Yeah, so I got really fucked over by Microsoft today. Right now I feel like doing a comic trilogy about my assault on the evil MSEmpire, but that'll prolly fade.Anyway, I'm working from home this morning and I get this email.
msnbc.com: BREAKING NEWS: Mary-Kate Olsen guilty for Heath Ledger's death
And I'm like, "What the fuck??" so I click on the link and it's a fucking Microsoft virus.
How do I know? Because my computer spontaneously launched Antivirus XP 2008. And what did Antivirus XP 2008 find on my computer? SIX VIRUSES!! And the only thing that can save me is a $50 subscription (monthly? annually?) to Antivirus XP 2008.
I know it's spam and very likely not from Microsoft in anyway, but it lured me in and I got fucked. Luckily, I'm a technological genius on the scale of Albert Einstein and Reed Richards, so this poses no threat.
"But," I thought, "what about the others? The ones who do live in fear of their computers? What will they do when they get this pop-up message?"
And the thing is? This shit pops up every 30 seconds and takes me directly to a place for purchasing Microsoft Antivirus stuff. Not even the real software -- a subscription to the ever-changing software.
So, a random spam email with cheap and tasteless alure brought me to a virus, basically, that keeps telling me I need to buy shit, like RIGHT FUCKING NOW BECAUSE YOU'RE SPREADING A VIRUS!!! (That we just gave you. Bitch.)
I'm a cyber-leper. Look at the picture above. "Do you want to continue browsing unprotected?"
Moral of the story: Fear Sells.
Anyway, that's not even the reason for the post, so I hope you've read this much. As it turns out, due to some recently discovered information, I'm prolly going to be voting for Nader. It's gonna be a Naderific November.
But here's the rub. I'm not crazy about affirmative action. It's just... you know.
So I ask of you, Liberals, teach me why affirmative action is a good thing, like Nader thinks. Convince me. I'm giving you an actual goddamn opportunity to turn somebody around on an issue. That never fucking happens.
IT'S HAPPENING NOW, BABY!
And don't fucking link me to some Haterville post about AA -- I'm asking you to help me understand. YOU.
If you're not busy or nothin'.
One love.
13 comments:
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Oh, Jesus, the Affirmative Action thing again. Hang on, I've gotta go smoke, Coyote's got me all in a lather. And not the good kind, either.
I have the King Kong of all virus scans -- Norton Corporate Edition. I gotta have it so I can work from home (not nearly often enough.)
I be clean. And I just switched my default browser to Mozilla Firefox and I freakin' LOVE it.
Sorry about that, Jeff. I just went and had my smoke. Vote however you want, I'm not gonna argue any more. I never used to care about politics, and then 9-11 happened, and I wondered how. Now that I know how, and why, and how nothing's ever gonna change, I'm back to not caring about politics. I'm gonna find a way to make this fear thing work for me. There's gotta be a way to make money off the millions of stupid people in this world. Every person for themselves now.
Affirmative Action is a very hard thing to defend because it is almost completely contrary to how people believe this country should operate.
The short answer is this.
A massive historical wrong has so injured this country that exceptional steps are required to repair the damage it did. Affirmative Action is unfair to some whites in the short term because it needs to be. Those historically denied equal opportunity need to be given an advantage to succeed until such a time that the historical disadvantage has been overcome to the point that there is a self perpetuating mass of people from the disadvantaged group to serve as a form of cultural momentum that will continue to pull others along once the actual program has been ended. The cycle needs to be broken and doing that means that a few need to make sacrifices in the service of the greater good. Because a society in which a greater percentage of the populus can look forward to productive participation in the community benefits everyone.
LOL.....c'mon, Coyote. I love ya, it's just I'm a Lefty. I'm Liberal. A Progressive. And I'm voting for one. Plus Obama will easily take Illinois' electoral votes, so I can have my cake and eat it too.
Now, MV, dammit, diversity is a good thing. Read a history book. Diversity will not happen if we leave it up to your beloved free marketplace. You want the University of Michigan Law School to be full of rich, white kids? No. That's why the school fought Busch all the way to the Supreme Court and won on Affirmative Action. You want law students sitting and having debates with diverse peoples.
Kids who start out at a disadvantage need help. They still have to do the work, but some of them, no matter how they try, the kid from King High School is never gonna get as good a grade as the kid coasting through Oak Park HS. I know you love the Will Smith movie, but that's some Disney bullshit.
AA encourages students and workers to seek opportunities in areas they otherwise would never even consider.
