erikjohn Posted December 31, 2002 Share Posted December 31, 2002 Prodj, You can't argue with teens. I knew it all once too. The older you get, the less you know, otherwise your destined to be a Jack A$$ your whole life. OK Prodj, argue away, it's part of your right of passage into adulthood, but do one thing even though you don't listen at least hear what the others are saying. Someday you will look back on this and laugh about it. We have all been there. You will say to yourself, they were right. I'm sure you have the same arguements with your dad as he is probably a very wise man to be where he is. But you probably know more than him most of the time, except when you need his help. Silence is golden and wisdom is gained not taught. Prodj, I like you and I think everyone else does too. Now you can tell us until your blue in the face that you are not spoiled, but you will never convince us of it, that does not make you any less of a person to me. You did not choose your upbringing, but I bet you would not trade with any of your peers. I can remember being your age and wishing I could have the stuff some of my friends had. I got my first stero when I was 12. I paid for it with money from my paper route and I went to the local golf course every weekend and collected pop cans and sold golf balls. At 14 you have more than most of us have now and we work full time jobs, raise families, and yes we went to school, graduated from college, did everything we thought we were suppose to do to be successful in life. Unfortuantely it doesn't always work out that way for all of us, and I think were ok with that. Money does not equal happiness and being wrong or listening to others advice does not make you ignorant. Now you can either tell me I don't have a clue or you can say nothing, but at the end of the day you are still able to go home to your big house and nice stereo and watch your big screen in your bedroom. You are a very lucky young person with a very bright future ahead of you. When I was 14 I washed dishes at a japanese steakhouse for cash, had a paper route, and detasseled corn in the summers for cash, I never had an allowance and there was no such thing as time out when I misbehaved. I started working fulltime during summer vacations when I turned 16. I worked in a can factory and at a car dealership washing cars until I graduated from high school. How do you get your money? So you've heard it all before right? Well whats your story? You don't have one, you're 14. So listen to us, don't argue, and when you have a story then you can enlighten us, until then let us share our wisdom and you can share your knowledge about all of the stuff you know about. You know alot of facts, but the fact is you still have alot to learn about life. It's nothing to be ashamed of it's expected at your age. You're a good kid, so don't be a jack a$$. EJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mighty Favog Posted December 31, 2002 Author Share Posted December 31, 2002 ---------------- On 12/26/2002 6:16:14 PM TBrennan wrote: How charming to make fun of the poor and powerless at Christmas. ---------------- Tom, unfortuneatley IMHO "Poor" and "Powerless" turn out to be very closely related. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prodj101 Posted January 1, 2003 Share Posted January 1, 2003 "Now you can tell us until your blue in the face that you are not spoiled, but you will never convince us of it, that does not make you any less of a person to me" I'm sorry, but I take great offense to this. I stopped getting allowence when I was 10, and I've worked hard to get the system I have now. I wash clothes for my dads company when I can, (his workers are required to pay them, so I get to make a little money off that) and in the summer, he paid me and my brother to work at the land where our cabin would be at 8 dollars an hour. This was cutting down trees (of the 90 foot poplar sort), and splitting them into burnable size peices. This is not easy work, if you've ever done it. Than, I got a job washing the semi trucks that he uses, which is not easy work either. We do not have a big screen TV, I don't even have a TV in my room of any size, we do not have a big house (share room with brother when he's here, but he's in france alot of the time now), and we don't live in a fancy neiborhood. So, with that in mind, I will not be called a spoiled kid, because I'm not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mighty Favog Posted January 1, 2003 Author Share Posted January 1, 2003 And with all those side jobs do you still have to support a family? Make house payments? Car payments? Gas & electric? Car and house repairs? Insurance on everything? Groceries for you and all the crum-catchers? THEN think about what you want for your audio system. In this world part of being a man is not having to go around telling peolpe your a man. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prodj101 Posted January 1, 2003 Share Posted January 1, 2003 for some reason you people seem to love to put words into my mouth. never once did I say I was supporting a family, a house, or car, nor did I ever brag about being a man. I just said I'm not spoiled, and that I've worked to get the system I have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RangerSix Posted January 1, 2003 Share Posted January 1, 2003 ---------------- On 1/1/2003 1:48:21 PM prodj101 wrote: for some reason you people seem to love to put words into my mouth. ---------------- I don't see how, considering your foot is there most of the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zandern Posted January 1, 2003 Share Posted January 1, 2003 I want to put in my 2 cents. First of all I agree with everyone, including prodj. Some people are put in a bad place in life and it seems like the world is against them. Life's not fair, and those people need to work really hard to get on their