| Author |
 Topic  |
|
Milinda
Permanent Resident
USA
3816 Posts |
|
|
Shalee
Permanent Resident
USA
2026 Posts |
 Posted - 02/16/2011 : 12:49:45 PM
|
I feel sorry for anyone out of work during these hard times.
As I read the "letter" I noticed some inconsistancies. I personally believe that this "letter" is a journalistic spoof put together for shock value.
Yes, we know that unemployment can devistate a person. The money runs out, unemployment runs out, where do you turn. Pride keeps you from asking for help. There are places that do help. Soup kitchens, food banks, churches, veterans orginazations. He hasn't eaten for a week? How about the weather we've been having, all that snow. I pay to have my walks and driveway shoveled. If you don't have a snow shovel, borrow the home owner's shovel to shovel their walks. Then there are the pawn shops. Everyone has something that is less important than paying your rent and putting food on you table. When things get tough the tough get going.
I have worked hard all my life, didn't save a lot, did go on unemployment once and hated it. In my time of need friends have helped me. I have helped frinds in their time of need. No, I'm not looking for a pat on the back, I just believe in paying it forword. You help me, I help someone else and they help someone else in need.
Normally I keep quiet but this time I just couldn't keep my opinion to myself.
Don't flame me for my opinion, after all, it is just my opinion.
Sharon in NW PA
I always wanted my own library but I didn't realize it would be all knitting books!
|
 |
|
|
Milinda
Permanent Resident
USA
3816 Posts |
Posted - 02/16/2011 : 1:44:38 PM
|
Sharon, I would not phlame you for your opinion. Obviously you feel this very deeply and I understand. But what if one has reached the point where one no longer has anything left to sell? What if one is simply unable to pick up your shovel and clear your walkway? I know I would be in that position, my physical problems would simply not allow me to do something of that nature, even to surrvive. Just something to think about.
M L
|
|
|
|
mokey
Permanent Resident
15375 Posts |
Posted - 02/16/2011 : 2:51:41 PM
|
I agree that the letter is far too similar in tone and text to many of those labelled false at snopes.com.
For starters, it's outright illegal to state unemployed need not apply. And who shuns unemployed friends? With so many unemployed people over the past few years, a good chunk of the nation must have lived as hermits to avoid being around the unemployed.
What are 99ers?
Brought to you by the tongue in cheek-y monkey
---------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
|
|
Milinda
Permanent Resident
USA
3816 Posts |
Posted - 02/16/2011 : 3:05:13 PM
|
quote:
Originally posted by mokey
I agree that the letter is far too similar in tone and text to many of those labelled false at snopes.com.
For starters, it's outright illegal to state unemployed need not apply. And who shuns unemployed friends? With so many unemployed people over the past few years, a good chunk of the nation must have lived as hermits to avoid being around the unemployed.
What are 99ers?
Brought to you by the tongue in cheek-y monkey
---------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.99ers.net/
M L
|
|
|
|
Atavistic
Permanent Resident
6604 Posts |
Posted - 02/16/2011 : 3:20:45 PM
|
quote:
Originally posted by mokey
For starters, it's outright illegal to state unemployed need not apply.
Not in America.
quote:
And who shuns unemployed friends?
Jerks. Glad there are apparently none in Canada.
"I'm telling you, we're in a M. Night Shyamalan flick." |
|
|
|
mokey
Permanent Resident
15375 Posts |
Posted - 02/16/2011 : 3:30:10 PM
|
Not biting, Aavistic. If you want a piddling contest, buy your own beer.
Brought to you by the tongue in cheek-y monkey
---------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
|
|
Atavistic
Permanent Resident
6604 Posts |
Posted - 02/16/2011 : 3:33:56 PM
|
quote:
Originally posted by mokey
Not biting, Aavistic. If you want a piddling contest, buy your own beer.
