Rougarou

But it's not, really. This is probably not the thread to get into it, but if you are taking on that sort of debt and doing it wisely, there is not only a path out of it, but up and above it. There is no reason a person with a good graduate degree as you have outlined above should not be able to have, at least a few years but probably much more, pulling in 250k-500k/year during their prime earning years if they (and don't miss the following because these three points are important) are a)wisely investing their education into forward-thinking and in demand knowledge/skills and disciplines are b)managing their careers correctly and c) get a little lucky. If you aren't doing any of those three things, then, well...that's Showbiz America, baby!

Joking aside, we are going to need to do better than the above. The above as an explanation and solution is a loser politically and personally. We gotta sell people on why it's in their best interest to pay a little bit more (notice I said "little bit" and not "lot bit"), and sell it better then the above because that dog won't hunt.

You didn't strike me as someone who was solidly middle class. Now that I know you aren't very wealthy, a lot of your posting makes more sense and I can appreciate you more/better. Thanks for sharing. Shoot me a PM if you need some warm socks this winter lol.

But, you agree? The first step is to confirm the buy-in here. Call it a purpose/benefit check. You agree that we need to balance the social/racial checkbook of America based upon some egregious things in the past that we are sorry for and will not do ever again to a race of people?

The thing that jumped out at me from reading this (h/t badteammate; https://www.gphistorical.org/mlk/mlkspeech/) is that this issue is an economic issue. We need to be pragmatic and realistic-- people are not going to have a change of heart or minds, probably-- so the best approach is going to have to be a leveling of the playing field. And not leveling by taking away from what people already have and so that it feels punitive and sows a feeling of being cheated or taken advantage of or robbed, but one where you level the other side up. You bring them up to the level and the only way to do that is necessarily reparations. We have to get over the idea that reparations is a bad word and once and for all balance the social and racial checkbook. This is also good because the excuses and victimhood mentality that can be a disease as well, can be eroded over time (not saying there aren't justified reasons today, but to continue on as a victim in perpetuity, is what I'm saying should be mitigated for).

This is American Summer a la Arab Spring, meaning everyone, on both sides, should just calm down and riots/looting will be a faded memory by Christmas and business gets back to usual. I got some good inputs and education from this thread and I feel a bit more enlightened and woke. "What always bothers me is that the long hot summer has always been preceded by a long cold winter. "

I'm not trolling for a fight, more like trawling for understanding. And this post went a long ways to providing some clarity. You, of course, are not obligated to put forth the effort, but it's helpful-- a sight bit more than undecipherable sarcasm or passive aggression.

Either you use all of the analogy or you don't use any of it, right? If you fail to provide me widgets and the contract is broken, I can then sue or take my business elsewhere or whatever non-violently and legally. I can't burn your factory down because the widget you delivered killed my son because it has a bug that kills only customers with sickle cells or something unique to blacks versus whites. And nobody would justify or rationalize that behavior either.

So, the sympathetic view of "Rioters are leveled-up non-violent protesters who are just escalating because their cause is just and they are not being heard or cared about is actually not true then? It's "Rioters are shitheads and heels and the alt-right is right about them, but we still tacitly defend them for some reason."? I'm just not following and it would have been helpful if Badteammate would have finished his thought or completed his point instead of dangling some sort of inside joke or rhetorical question that I was not on the inside to understand.

I want to come back to this because I feel it fell through the cracks over the weekend: Am I misunderstanding or are you really ridiculing my stance and understanding that the people who are rioting are those who have been jaded and frustrated with the ineffectiveness of non-violence/BLM protesting? Because that is exactly what BrisketTexan and everyone else keeps trying to tell us by way of "I don't like it but non-violence isn't working and the SoCiAl CoNtrAcTz iz BrOkEn sO wHaT dO yOu ExPeCt!?!"?

This is an ignorant take and tells on you.

What if Charles Manson was right with his whole Helter Skelter race war apocalypse prediction, but just forgot to borrow the 1 and carry the 4 and he missed the year by 41 and it's 2020, or something? These instances are so absurd that I'm willing to entertain any explanation at this point of why police continue to act in these ways in September of 2020.

The thing about racism is, I don't believe it's about hate at the end of the day. I mean, for some it is, and for the KKK and Nazi's and the vocal minority who are white supremacists sure. But for most people, racism is a lot more dangerous in that it's nothing personal. In a question of "you vs me" or "Them vs Us", it's not about equality but it's about the leverage and power which leads to wealth and comfort and privilege and it's not because I hate you, but it's because you happen to be taking a little bit of my already big pie slice in the pie chart. You know? I wish it weren't this way and if you weren't trying to eat into my finite resources in a zero-sum game then we would be friends, but that's show biz baby. That type of racism is more dangerous because it's hidden in plain sight and built into the monolithic architecture of The United States of America est. 1607. It's about as fundamentally American as it gets and ain't nothin' changing that except a) a sizable majority of America becoming POC which leads to b) bloody revolution. And that ain't no fun for nobody, especially the dominant class of today.

