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Cake or Death? (tempslut) wrote in otf_wank,
@ 2004-12-24 15:34:00

Fuck heat! My kids need the new Elmo toy!
(I must give credit to rockgeisha for finding the following wank. I am simply the messenger here.)

Gail D. is a mother of two small children with another on the way. She tells the electric company how heartless they are to deny them power because she and her husband decided to sacrifice the electric bill ($144) for presents from Santa. She threatens to sue.

mary jo b. suggests she tell them Santa brought electricity. More than one poster discusses the irony of her having another kid when Gail can't even pay the electric bill.

Alan M spells it out for her: "Heat comes before toys... what part of that isn't perfectly clear?"

And the wank keeps going and going...

(Post a new comment)

hinata
2004-12-25 12:23 am UTC (link)

Sue? ...Because she can't pay her bill? How is it the power company's fault that she is teh poor? OMG OPPRESSION!

Why am I reminded of Jingle All the Way and the idea that if said present isn't given, then the kid's life will be ruined and he'll become a postman? Well, in this case it may be an upgrade: from what I hear, postmen can pay electric bills.

I have some sympathy for being poor and having to make that choice, but I don't have sympathy for someone going sue-happy over her inability to pay. Logic doth not compute.

(Reply to this)

	twocorpses 2004-12-25 12:24 am UTC (link)
	It boggles my mind that someone would put buying presents before the health and well being of their family. And as one of the posters said, if they're getting ready to disconnect now it's been more than a month without paying their bill. Can I go and smack this woman? GUH (Reply to this)(Thread)

	megmurry 2004-12-25 12:32 am UTC (link)
	Yeah, I know that around here (in Pennsylvania), getting the electric company to turn off your power in the winter would take effort. I mean, there's six million charities that'll help you out if you can't pay your electric bill because you're low income, and they're pretty much required to wait until spring if it's winter and you call and say you've got kids in the house. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	eljuno 2004-12-25 12:25 am UTC (link)
	Forgive me if I'm asking the blatantly obvious, but, um... If they don't have the money for presents or the electric bill, where are they going to get the money for a lawyer to sue? I doubt someone'd go pro bono for this one... (Reply to this)(Thread)

	jess_d_ripper 2004-12-25 12:39 am UTC (link)
	[insert obligatory internet lawyer reference here] (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	altoidsaddict 2004-12-25 12:43 am UTC (link)
	Maybe we can give her some Internet Cash to get ~~more crappy little gizmos for the kids~~ her electricity turned back on. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

jrs1980, 2004-12-25 12:46 am UTC

squib, 2004-12-25 01:37 am UTC

hinata, 2004-12-25 05:24 am UTC

hinata, 2004-12-25 05:25 am UTC

squib, 2004-12-25 05:34 am UTC

shinigami_co, 2004-12-25 05:59 am UTC

sepiamagpie, 2004-12-25 06:10 am UTC

dwarfjen, 2004-12-25 04:17 pm UTC

kraken_sleeps, 2004-12-25 07:28 pm UTC

squib, 2004-12-26 10:07 am UTC

helenraven, 2004-12-26 12:58 pm UTC

squib, 2004-12-26 01:08 pm UTC

(no subject) - dodyskin, 2004-12-27 11:21 pm UTC

helenraven, 2004-12-27 11:39 pm UTC

suzycat, 2004-12-30 09:22 am UTC

stjarna, 2005-01-03 02:29 pm UTC

sepiamagpie, 2004-12-27 02:01 am UTC

bishounenhuntrs, 2004-12-25 06:49 pm UTC

(no subject) - dodyskin, 2004-12-27 11:22 pm UTC

backfromspace, 2004-12-25 10:13 am UTC

	schoenschoen 2004-12-25 09:43 pm UTC (link)
	Took the words right outta my mouth... err, fingers. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	feenix 2004-12-25 03:14 am UTC (link)
	Here's what I'd like to see happen: I am only asking for an extension until the 30th. On the 30th my husband gets paid and I can pay the $144 that is past due. So...um...why not take the presents back, and tell the kids that Santa is running late this year? And that he'll come on New Year's Eve? (Reply to this)(Thread)

	mireille 2004-12-25 03:34 am UTC (link)
	The kids are 23 months and 4 - that would have been the easiest solution. Or heck, buy the kids a couple of things at the everything's-a-dollar store, and then do the rest for New Year's. Or Epiphany. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

terminal_frost
2004-12-25 04:52 am UTC (link)

I'd personally recommend the dollar store approach.

Kids don't really care if it had a big price tag or not; the fact Santa came to visit them is the biggest part of getting a gift.

Besides, it's the dollar store. You can buy each child ten items apiece and only spend about $20-30 (depending on whether the dollar store in question is "everything for a dollar" or "some items are a dollar; others two or three" or whatever).

Just because it's not expensive a toy as some high-end item doesn't make it any less a toy than the big-ticket items are...