You posted something about a legal issue. You were wrong. You're not going to defend yourself or try to prove your point? Fine. It's just one more time Mokey Proclaims Her Thoughts as the Truth and Then Runs Away When Her Reality is Questioned.
And by the way, it's ATAVISTIC. I don't call you Monkey, so get it right.
"I'm telling you, we're in a M. Night Shyamalan flick." |
|
|
|
Milinda
Permanent Resident
USA
3816 Posts |
Posted - 02/16/2011 : 3:47:50 PM
|
I have checked Snopes.com and written to the blogger on Huffington. So far, I have not been able to locate anything that disputes this letter. Be that as it may, one thing I can assure you, the letter is obviously written by a very depressed person. The despair is there for those who wish to see that.
In this country, President Reagan spearheaded the shut down of any facilities for the chroinically mentally ill. But anyone can fall into a deep depression at any point in life. We can continue to pretend this is not a problem. We can deny that a person could be so down and out that he/she would give up. But until you have been in that situation, be careful about brushing off the topic as a problem someone else suffers from.
But to think that friends don't begin to fall away after one has experienced chronic unemployment, well, that is denial. People run out of encouraging things to say. They are afraid they will catch it, too, this disease of unemployment. Many of us are a paycheck or two away from this.
The playing field was leveled after this last financial collapse, savings, investments gone. So, yes, I know many people in desperate situations, their one most valauable item, their home, no longer worth what it was once on the housing market.
I know plenty of people who can't get any kind of job. The area I live in, a huge amount of people lined up for 200 temporary service jobs for the summer at the river front park. The shelters are filled. The food banks serve people like any of us, down on their luck. It may be more convenient for us to pretend this couldn't happen to us, but it could and it does. It's especially daunting for anyone older and with physical limitations.
M L
|
|
|
|
mokey
Permanent Resident
15375 Posts |
Posted - 02/16/2011 : 4:07:13 PM
|
quote:
Originally posted by AtavisticJerks. Glad there are apparently none in Canada.
I can guarantee there's one teaching in D.C.
Brought to you by the tongue in cheek-y monkey
---------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
|
|
Milinda
Permanent Resident
USA
3816 Posts |
Posted - 02/16/2011 : 4:23:13 PM
|
quote:
Originally posted by mokey
quote:
Originally posted by AtavisticJerks. Glad there are apparently none in Canada.
I can guarantee there's one teaching in D.C.
Brought to you by the tongue in cheek-y monkey
---------------------------------------------------------------------
:: That is totally not cool, Mokey.
M L
|
|
|
|
purlthis
Permanent Resident
USA
2719 Posts |
Posted - 02/16/2011 : 5:26:50 PM
|
Mokey, we don't all live in Canada. Canadian law is not universal, nor does it apply to the majority of us, in the U.S., but apparently you forgot. Again.
Rachel
------------------------------------------------------
As I get older, I prefer to knit. Tracey Ullman
http://purledthis.blogspot.com/ UPDATED! WITH PICS! |
|
|
|
flicka
Seriously Hooked
828 Posts |
Posted - 02/16/2011 : 5:30:45 PM
|
Sharon, if you are still reading, thanks for chiming in. I do think there is a need to be skeptical about things we read on the internet, and that the type of investigating that Milinda is doing (checking Snopes, writing the blogger) is helpful.
Please know that I will not flame you. You gave your opinion in a considered manner and shared your personal history, which gives validity to your opinion, and I appreciate that.
flicka |
|
|
|
shaggy
Permanent Resident
USA
4125 Posts |
Posted - 02/16/2011 : 7:40:03 PM
|
quote:
Originally posted by mokey
quote:
Originally posted by AtavisticJerks. Glad there are apparently none in Canada.
I can guarantee there's one teaching in D.C.
