A Facebook posting and my response to it.

[Sivafae]

Good lord I didn't have enough paper to really bury it. But I got the pertinent points. I used to play The Sims Social and made friends with people, just whomever, so I could play the game successfully. Some of the people I friend-ed because they were from "red" states. I like to talk to all sorts of people. Anyways, this post came on my feed. I know the gal is conservative, but sweet and caring person. I had to respond to this:

written by a 21 yr old gal ,,,just common sense in her opinion.

This was in the Waco Tribune Herald, Waco , TX , Nov 18, 2011

PUT ME IN CHARGE . . .

Put me in charge of food stamps. I'd get rid of Lone Star cards; no cash for Ding Dongs or Ho Ho's, just money for 50-pound bags of rice and beans, blocks of cheese and all the powdered milk you can haul away. If you want steak and frozen pizza, then get a job.

Put me in charge of Medicaid. The first thing I'd do is to get women Norplant birth control implants or tubal ligations. Then, we'll test recipients for drugs, alcohol, and nicotine. If you want to reproduce or use drugs, alcohol, or smoke, then get a job.

Put me in charge of government housing. Ever live in a military barracks? You will maintain our property in a clean and good state of repair. Your home" will be subject to inspections anytime and possessions will be inventoried. If you want a plasma TV or Xbox 360, then get a job and your own place.

In addition, you will either present a check stub from a job each week or you will report to a "government" job. It may be cleaning the roadways of trash, painting and repairing public housing, whatever we find for you. We will sell your 22 inch rims and low profile tires and your blasting stereo and speakers and put that money toward the "common good.."

Before you write that I've violated someone's rights, realize that all of the above is voluntary. If you want our money, accept our rules. Before you say that this would be "demeaning" and ruin their "self esteem," consider that it wasn't that long ago that taking someone else's money for doing absolutely nothing was demeaning and lowered self esteem.

If we are expected to pay for other people's mistakes we should at least attempt to make them learn from their bad choices. The current system rewards them for continuing to make bad choices.

AND While you are on Gov't subsistence, you no longer can VOTE! Yes, that is correct. For you to vote would be a conflict of interest. You will voluntarily remove yourself from voting while you are receiving a Gov't welfare check. If you want to vote, then get a job.

My reponse:

I know I'm just a Sims friend and all, but to me it is obvious that whoever wrote that bit above has never needed to be on any sort of assistance and knows nothing about the system. The advocation of disenfranchisement alone is disturbing. But the advocation of invading someone's body without proper medical advice is down right dangerous or possibly lethal. I would not be able to get a Norplant, it would endanger my life and health. They are not medically safe for everyone and come with horrendous side effects this person is probably not aware of. The idea of permanently sterilizing someone for assistance is an idea that will kill women because as with all surgeries, there is a risk of complication and accident. Nevermind that all of these ideas should be decided by a licensed physician, not a government. And who is going to pay for all of these "treatments" and drug tests? And what about those who do have jobs, but still need assistance? I'm not saying that assistance should be available with no strings attached. I'm just saying that there are some extreme and rather dangerous requirements suggested by the author, that if properly investigated and researched would reveal these suggest requirements as cruel, unwise and a violation of basic constitutional and human rights. The choice between becoming too sick to find a job because of forced birth control or forced sterilization, as the excerpt suggests, and starving isn't a choice anyone should ever have to make. And the choices presented would only be made by a woman. I don't see anything about forced sterilization of men, be it permanent or temporary in this excerpt. Men get welfare too.

[OffWithTheirHeads]

1. You are dealing with idiots. Talk to your dining room table

You will get better results.

[dchill]

3. Or, of course, one could talk to one's...

Trash can.

[blueclown]

2. Most of the people on public assistance have jobs.

This woman is an idiot. I wonder if she still lives with her parents.

[Ken Burch]

4. or, for that matter if SHE has a job...

n/t.

[Ken Burch]

5. Clare of Assisi would bitch-slap that woman.

And then tell HER to "get a job".

[Arcanetrance]

6. And yet we are supposed to be the ones for big goverment and death panels

[jmowreader]

7. The editor of the Waco Tribune Herald must have been mighty bored that day

As we all know, government assistance provides its recipients with plenty of money for steaks, Xboxes, plasma TVs and 22-inch rims. So I'd like to take anyone who forwards this older-than-Jim-Robinson's-server hate-filled crap to a newspaper (yes, we've gotten it and it never saw print) and force them to live this way for a month.

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

8. Good for you. They may not listen, but talk back because someone who will may hear you.

I would suggest, however, that you use paragraph breaks. Short paragraphs with white space between them will be read and understood by more people.