Thanks for taking the time to write this out; makes a lot of sense and I agree with the play-by-play, mostly. The only point I'd raise, as a fundamental question to the "social contract is broken" crowd is, what if, the social contract is what if BrisketTexan is right and we live in a country with more racists and evil people than normal and good people, even by a simple, narrow majority? Is there still a contract then? Is that maybe why we are seeing the riots and looting and, maybe one day, revolts? Because that is the legal remedy or indemnification (I'm not a lawyer-- whatever the terms are for punishment for breaking the contract at a later date?) for having entered into a social contract and then, now, wanting no part of it?

Dropped off a kid at a friends in an affluent area, in 2016 it was all Trump signs in yard. This year almost zero signs. The one house with a Trump sign, his neighbor has a Biden Harris sign right next to it, in obvious answer to the Trumps belligerence and it’s hilarious and glorious. I’m sure there is no love lost in their neighborly relationship!

I mean you can ridicule if it’s easier for you than to engage, but it’s lazy. Serious answer, yes I totally believe that the people rioting are people fed up with not moving the needle in peaceful ways. As do people like brisket, etc. from what I understand?

Am I missing something in this philosophical/political science theory of social contract that the big brains of Surly have latched onto in recent months, about how it works? I did a cursory bit of googling, after first having learned of it 20 years ago and never thinking about it again, so I might not be too well versed..but what you are saying above seems to be a different animal. Protesting is simply raising awareness; a public expression of disagreement and disapproval. Just because people--perhaps a slight, silent majority of Americans or maybe a vocal minority at a football game-- aren't moved to change their hearts and minds about the positions they hold which you are protesting doesn't mean that, "well, okay, we haven't done a good job of selling the belligerents on our position so I guess the only thing they will respond to is fires and looting and mayhem, and maybe we can get our way through destruction", does it? I mean, if it works then great and maybe it's a "by any means necessary" approach, but that's not non-violent protesting as we know it through the MLK Jr. coaching tree. And sure the same people who scoff at Kap probably are the same people would have probably scoffed at him now, but scoffing or booing or not agreeing with someone's stance and protest doesn't mean that the protest has failed unless we are saying that protests have evolved to mean some outcome-based vehicle and if you don't get you way after protesting then you are a failure.

Offered to buy Mulan tonight but kids didn't wanna. They would rather watch the Trolls World Tour again, this time for free, when we actually bought that back when it came out as well.

I mean, he squeaked by, by some miracle in 2016. It's not as if there isn't precedent for this to happen outside of a bunch of tanks and army men and us becoming a dictatorship or something. And I'm not sure what personal vendetta you have or when or where I pee'd in your Cheerios, but you seem to read in to everything as some sort of attack on what is good and just or something. My goodness, even I'm worried what's going to happen once Ringo runs this outfit.

We all know and have talked about and agree that if the Dem's win, but it's not a runaway on election night, it's going to make for funny business and built-in asterisks and crazy theories and people being dug-in on it being unfair. But I'm starting to think the opposite is true as well. If Trump squeaks by, by some miracle, I think we are going to have an equal number from the other side of the aisle just not be able to understand it or accept it, in the same "melted brain" way. I guess what I'm saying is, in 8 weeks or so, we are headed to a collision of two hyperloop trains doing 1000 mph type train-wreck and if we thought we've seen chaos and riots and fear-mongering, we ain't seen nothin' yet, baby.

I wonder if now is a good time to start a Mathnasium or Kumon franchise...get ahead of the huge demand that is sure to come in 9-12 months

I just hope a bunch of middle class, midwestern people booing at a mostly empty gesture doesn’t further fuel people into justifying why it’s okay to riot and loot, like we’ve seen the past few months.

Ate a fat Perry’s porkchop and then with a full belly stumbled upon a very tasteful and poignant installation at Klyde Warren park today called “Say their names” which acted as both art and memorial, and was soberly attended. I appreciated the respectful tenor and awareness and encourage people to check it out and pay respects to those donating their time and flowers, if in the area. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.wfaa.com/amp/article/news/local/its-very-emotional-memorial-to-honor-black-victims-of-violence-finds-temporary-home-at-klyde-warren-park/287-0a0e6e7b-9dc6-4edd-a20f-2e251be6e3aa