And like it or not, there are some stereotypes that will never go away without it, and it's needed to compensate minorities for 100s and 100s of years of slavery and all kinds of forms of oppression.
Now let the crying begin in 5...4...3...2....
and then 9-11 happened, and I wondered how. Now that I know how, and why
I'm not gonna push any tinfoil hat shit on you, but I would like to get some elaboration on this.
Jeff told me what he thought the "common knowledge" about 9/11 was and I'm curious what you think.
We heart Coyote!!
All I said was I thought it was common knowledge that underground explosions brought the towers down. The planes probably helped by weakening the structure from above, but it seems most people believe there were underground explosions.
Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe I dreamt that, and I haven't been real sober lately, but I've heard people talk that way somewhere.
Affirmative Action is a very hard thing to defend because it is almost completely contrary to how people believe this country should operate.
Snark, if your explanation was a chick at the bar, she'd be dumb but cute. And it would be annoying, but if I had enough to drink, I'd prolly leave with her.
Jeff, your chick I would avoid.
How do I silence the BULLSHIT alarm in my gut on this? Two wrongs don't make a right, I don't care how you rationalize it. It's the best individual for the job, period.
And if the world is still full of as much hate and racism as the Lefties are always saying, then that's a problem with the hearts and minds of a nation of people. Is THAT a problem the government CAN solve, let alone SHOULD??
The government is not here to inspire us and bring healing for past wrongs and promote compassion and sacrifice. How the fuck COULD it?? It's just a bunch of low-pay people sitting around on 30 year old office furniture.
AAH!! I can't do it! It's such bullshit!! Gimme more.
God, I feel so unrepresented.
There are plenty of right-wing blogs that would welcome you with open arms, MV.
Millions of Americans still face race and gender barriers in education, contracting and employment. There are laws preventing outright discrimination on the basis of race and gender, but they're not enough to create equal opportunities for everybody.
And you have a very limited view of AA, it's not just looking at a black guy's resume and a white guy's resume. AA programs like targeted outreach and recruitment efforts, creating new things to look for in hiring and admissions, after-school and mentoring programs, training and apprenticeship opportunities....these are all focused on specific instances where race and gender have to be taken into account in order to provide fair and equal access to minorities and bitches. These AA programs are looking for and correcting barriers that still block the way of tons of Americans, like bitches and Injuns and Hajis and Wetbacks and Yellows and Bruthas and Sistahs. AA makes sure theres equal access to opportunities and brings the country closer to the ideal situation, which is giving everyone a fair shake. AA is essential to promote diversity in schools and in the workplace, and to give everyone a fair shot at competing, which is what you say you want in the first place.
I could go on all day. Go ahead, poke me with that stick again.
Two wrongs don't make a right, I don't care how you rationalize it.
See, no one is claiming that it does.
It's the best individual for the job, period.
That's great. Unfortunately, unequal opportunity has left a bunch of people in this country with a serious lack of ability to prepare themselves to compete to be the best individual for the job.
And if the world is still full of as much hate and racism as the Lefties are always saying, then that's a problem with the hearts and minds of a nation of people. Is THAT a problem the government CAN solve, let alone SHOULD??
The government is not the solution. Affirmative Action is not A solution. It's a treatment. The solution is having a viable black community that doesn't need the treatment anymore.
The government is not here to inspire us and bring healing for past wrongs and promote compassion and sacrifice.
Again, that's not the point of AA. No one is asking for compassion and healing. The goal is to take an often unproductive element of our society and get it going in the direction of being productive. It has nothing to do with healing and compassion. It's entirely about increasing productivity.
And my chick wouldn't be seen dead with you. ;)
There are plenty of right-wing blogs that would welcome you with open arms, MV.
Those people are Jesus freaks. I'm a man without a country.
All right, all right. The world is jam-packed full of assholes anyway, the fuck do I care whether this schmuck or that schmuck gets the job. Nobody's ever gotten a fair shake anyway. I got my job because my in-laws and all their friends work there.
Ugh.
And by the way, you're not talking about leveling the playing field. Leveling it means leveling it right now. From the time I complete this sentence, nobody can make a choice or judgement based on anything other than the character and actions of the individual.
Of course that's never gonna happen. Because there are too many goddamn stupid fucking people in the world.
Okay. I'll wave the flag for AA, but only because:
1. I hate the world
2. Nader wants to end the War on Drugs
Affirmative Action is not A solution. It's a treatment.
Excellent point. Excellent comment all around. Very convincing.
And my chick wouldn't be seen dead with you. ;)
You say that now, but I get better looking the more she drinks.
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