Brought to you by the tongue in cheek-y monkey
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Mokey, I think that remark was uncalled for.
shaggy
every dollar makes Betty smile
|
|
|
|
mouse
Permanent Resident
1442 Posts |
Posted - 02/16/2011 : 8:13:40 PM
|
Atavistic was right - it's not at all illegal in the U.S. to consider for employment only people who already have jobs, and to advertise accordingly.
I too wondered whether this particular letter was "real"; there was something about it that didn't ring quite right for me, although I couldn't put my finger on it. I decided it really didn't matter, because it's true for all too many people, including people I know personally. Misfortune often tends to follow misfortune.
And yes, people do tend to get very isolated with long term unemployment - it creates an awkwardness that many people have difficulty overcoming.
........................................................................................................................
You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed. Antoine de Saint Exupery |
|
|
|
Shalee
Permanent Resident
USA
2026 Posts |
Posted - 02/16/2011 : 8:59:40 PM
|
Paying it forward tomorrow.
I have a friend that is rather broke at the moment and her washing machine died dead last week. She needs a new machine. I told her that if they can't afford it I'll take her and buy them a new one tomorrow.
Like I said, pay it forward. She helped me many years ago and is a person who helps others. Yes, I did help her once before, but they paid me back. This time I can afford to help without her needing to reimburse me in the future.
No pats on the back wanted. After all, what are friends for. If it weren't for this thread, no one would know what I'm about to do.
Sharon in NW PA
I always wanted my own library but I didn't realize it would be all knitting books!
|
|
|
|
kkknitter
Seriously Hooked
641 Posts |
Posted - 02/17/2011 : 04:44:11 AM
|
I must confess that when I read Milinda's post I thought something was off. But, because Milinda felt compassion for this guy and wanted to draw our attention to this article, should not make us jump all over each other. We are probably suffering from a too long winter at this point, but it is suposed to be nice today and tomorrow, so go out and get some sun to help lighten your mood.
Kristina |
|
|
|
Milinda
Permanent Resident
USA
3816 Posts |
Posted - 02/17/2011 : 1:04:30 PM
|
I felt compassion for the situation. I was trying to find out if the letter was for real, but thought that the situation of the 99ers was the pertinent fact. I'm sorry I posted it to begin with. If certain people thought the letter was a hoax, jump on me politely but don't get this way to others because you think I posted something stupid.
So, never mind, then. I'll be more circumspect on what I post in the future.
M L
|
|
|
|
NastiJ
Permanent Resident
1271 Posts |
Posted - 02/17/2011 : 1:28:23 PM
|
quote:
Originally posted by Milinda
I felt compassion for the situation.
The situation has been commented on by different sources, e.g., today in the AAARP online newsletter:
http://www.aarp.org/work/job-hunting/news-02-2011/are_companies_excluding_jobless_from_applying.comments.html
quote:
After news accounts about the practice and requests from concerned lawmakers, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has jumped in, trying to figure out whether it's a widespread tactic that could violate federal job discrimination laws.
Commissioners at an EEOC hearing Wednesday said they are investigating whether excluding the unemployed may have a greater effect on blacks, Latinos and other ethnic minorities that tend to have higher jobless rates. There are no specific legal protections for the unemployed.
Nancy J.
"Learning how to knit was a snap.It was learning how to stop that nearly destroyed me." Erma Bombeck |
|
|
|
shaggy
Permanent Resident
USA
4125 Posts |
Posted - 02/17/2011 : 2:29:29 PM
|
Don't worry about it Milinda, we know the only perfect person around here is me. I really didn't want to use the smilie. tee hee
Hey, we still don't know if it is a hoax or not.
I still have my boxing gloves on. 
shaggy
every dollar makes Betty smile
|
|
|
|
mouse
Permanent Resident
1442 Posts |
Posted - 02/17/2011 : 6:57:37 PM
|
I don't think it matters whether the letter is *real.* The situation is all too real.
........................................................................................................................
You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed. Antoine de Saint Exupery |
|
|
|
Topic |
|
Heartbreaking
