's doing it wrong. The actual 20th 9-11 hijacker was rejected entry by a customs agent, but it wasn't because he "Looked Real Muslim", it was because he looked like a professional Contract Killer, cold and detached. They sent him back, Mohammad Atta was waiting for him downstairs.
"Step in fetchit"-how "progressive" of you. He isn't a Muslim dumbass. He's black. Jesse Jackson said years ago, "when I see black young men walking towards me at night....blah, blah, blah".. Is he a "step in fetchit" negro too?
Yeah, and I'm Black too. I know what Jackson was saying, and you're getting it wrong. He said that when the people following him turn out to be "white" he's relieved. Look it up. Everybody's been told to be afraid of young black men, even other young black men. Statistically speaking the vast majority of them will never commit a crime, and never go to jail (70-80%) - yet everyone is supposed to walk around in fear? Jackson's point actually was similar to WIlliams, but whereas there is literally NO reason to be afraid of Muslims who openly identify themselves as Muslim - since the fact they are not trying to hide themselves shows they mean no harm - the question of who you should fear when the News tells you everyday that "these guys" are the ones committing most violent crime, is not exactly as cut and dried. If it's fair to automatically fear young black men (even when most of them are innocent), then aren't their feelings of resentment against those that they assume fear them equally justified? You can't treat someone racially (avoiding them at night), and then complain that they suspect you're a racist because of how you treated them. Act like a racist, and you are a racist.
I, and my old pals in the band Living Colour, call it the Funny Vibe:
I just read today that Brit Hume said that Williams was being attacked for being a "Bill Cosby Styled Liberal". Yeah,ok - who car-jacked and killed his only son Ennis Cosby in cold blood?
One hint: It wasn't a Black Guy.
Racial Profiling doesn't work. It's like trying to be an armchair statistician with only half the numbers. It causes innocent people to be harassed, and lets guilty people be ignored. Juan Williams used to know that, but I suppose big enough checks from Rupert Murdock can buy a lot of amnesia.
You sir are the kind of person that I describe as "never should have had a job"....You are a loser. Why don't you start your own business and stop whining about India and outsourcing?
I do have my own business, that's my second job - smarty pants.
Why don't you connect the dots and realize the destruction the community organizer in chief (what exactly does that qualify one to do in the real world?).
That's not even a coherent sentence.
THink of it this way-now you can travel around and follow Obama and catalog what a buffoon he is. Oh, wait-you can't travel cause you don't have a car. Never mind...LOL
Oh, you're so funny. Ha HAA... How ever could I have doubted your wisdom.
Sure I'll straighten up right away. Oh, and one more thing, not that it's important but - in the speech I saw Obama give - he wasn't using a teleprompter at all. I got close to the stage and took pictures, he didn't have one. What was that you were saying he couldn't do again?
Peace.
Vyan
Now usually after this point these conversations break down into accusation and counter accusation. "YOU'RE A BLANK." "No, YOU'RE a MOTHER_BLANK". Since I'm already a "Loser" I suppose that's already started. Then again, I could be surprised. Stay Tuned.
Vyan