Why I Don't Join In

It all started with this this blog I read that posts articles pertaining to the housing bubble. Normally, I'm not really a joiner when it comes to these things. But they posted an article about Las Vegas, and someone posted a comment that prompted a response from me.

Someone posted saying that people move to Vegas for the low taxes (no state tax) and that people moving in from California would likely mess that up.

I said that I would be happy to pay a state tax if it meant that Nevada might not be 49th in the nation for funding per student, and 47th in educational standard in the nation.

And I was attacked.

People told me to go back to California with my leftist, liberal self.

Now I'm a proud liberal. A proud leftist. I eat organic granola for breakfast most mornings, for Christ sake. But jeez, I haven't lived in California for twenty-five years.

Someone else said something about how if I didn't like where I lived, I should move, because even though where they live has problems at least isn't Iraq. God Bless America.

WTF? I'm not even sure what to say to that. Since when does being an American mean that I'm not allowed to voice a dissatisfaction with my local governments policies? What this person suggesting that I move to Iraq if I'm not happy with Vegas? Would Iraq even let me in? What utter nonsense.

The kicker was the dude who said that the schools in Vegas are fine. It's the bad kids that are the problem, and the kids are bad because they have bad parents.

I think all Internet users should have to take a crash course in manners. "Do unto others" is a basic rule of common decency shared by pretty much ever major religion. The basic Internet rule, IMO should be: "If you wouldn't say something to someone's face, don't say it online either."

Because "all kids, and parents, in Las Vegas are bad" is a sweeping generalization that is hurtful and ignorant. And I have a good idea that if the guy who typed it had to look me in the face, he wouldn't have said it.

Someone else said that he was single, so he shouldn't have to pay for my kids to go to school. We should all put our kids in private school and shut up. I pointed out the obvious. There are no where near enough private schools for all the children in Las Vegas (or for all the children anywhere.) I guess the rich kids, in this idiots perfect world, get an education. The rest of them don't matter anyway?

My only response to that was the obvious. Giving every child a decent education (at school, public or private, or at home) is in the best interests of EVERYONE. Because, hello asshat, these kids will be ruling the world someday.

What do you want to bet these people are Baby Boomers?

So I posted most of this as a response to the attacks and ended with "this thread has made me officially sick, I'm out."

I got a response along the lines of "Shaunta's greed for other people's money is outrageous."

Sigh.

P.S. HAHAHA...so I just went back and read again, to make sure I had everything right. The idiot who said my greed for other people's money is ... whatever he said...also said (at a different point) "Global warming is just a religion for the gullible." So he really is an idiot. I feel much better now.