Stupid Things That Make Stupid People Angry

I was reading this article in the Sunday Chronicle about an informal (and not “sanctioned” by the Bureau of Printing and Engraving) competition to re-design our boring currency--particularly in terms of providing bills of different sizes in order to help blind folks.

But NOOOO, we can’t do something so “radical” as re-design our currency! People will get very upset. In fact, a guy from Texas (surprise!) left a voice mail for the San Francisco graphic artist who submitted a design idea (link at the bottom to see his design), saying “Redesign the dollar bill? I’ll leave the damn country!”

Pffft, I wish!

But seriously, “leave the damn country” because the currency is redesigned? It’s people like that that give people (like me) with legitimate complaints about non-everyday things a bad name.

Another example: I read a letter to the editor some months ago re: the San Francisco Board of Supervisors’ vote to SUGGEST that local restaurants have a “meatless Monday” option at their restaurants—-pretty toothless, actually, and not only coz it’s just a “suggestion” from the Supes, but that most any restaurant has a vegetarian option every day these days. But still, a guy from somewhere down south, or maybe Marin or Sonoma, was SO outraged that the Board would “force” such a thing on people he said he would now take his “into the City” lunch and business meetings elsewhere! Huff huff huff!

Again, seriously? The Board of Supes suggests having restaurants offer a vegetarian option and you’re going to boycott a, in your words, “World Class City” in response? Fucking grow up! Sheesh!

But the worst are the folks who get SO angry at the idea of someone getting something for "free" - be it health care or even, god forbid, food. Not so coincidentally, polling shows that the people who are most angry/disgusted/opposed to free health care or food stamps identify as "Christian." Also, oxymoronically, it's the folks from the "welfare states" - places like Alabama, Kentucky, etc., that take in way more gov't handouts relative to what they contribute versus, say, the blue states.

So you have these self-identified Christians, sucking on the government teat, and yet waving their guns around, appalled at taking orders from a Black man, and oh-so-Christianly railing and raving and ranting about people getting free health care. it would be just sad if it wasn't so appalling.

BTW, notice anything about these stats? In the late 1950s, the poverty rate for all Americans was 22.4 percent. These numbers declined steadily throughout the 1960s, reaching a low of 11.1 percent in 1973. Over the next decade, the poverty rate fluctuated between 11.1 and 12.6 percent, but it began to rise steadily again in 1980. By 1983, the number of poor individuals had risen to 15.2 percent and remained at that level until 1993, when the rate declined for the remainder of the decade, to 11.3 percent by 2000. From 2000 to 2004 it rose each year to 12.7 in 2004.

Give up? Read the stats again and note how they match the President's party (i.e., poverty rate consistently goes up while a Republican is president, and goes down when a Democrat is President). But by golly, they is tax & spenders so they gots to go! Doi!

To see the designs Duncan submitted, click HERE.