THE RANT THREAD!

[Raphaeline]

Re: THE RANT THREAD!

I have no pants to wear, pretty much every single pair I own has a ripped crotch! Except for my sweatpants, which I can't find. Where does Bruce Banner buy his pants? The Hulk never has this problem.

I'm out of pants, too. Outgrown them. Pregnancy will do that to you.

[thalassa]

Re: THE RANT THREAD!

I need to write to a government official for my government class about an issue. My main problem is I have no idea what I can write about that an official would be able to do anything about. I was going to write about sexual assault in the military but then I thought "so what?" and realized that theres no laws or anything which could be passed to alleviate the situation. I have government class because I either don't care or I don't see how the government can help. It doesn't assist matters that she keeps ranting about the preservation of democracy and how we should be defending our rights from the government like we're under attack from undercover communists or something.

Actually, there are a number of things the government can do about this. As a former command SAVI representative (at the time, the Navy's victim advocate program, now its called SAPR for Sexual Assault Prevention and Response, I think) and a woman in the military, I can tell you that there is plenty that can be done to put pressure on the DoD...starting with an enforced zero tolerance for breaching a clearly defined standard for sexual harassment and descrimination (for women AND men, gay AND straight) from the top down. Because, I guarantee you that someone doesn't just *ooops* and rape someone, its been my experience that the people that do this start out small scale....and an environment where sexual harassment is brushed off (by men and women) make a culture where victims feel that they will not be heard and will not get justice.

...I should know, I wasn't raped, but I've been inappropriately groped, I've been on the receiving end of unwanted body parts touching my person, and I've had more than one obnoxious and inappropriate comment made towards me. And if I had been someone else, someone that wasn't a known ass-kicker, or a little unlucky, I could have been that person too.

[Medusa]

Re: THE RANT THREAD!

Groceries on the bus in my little cart. I love you little cart. But seriously grocery shopping on the bus is a tad laborious.

[Hawkfeathers]

Re: THE RANT THREAD!

I was looking up how to tell is something's dishwasher safe or not, and some of the things people said freaked me out. One person said she'd bought some dishes that she later found were NOT dw-safe. So, she said, she plans to use them as extras for a party and can just THROW THEM OUT afterwards. It's called rubber gloves and dish soap, you lazy, spoiled fool.

[Corvus]

Re: THE RANT THREAD!

Actually, there are a number of things the government can do about this. As a former command SAVI representative (at the time, the Navy's victim advocate program, now its called SAPR for Sexual Assault Prevention and Response, I think) and a woman in the military, I can tell you that there is plenty that can be done to put pressure on the DoD...starting with an enforced zero tolerance for breaching a clearly defined standard for sexual harassment and descrimination (for women AND men, gay AND straight) from the top down. Because, I guarantee you that someone doesn't just *ooops* and rape someone, its been my experience that the people that do this start out small scale....and an environment where sexual harassment is brushed off (by men and women) make a culture where victims feel that they will not be heard and will not get justice.

...I should know, I wasn't raped, but I've been inappropriately groped, I've been on the receiving end of unwanted body parts touching my person, and I've had more than one obnoxious and inappropriate comment made towards me. And if I had been someone else, someone that wasn't a known ass-kicker, or a little unlucky, I could have been that person too.

Thankyou for the information. I've already written my letter (about the benefits of greenery in urban enviorments) but this is still both very useful and interesting.

[ChainLightning]

Re: THE RANT THREAD!

[...] she'd bought some dishes that she later found were NOT dw-safe. So, she said, she plans to use them as extras for a party and can just THROW THEM OUT afterwards. It's called rubber gloves and dish soap, you lazy, spoiled fool.

This. Throw them out? This disposable thinking has me seriously wondering about a connection to infanticide and crap like that. It's not disposable. Recycle, repurpose, repair and resell. Why are these such foreign words to some people? Oh that's right. Because those very same people are in need of disposal, themselves, many of them.

"Throw 'em out." Indeed!


/headdesk

[DanieMarie]

Re: THE RANT THREAD!

Groceries on the bus in my little cart. I love you little cart. But seriously grocery shopping on the bus is a tad laborious.

I have a little cart too! I love those!

- - - Updated - - -

I was looking up how to tell is something's dishwasher safe or not, and some of the things people said freaked me out. One person said she'd bought some dishes that she later found were NOT dw-safe. So, she said, she plans to use them as extras for a party and can just THROW THEM OUT afterwards. It's called rubber gloves and dish soap, you lazy, spoiled fool.

Ugh. That's -exactly- what I meant in the other thread about what is wrong with the world.

[Ophidia]

Re: THE RANT THREAD!

OMFGs, coworker, will you just STFU already??!!!

Guess it's headphone time!

[Hawkfeathers]

Re: THE RANT THREAD!

This. Throw them out? This disposable thinking has me seriously wondering about a connection to infanticide and crap like that. It's not disposable. Recycle, repurpose, repair and resell. Why are these such foreign words to some people? Oh that's right. Because those very same people are in need of disposal, themselves, many of them.

"Throw 'em out." Indeed!