feet again. But at the same time many poor people can only blame themselves. Some people have nothing. But I beleive if you are willing to work hard you can have something, not anything special but at least decent clothes to wear and place called home. I want to say this to people who have nothing. First of all McDonalds will hire damn near anyone. No one should have to be "homeless" find a $250 apartment, walk to work or bike. You don't need a lot of money to find a basic place to live. One can make enough to survive at McDonalds if your willing to have nothing more than a place to live and food. OR WORK FOR A FARMER. Many of them are constantly looking for help. You don't need experience or new clothes to work for them. So what if you shovel **** all day, its money and they don't care what the heck you look like. I know what the cost of living is, I am very gratefull for my parents help until I finish college. But I also pay all my bills exept a little bit of school which they help me out on. I find it funny when the poor not "homeless" complain of money. You drive by their trailer homes and what do you see. A STUPID DIRECT TV DISH ATTACHED TO THE TRAILER. Right that makes sense. Lets pay 30 dollars a month for some worthless tv instead of some decend clothes or for a couple cans of paint and brushes to make your place look a little more presentable. And everyone knows time = money. So take that time your watching TV, drinking booze, smoking cancer sticks, and scratching lottery tickets and get a second job. Although this is worthless to you guys(how many homeless own Klipsch and visit this forum) I wish the poor or homeless would listen to my advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TBrennan Posted January 1, 2003 Share Posted January 1, 2003 Zandern---So you'd deny the poor their meager pleasures; cable TV or a couple of smokes? They should paint??!! What for, to impress you? I mean you don't give a **** about them so why should they care about your values? So if people work 2 jobs at MacDonalds they can eat and have shelter. How swell that in 21st Century America people can work 2 jobs and live at a subsistence level. This doesn't bother you, that your fellow countrymen can work this hard and still be poor? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prodj101 Posted January 1, 2003 Share Posted January 1, 2003 grow up poor, see what you say than. like I said, my dad was poor, now he has something. he worked harder than almost anyone I can think of, and it paid off. work=higher life quality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TBrennan Posted January 2, 2003 Share Posted January 2, 2003 Prod----You miss the point. Of course people can start poor and do well, everybody knows that. I'm talking about those that work hard and don't do well. What about them? Are they to be held in contempt and ridiculed? Can they not be treated with decency? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prodj101 Posted January 2, 2003 Share Posted January 2, 2003 no, you miss the point. sure, burger king and micky d's might not be the best place to work, but you could get by, and while working jobs, go to college, and after college get a real job. EVERYONE who lives in the united states can make it. ask anyone who has imigrated here. before you start feeling sorry for all these people, look at all the imigrants who are coming in willing to work, and make it. thats why you see hispanic workers at mcdonalds. sure, it might not be the best job, and you'll be damned to find one of them that likes it, but they do it, and many of them end up with more than decent lives. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikjohn Posted January 2, 2003 Share Posted January 2, 2003 Prodj, I'm glad to hear your dad is trying to instill a work ethic in you. That will be your biggest asset as enter into the real world. As for the Land of Opporunity thing I will say success is not measured by the size of your pocketbook and when you have nothing to lose and everything to gain trying something different to earn money seems alot more appealing. Many Americans are content working for $10-$20/hr for some jerk because at least they know the bills will be paid each month and there will be food on the table. These guys work just as hard as the rich entrepeneur or buisness owner. It all comes down to what are you willing to risk to increase your current lifestyle. If your living in a box or came from some third world country you'd be willing to risk just about everything. Keeping in mind that it is not the norm to succeed on your first business venture. Many go bankrupt several times before they make it, that is not a risk alot of Americans are willing to take. That's why you need to do it when your young and do not have a family to worry about. Now consider this. We are told that if we work hard and go to college we can make our dreams come true. Well that depends on your dreams. I would be willing to bet that there are college graduates working at Mcdonalds ar Bk. Nowadays even a college degree doesn't ensure anything. Once you get done with college and you can't get a job in your feild you still have to pay off those student loans, so your strapped. Now your working at a just above minimum wage job to make those payments. You can not afford to start a business and make next to nothing or take a loss until things take off. It the viscious cycle of our economy. The rich get richer, the poor get poorer, the middle class are always stuck in a rut that they can not seem to get out of and the immigrants love the sh!t out of our country. Hell if they run up a huge amount of debt here they can just go back home, but why would they want to do that when they can continue to get small business loans and government funding from the Americans hard earned tax money. Don't get me wrong I'm not trying to be predjudice but that is really