OK -- so I'm minding my own business, and someone sends me a link to this video:
It's from the BBC so I am inclined to watch it because I love the BBC every time even when it is appalling. But as I watch this video, I get to this frame:
If you can't read the text and the graph lines, let me improve them for you:
Now: what gets me cross-eyed angry here is that he called this "per person income". What he most certainly means, if you listen to his talk here, is "per capita income" -- which is in no way the same thing. The per-capita income in the US, for example, $46,000 in 2007. (thx, Bartleby.com) What that DOES NOT MEAN is that every man-jack person in the country makes $46,000 a year: it means when you take the total personal income in the US and divide it by the total population, you get the average income per person. But he says, "per person income," doesn't he?
Now: why does he say it that way? Here's my theory: the crypto-socialist in the video wants to sneak in on you that $46,000 a year as a person's income is rich!
If the US really had an income "per person" of $46,000/year, my house would be making twice what I bring home today. But my house doesn't come up to that standard.
And let me say something clearly: I'm OK with that. I'm OK with not making $46,000 per person in my house. We make plenty of money and we live extremely well.
Bookmark this post, because the next time someone wants to complain to you about "the rich", you have to show them this and stop on that frame at about 53 seconds in and ask them: "who do you mean by 'the rich'?" Because this fellow with the edgy Euro-intellectual accent would tell you that anyone who makes more than $46,000 a year is rich.
Before you hit play, he says a naughty word in the middle -- the bad word for "backside". It makes him far more transparent, I am sure.
This, btw, is why "emerg*" is a failure: this may be the dumbest 55 seconds of video ever produced (including all the rest of YouTube) regarding the state and future of human history, and yet it's been published as a way to spark new life into the "church".
Blah blah blah indeed. Honestly: how do you parody this?
OK: Be warned that this video lulls you into a pleasing little zone of coffee house mellowness, and then you get Rick Rolled, and then there's a sudden outburst of Chris Crocker set to mellow jazz guitar, and then it ends with the Power Ranger's theme.
If you can not be offended, and you like this sort of thing, and you want to show Dan Phillips that you are the better blog readers by toughing it out through the Crocker outburst, I present this to you:
oh, pickle. OK. Nevermind.
If you are spoiling for a fight or whatever, just go away. This was clever, but it has nothing to do with the Gospel -- and I'm not preaching the Gospel here. I'm blogging in a very casual way. Hold it against me if that's how you are.
I was watching the Norma McCorvey video at JT's blog, and after it was over, this kid's face turns up:
Now, before you hit "play", LANGUAGE ALERT, OK? It's very average YouTube fare. But I post it here for you to think about something. If you watch this to the end, his argument is that a baby is better off dead than poor. Think about that: he's proud enough of this argument to post it on YouTube.
Better dead than poor. And his back-up is "better dead than 'unwanted'" -- with the "pwn" that babies put up for adoption have no place to go.
Information always improves opinions, right? Here's some information: Since the end of World War II, interest in adoption primarily has focused on healthy, young infants. By the mid-1950's, the demand for healthy infants grew so significantly that it exceeded the number of children available for adoption, a trend that has accelerated with each passing decade.[adoption.com]
No snark for this one. I'm really stunned that someone would make this argument this plainly about this subject.
Well, that's a shame: Blogrolling.com has ceased to be. If you're an old member of the blogroll, e-mail me and I'll see to relink you in this space.
DISCLAIMER!
Here's the part where I try to avoid getting sued ...
As you undoubtedly noticed, I like comics. I wouldn't call myself a "fan boy" because I don't give a flying FOOM what they are worth. That said, almost all the images on my blog are scanned from comics I own -- so they are scanned from comics I own and are used under what I assume is the basic tenets of "fair use" under copyright law. It would be frankly impossible to tell you where each images comes from specifically.
All other images not covered by this disclaimer are the property of their respective owners, and if you are one of those people and you see your image on my blog, tell me what you want me to do about it and I will. No sense making people angry.