11

What would you do? What would John Galt do?

Posted by dbhalling 10 years, 9 months ago to Politics
314 comments | Share | Best of... | Flag

You walk into a small beach bar on the ocean and a guy is sitting there. You have met him at this establishment before so you sit down near him and strike up a conversation. This is the sort of bar where patrons generally talk freely amongst each other. The man was in politics years ago in Kansas and occasionally brings up political topics. You know that his opinions are all over the map and have even moved to the pool table in the sand in order to not listen to him before. You try to steer the conversation away from politics, but he is not deterred. Then he says:
1) He is for raising the minimum wage
What would you do?
2) He states that minimum wage will not affect unemployment and the law of supply and demand has been repealed.
What would you do?
3) Then he says Obamacare is great.
WWYD?
4) After explaining that the only areas were the cost of medical has gone down are those the government stayed out of (e.g., Laser correction surgery), he says we are the only advanced nation without nationalized health care.
WWYD?
5) Then he says kathleen sebelius, who is from Kansas, is a wonderful women.
6) Then he calls you a racist, because you state Obama has the same philosophy Stalin, Moa, Hilter, etc.
7) Then he states we should get rid of the Constitution.
WWYD?


All Comments


Previous comments...   You are currently on page 6.
  • Posted by Herb7734 10 years, 9 months ago
    I'm old and have had these conversations a hundred (seems like a million) times with drooling idiots even worse than the one portrayed. However, I am extremely gratified to read the responses from the Gulch. They were spot on and would demolish the knuckle-dragging moron's statements in a flash. It certainly gives me hope that there are those out there to whom the torch can be passed and that the numbers are growing. Keep it up. I love you guys and gals.
    Reply | Permalink  
  • Posted by johnpe1 10 years, 9 months ago
    I would explain that the goose laying the golden eggs,
    like the original bill of rights, is financing his freedom.

    I would explain that mother goose is pissed, and that
    she doesn't like people telling her how to make eggs.

    she wants him to understand that she loves him as
    a gosling, and that she wants him to do well in life,
    to the best of his ability.

    and she wants him to give her credit for the eggs,
    but to stay out of her way as she makes more.

    I'm not Grimm, but he deserves a fairy tale, since
    he's distributing one. -- j

    Reply | Permalink  
  • Posted by jimjamesjames 10 years, 9 months ago
    My first response would be, "I like to talk to people like you to see how convoluted your thinking is." He says, "What do you mean?" I say, "What are the basic premises from which you make your statements? Everything you say has to have a foundation. What is it?" After that, it is easy to demolish their collectivist thinking by pointing out that everything they advocate is based on creating rational to justify theft.
    Reply | Permalink  
  • Posted by wmiranda 10 years, 9 months ago
    1- Really? Do you work for minimum wage? Are you running for office again?
    2- Really? I understand that's what they did in communist countries? Would that work in a free society like ours?
    3- Really? Hasn't it been the greatest full time job killer in American history?
    4- Really? Isn't that why so many people from other parts of the world come to the U.S. for treatment of difficult medical cases?
    5- Really? Is it because she's from Kansas also? Aren't all women just "wonderful" too?
    6- Really? Isn't Obama a white guy passing as black? Isn't the mother who determines the culture or race of the offspring?
    7- Really? Wouldn't that create a dictatorship, anarchy, totalitarianism? What would you replace it with, your own? What if other people want their own constitution? You couldn't be a politician anymore, would you?
    Reply | Permalink  
  • Posted by $ blarman 10 years, 9 months ago
    My reply, "Ah, so you're in favor of high unemployment, gangs, theft, government cronyism, and are content to go without toilet paper. That's an interesting way of life to choose, but I'm not interested."