how it works. It is easier for an immigrant to start a business than it is for an American, that is a fact. EJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TBrennan Posted January 2, 2003 Share Posted January 2, 2003 Prod---You can spout propoganda all you want but the fact is that there are people in this country who bust their *** and remain poor. Fact. And why shouldn't MacDonalds be a "real" job? If everybody went to college then what? Are there good-paying jobs available for everybody? No. Then you'd have college educated people working low-paying jobs, that's all. An example is my son-in-law. Has a degree from U of Illinois and is having trouble finding a good job in Washington DC. He's doing temp work and also working as a waiter. No sweat though, my daughter's a lawyer and is doing OK. And her husband will do OK, he's very smart and went to a very good school. But what about college grads that aren't smart and went to mediocre schools? Are there going to be "college level" jobs for them? Where will these jobs come from? I should talk to immigrants? My mother and her whole family are immigrants. You have nothing to tell me about immigrants. You better start looking around and thinking kid. Unless you're gonna be content to be a mediocrity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikjohn Posted January 2, 2003 Share Posted January 2, 2003 Tbrenn, I hope I didn't offend with my comments about immigrants. My great-grandparents on both sides were immigrants. My dad grandparents immigrated from Norway and Mom's were German. Both families were farmers. EJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Posted January 2, 2003 Share Posted January 2, 2003 Prod cute video, thanks. I had to chop up firewood for the winter and it wasnt for our cabin and I didnt get paid, it was merely part of the chores around the house. You obviously have not been to college, or you would know that you can not afford to go to college on a minimum wage without qualifying for grants, loans or scholarships. Of course your parents are immigrants; we are all immigrants here. The only ones who are not are called Native Americans. It takes more than hard work to lift your family out of the lower classes. It also takes good examples, motivation, intelligence, good health, self-control, talent, education and some serendipitous events called luck. Not everybody has all of that. In fact, it takes generations for families to move from the lower socio-economic strata to the next. Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan called the vicious cycle of poverty the tangle of pathology. He spoke for the need for federal government intervention. I too can not stand idly by when I see someone less fortunate than I. Therefore, I do not want my government to stand idly by either. All this from a silly video. HAPPY NEW YEAR! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m00n Posted January 2, 2003 Share Posted January 2, 2003 ---------------- On 1/2/2003 8:11:26 AM erikjohn wrote: the immigrants love the sh!t out of our country. Hell if they run up a huge amount of debt here they can just go back home, but why would they want to do that when they can continue to get small business loans and government funding from the Americans hard earned tax money. ---------------- Oh geeze... Don't even get me started on that. I'd be sure to make some enemies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prodj101 Posted January 2, 2003 Share Posted January 2, 2003 "Of course your parents are immigrants; we are all immigrants here. The only ones who are not are called Native Americans. " Don't get picky. I'm not talking about imigrants fro 400 years ago, I mean now, present day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cluless Posted January 2, 2003 Share Posted January 2, 2003 Why does everything have to be an ISSUE?...Hell I sold my own plasma, for a whopping $15 dollars a week, to help pay for my college expenses...wanna talk about white trash. I thought of selling my corpse pre-mortem to LSU...they just put a tattoo on your toe and they claimed you later - all for a fee of $500...CADAVERS ARE YOU!. LOL Tom's post was funny...if we cant laugh...whats the point? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prodj101 Posted January 2, 2003 Share Posted January 2, 2003 damn, I wanna sell my corpse Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zandern Posted January 2, 2003 Share Posted January 2, 2003 TBrennan, I am talking about 2 different people here. The homeless and poor. Why should poor pay for cable when air tv is free. If you need money spend it on something better than that. And paint has two uses. Yes it makes it look good, but what I was refering to was protection. Read it, its even on the label. Its gonna protect the wood or what every you have better, there for making it last longer and work work better. If you paint wood its gonna last longer, stop the wind better and keep bills lower. Cable won't do that, but it can inform you that you don't have the winning powerball number. The lottery makes the poor poorer, and well, the rich don't even play it. They just receive the property tax deductions. And when did I say I don't care about the poor or homeless. I have well over a thousand hours of volunteer time, I also donate food, and help the elderly. As for the homeless, that is who should take a MacDonalds job or work on a farm. You say i have no values, but I do, I value life and health. And by saying get a job at MacDonalds at least its a living. I didn't say it was nice, but it gets you food, clothing and shelter. When I said I wanted to say this stuff to the poor and homeless it wasn't to laugh at them. I want to tell them that because its good advice. And I agree, I laughed very hard, cause it was funny. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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