/headdesk

Ugh. That's -exactly- what I meant in the other thread about what is wrong with the world.

I've seen, in my lifetime, a whole lot of "planned obsolescence" going on. In the past, there were shoe repair shops, TV repair shops, etc. When people first started buying home PC's, there were courses in computer repair.....now, not so much. If you have something for a few years and it breaks, it's often impossible to find parts, and/or just as expensive to fix it as it would be to just buy a new one, which will have more features anyway.

The person's attitude about the dishes was probably influenced by this pervasive "upgrade, replace, change" way of looking at things. It's everywhere! Get a new cell phone every two years! Buy a "starter home" and upgrade later! Get a divorce and find someone younger!

I'm not a big fan of change. I take good care of my stuff. I replace things as needed but not just because there's a new model available. I HATE having to buy several of something I really like (sneakers that fit perfectly for example) because in a year they won't be around anymore. Grrrrr.

Those dishes could have been donated to a shelter or whatever, where someone might be all too happy to wash them by hand after being given a meal. Too many perfectly good things, ideas, animals, and people are thrown away.

[DanieMarie]

Re: THE RANT THREAD!

There are some studies that got a lot of publicity that found out that a lot of companies have sub-standard parts in a lot of their electronic devices. Like, a plastic part that will wear out in a few years where a metal part could easily (and cheaply) be used. Companies denied it left, right, and center, but they can't really deny it when a bunch of people actually took apart their devices and looked at them. I know that my DVD players die every 2 years, as if on schedule. The first DVD player I had lasted for over a decade, and as far as I know, it's still running. I bought a CD player from the early 90s off eBay for 30 Euros and it works better than any other CD player I've bought since 1995 (which still works, by the way...my mom still uses it). There has to be a reason for that and it's no ok.

I fix things, take my shoes to get repaired (those still exist here), and all that jazz, but repairing electronics often costs more than it does to replace them, which is ridiculous in my opinion. I'd rather pay more for something I didn't have to replace and could repair if something broke. For that reason, all my stereo equipment was made between 1970 and 1995 and I use a sewing machine from the 1980s (you seriously can't even buy a home sewing machine as good as they made them then, even if you spent thousands of dollars). I've gotten to know some of the people who run the repair shops for old devices (they still exist here, and are run by people who love to fix things and love old things) and they always tell me about how things were made back before my day vs how they're made now. I have had to tweak some of the old things I use (I bought my stereo amp as "faulty" and got it repaired, and the feed on my sewing machine died once) but I'm glad there are still a few people around who care about that stuff enough to run shops to repair them and that once these things break once, they don't seem to break again.

[Willow]

Re: THE RANT THREAD!

I don't really understand why some people think that constantly lying is beneficial to them. They can't be so blind to think that nobody else can see right through their tales, especially when (cumulatively) we spend 6 days a week with that person. I also don't understand why they think that after a point these lies are going to be ignored, particularly when they begin to put the livelihood of other people in jeopardy for no good reason. All I can think of is that it may be something of an ego-boost to that individual, but how great is an ego-boost that has been built on thin air? It can't be that rewarding of a confidence booster....

I can't be the only honest person in the world. -.- It's better to be honest about your shortcomings then to lie about it, and get into a position where both your shortcomings and your lies become completely obvious to other people and you end up looking like a jerkwad anyway.

[thalassa]

Re: THE RANT THREAD!

There has to be a reason for that and it's no ok.

Made in China (or somewhere comparable in terms of labor practices) with cheap labor and shitty components.

Seriously, my grandparents have a TV from 1980, my dad has a radio from 1967 (he built it from a Radio Shack kit), and my mom has a rotary phone that is older than I am. They all work. In fact, they all work better than their modern counterparts.

We can blame businesses...but we need to look in the mirror too. We consumers (as a group) would rather buy cheap than nice.

[DanieMarie]

Re: THE RANT THREAD!

Yeah I'm aware of that, and that combined with the fact that things lasting forever is completely unprofitable for companies totally drives it. I just wish there were alternatives that weren't like ridiculous designer goods. Also, some of the stuff made in Europe still seems to suck for some reason, so I can't just blame China...

[Willow]

Re: THE RANT THREAD!

Yeah I'm aware of that, and that combined with the fact that things lasting forever is completely unprofitable for companies totally drives it. I just wish there were alternatives that weren't like ridiculous designer goods. Also, some of the stuff made in Europe still seems to suck for some reason, so I can't just blame China...

It's also the business/marketing strategy for the fashion industry. Change up what's fashionable every few months, everyone who holds themselves to that standard or who wants to fit in (for whatever reason) pays up and voila, profit. Rinse and repeat. Retail is great, isn't it?

[DanieMarie]

Re: THE RANT THREAD!

It's also the business/marketing strategy for the fashion industry. Change up what's fashionable every few months, everyone who holds themselves to that standard or who wants to fit in (for whatever reason) pays up and voila, profit. Rinse and repeat. Retail is great, isn't it?

Blech. I love fashion, clothes and design, but I hate most of the industry surrounding it. Style is about creating a personal style that you can always keep with you, not about following what a bunch of people dictate is "cool" for that fall.