    When he turns to look at me with a stupified look, I'd just grin before walking away.
    Reply | Permalink  
  • Comment hidden due to member score or comment score too low. View Comment
  • Posted by Robbie53024 10 years, 9 months ago in reply to this comment.
    They don't recognize it as slavery or theft. It's only "fair" that those who make more pay more. It's only "fair" that those who have less get to have some of what those who have more, have. Universal healthcare must be a right, since we all want it and it's not "fair" that some who have wealth can have it while those with less wealth must be satisfied with less.

    Those are not logical stances and cannot be won with logic. They are based on emotion, and must be won with counter emotional arguments. You have to bring it directly to them. For instance, if they own a home with a spare bedroom, they should be forced to provide that bedroom to a homeless person only out of "fairness." If they throw away food, they should be forced to have a homeless person sit with them at the table and share the meal out of "fairness." If they have more than 7 sets of clothing in their closet, they should be forced to invite the homeless in to select from their wardrobe to clothe themselves as the only "fair" thing to do.
    Reply | Permalink  
  • Posted by ultlead 10 years, 9 months ago
    7. Oh really? And what would you replace the very document that protects all of our freedoms, including your freedom to be ignorant, with?
    6. Racist, oh really? I voted for him originally because McCain made an absurd out of left field choice when he picked Palen who has demonstrated she know how to do nothing more than fan the flames of discord and discontent instead of offering real solutions and bringing people together.
    5. Sebellius demonstrated just how breathtakingly out of touch and incompetent she was by not knowing how to manage a website rollout. She may be a wonderful person, but she is an incompetent manager.
    4. So what, just because all my friends may be jumping off a bridge doesn't mean its the smart thing to do. And just maybe the government doesn't know how to manage anything efficiently. Look at the VA.
    3. Really, based on what conceivable measure.
    2. Well, duh!!!
    1. People should be able to live on the income from 40 hours a week of work. So raise it. The problem isn't minimum wage. The problem is a government that takes more than 60% of earnings in taxes of one form or another, then delivers a lousy return on the take. Congress is made up of incompetent egoists terrified to make meaningful decisions, and interested in telling people what they want to hear, blaming others for the very problems they cause in order to keep the best jobs they've ever had.
    Reply | Permalink  
  • Comment hidden due to member score or comment score too low. View Comment
  • Posted by Robbie53024 10 years, 9 months ago in reply to this comment.
    No. You're a living example of my theory as to why liberty ultimately and seemingly always, fails. Those who believe in liberty just want to be left alone, and want to leave others alone. Those who believe in collectivism, socialism always seek out power to enact their "utopian dream" on others, whether those others want it or not. Thus, we have people who do not seek to impose their views on others (the liberty lovers) and those who actively seek to impose their will on others. Who gets power? Who ultimately takes control? The answer is obvious and supported in history.

    We are doomed to again collapse and be ruled. Alas, this time, it may be forever as we have created the technology by which we can be subjugated and controlled by the very few, from very far away. Prior to the mid 20th century, the populace and the governments were relatively equal in their power and it was merely a matter of numbers. Now, numbers are nearly immaterial.

