I went rounds until vertigo nearly set in, bickering with conservatives over individuals in this country who are experiencing a spell of unemployment a while back. If you've heard anything at all about the American economy over the past few years, you should be familiar with the jobs climate. Of course those same conservatives blame it all on Obama... along with the color frosting on their cupcakes, the price of adult diapers in Palm Beach and the weather. But that's beyond the point.
Invariably I would encounter the same canned, knee-jerk responses:
"They're too lazy too work."
"They're leeches who want to get welfare instead of work."
"They're not trying hard enough."
Of course the same individuals spewing that particular brand of misguided venom had comfortable jobs... and likely have always enjoyed comfortable jobs. Beyond that, the math never jived with their claims because at the time there were six applicants on average vying for ONE job. Undeterred by that simple fact, however, they continued to regurgitate the same flawed reasoning, all the while stereotyping, belittling and insulting folks who didn't happen to have a job.
That statistic hasn't changed much since I last held this conversation with a conservative, but one thing that has worsened is the saddening amount of our brave military veterans who are finding themselves not only unemployed but even facing foreclosures on their home and worse.
So at this point, I only have one small request: Conservatives, please stand up, raise your voices and call those American heroes "lazy," or say that they're not "trying hard enough," or that they want to be "leeches" and "mooch off taxpayers." Go ahead, say it. Otherwise, sit down and shut the hell up. Your divisive stereotyping, false assumptions and mean-hearted nonsense do nothing to solve the problem.
About the author: Joseph O. Patton is the editor-in-chief and founder of the Capital City Free Press. He is a former news editor for the Coosa County News, lead reporter for the Montgomery Independent and editor-in-chief of the AUMnibus, the student newspaper of Auburn-Montgomery. Patton is also the creator of and writer for the satirical news radio segment "Goat Hill Gossip," which previously aired on WAUD in Auburn, Alabama and has appeared on several Central Alabama radio programs as a political analyst.
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