    Yes, I'm in a particularly dour mood today.
    Reply | Permalink  
  • Posted by 10 years, 9 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Big surprise Obama is pushing a philosophy that killed over 100 million people in the last century and he is EVIL.
    Reply | Permalink  
  • Comment hidden due to member score or comment score too low. View Comment
  • Posted by Robbie53024 10 years, 9 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Hitler himself may have been able to be stopped, but at the point where the Nazi movement became obviously a danger it was too late to stop it. Had Hitler been assassinated, another would have stepped in to fill the void, Goebbels, Himmler, there were plenty who would have taken the reins. No, the time to stop Hitler was in the 20's, but at that time, he wasn't yet an identifiable threat. In fact, he was actually sent as an infiltrator of the precursor to the Nazi party (the DAP) by German army intelligence. He found that he agreed with them and joined them and turned them into the Nazi's.
    Reply | Permalink  
  • Comment hidden due to member score or comment score too low. View Comment
  • Posted by Robbie53024 10 years, 9 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Sending this chap the check might have also been a choice - since he's so generous with other people's money I'm sure he'd be happy to pick up the tab.
    Reply | Permalink  
  • Posted by edweaver 10 years, 9 months ago in reply to this comment.
    I think it is important to let them know you disagree but don't argue with them. I used to but have found it to be so unproductive since most would not change their mind it reality hit them on the side of the head. I do offer a differing opinion if there are people participating that I feel have not taken a strong position one way or the other. I just try to give opposing views to get people thinking. My 2 cents.
    Reply | Permalink  
  • Comment hidden due to member score or comment score too low. View Comment
  • Posted by Robbie53024 10 years, 9 months ago in reply to this comment.
    But they don't see that. They do what "feels right" and assuages some moral guilt that they have allowed themselves to assume.
    Reply | Permalink  
  • Comment hidden due to member score or comment score too low. View Comment
  • Posted by Robbie53024 10 years, 9 months ago in reply to this comment.
    I like Rush's tactic on the min wage - How about $20/hr, or $30, or $50, ... Eventually they say that that is enough, and then you have them. How did they establish that was enough? It will nearly always come down to some issue of "fairness" in comparison to that particular person's own earnings (or if they're a moocher, then they will just get embarrassed at some point). Of course we know that the only rational answer is that it should be an agreement between the employer and employee. Anything else is an artificial construct.

    Similar arguments can be made for most of the other statements. Racist - then why did the majority of the voters (white) vote for a black man? etc., etc.
    Reply | Permalink  
  • Posted by richrobinson 10 years, 9 months ago in reply to this comment.
    She still has the Obama stickers on her car. One day I was in our lunch area with the TV on when Obama came on to speak about something. I went to leave and she was walking back cause she heard him speaking. She said she wanted to listen because she enjoyed hearing him speak. I said I can't stand him and she was answering me as I walked away. We have talked briefly about politics before and she and her husband are pure ideologues. They love all Democrats and hate all Republicans. Her husband started talking about global warming one day. I pointed out that Alaska set record cold temps that year. He laughed and said Alaska is supposed to be cold. I can't talk to people that are that closed off and think they are always right. Discussion is impossible.
    Reply | Permalink  
  • Posted by Bobhummel 10 years, 9 months ago in reply to this comment.
    VF-161 (F-4Phantoms) USS Midway '78-'81
    1.squadron German Naval Airwing 2 (F-104G Starfighter) as USN exchange pilot '82-'84
    VF-211, VF-124 & VF-302 (F-14 Tomcat) '84-'92 USS Kittyhawk, USS Nimitz.
    It was a long time who in a galaxy far far away.
    Thank you for keeping us in the air with great machines.
    Cheers
    Reply | Permalink  
  • Posted by $ jbrenner 10 years, 9 months ago in reply to this comment.
    If you think it's time, quote Galt's oath. It is succinct enough and covers a multitude of situations.
    Reply | Permalink  
  • Posted by $ jbrenner 10 years, 9 months ago in reply to this comment.
    You can both win the argument and stand up for right in that sort of situation, but it requires the verbal equivalent of a one-punch knockout. Try Galt's oath.
    Reply | Permalink  
  • Posted by fivedollargold 10 years, 9 months ago
    Fivedollargold responds.
    1) Why stop there? Let's lower the maximum wage.
    2) You can't repeal something that never existed.
    3) Obamacare isn't great enough. It should be extended to all nations.
    4) What about the non-advanced nations? See point three.
    5) They play 6 on 6 girl's basketball in Kansas schools. Isn't this sexist?
    6) Hitler and Stalin were both socialists. Don't you support Obama's effort to bring European socialism to our shores?
    7) Yes, it was a racist, sexist, homophobic, specist document promulgated by fat, lazy, white male slave-owners. We don't need no stinking Constitution. By the way buddy. Fivedollargold is short on bread. And you've got a thick roll of bills. Help reduce income inequality. Share some of that stack, will ya?
    Reply | Permalink  

  • Comment hidden. Undo