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

shinigami_co, 2004-12-25 06:01 am UTC

julia, 2004-12-25 05:12 pm UTC

mistressrenet, 2004-12-26 04:03 am UTC

	annabelle_lee 2004-12-25 04:17 am UTC (link)
	Your logic has no place here. Stop being so sensible. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	sanguinary 2004-12-26 01:07 am UTC (link)
	Exactly. Hell, my parents did that to me. My dad had to work Christmas Day when I was three, so they just added a link to my "Countdown to Christmas" paper-chain and had Christmas on Boxing Day. I never even noticed. (Reply to this)(Parent)

terminal_frost
2004-12-25 04:58 am UTC (link)

Speaking as someone on a fixed income here, I'd like to add my name to the list of people who'd like to whap this person around a few times.

When on a limited income, everything "essential" comes before anything one could describe as "fun".

That means things like rent, food and bills comes before luxuries.

And if you have to buy stuff from a discount store then so be it.

The government didn't give me that money to waste on stuff like expensive do-dads to pawn later on in the month because I'm out of cash; it gave me that money to survive with. The least I or anyone else can do with it is to show some responsibility and use it to *gasp* take care of oneself by paying one's rent, bills and buy enough food for the month as such monies are intended to be for.

Yeah, this woman needs to sort out her priorities.

Bills always come before anything else. No matter what.

Kids are forgiving; if the gifts come late they'll understand. They won't grow up to be serial killers or bank robberers if the presents don't come on December 25th like gifts usually do...

(Reply to this)(Thread)

hinata
2004-12-25 05:28 am UTC (link)

That, and as they are 4 and 23 months, I doubt they'll remember this Christmas anyway. I don't remember all much in general before age 13, and I'm 19. As for Christmases, I only remember the past couple unless something really cool happens, like the tree almost falling on me.

Besides, isn't Christmas really about family togetherness and love and shit?

/hallmark card

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	shinigami_co 2004-12-25 06:03 am UTC (link)
	I would so buy that card and send it to my entire family. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	gal_montag 2004-12-25 11:00 am UTC (link)
	W. T. F!? Let her sue, maybe they'll take her children away and put them in a home where heat comes before presents. (Reply to this)

	psychofangirl 2004-12-25 05:30 pm UTC (link)
	These are the kinds of people I have NO sympathy for. (Reply to this)

schoenschoen
2004-12-25 09:53 pm UTC (link)

I'm wondering if the electric company's name really *is* "Entergy Mississippi Inc". Cause if it's just "Energy" - Ahahahaha!

Anyway, I saw the same kinda reactions from my own mom when she was recently pregnant (she's from Tennessee) - "You can't do this to me - I'm pregnant!" "They tore my car up - and I was pregnant!" "You can't put me in jail - I'm pregnant!" (seriously, all shit that has happened to her because of her own stupidity). Is this just a Southern thing, a pregnant woman thing, or a Southern pregnant woman thing, to be completely unaccountable for anything you do wrong? [/bitching about mom]

Also... She couldn't scrape out $144 in the midst of Christmas season? Lady, that's what greeting cards are for! (This is something that has continued to amaze me after leaving home - $5 is a big deal to people in rural parts of the South. I routinely get nothing for Christmas that cost more than $5 from any of my relatives, and if they give me money, it's a ten. And my mom freaks out if she has to borrow $10 from me for gas when I'm home. Ummm, it's only $10? I *know* it means more to them because they only get roughly $200 a week for pay, but still *damn*!)

And this is why I moved away.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

	iczer6 2004-12-26 01:50 am UTC (link)
	Is this just a Southern thing, a pregnant woman thing, or a Southern pregnant woman thing, to be completely unaccountable for anything you do wrong? [/bitching about mom] Oh God yes. Just because your uterus is full doesn't mean you are now exempt from any sort of responsibility. This type of attitude is, sadly, very common. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

schoenschoen
2004-12-26 08:54 am UTC (link)

Urg, tell me about it. I actually left my mom's place early this year because she was being all 'entitlement bitch' at me. Constantly. I only stayed five days when I had about 10 I could've stayed.

I don't *care* if you're pregnant - if you lie to the police, they *will* cart your ass off to jail! And no, the Hispanic guy behind the desk doesn't *care* if your baby's MEXICANOMG, he's not gonna let you off for that.

And, yeah, I've noticed it being common myself. ~_~

(Reply to this)(Parent)

	ruby_falls 2004-12-26 07:53 pm UTC (link)
	Is this just a Southern thing, a pregnant woman thing, or a Southern pregnant woman thing, to be completely unaccountable for anything you do wrong I don't know if it's regional; I've done poverty law in MS and in Iowa, and I heard the same things both places. My advice was always the same: food and heat comes first. Entergy is a MS power company. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

schoenschoen, 2004-12-27 12:31 am UTC

	criticalcricket 2004-12-25 10:50 pm UTC (link)
	The entitlement that people feel never ceases to amaze me. Obviously, she is entitled to electricity and expensive toys! How dare they deny her the right to buy overpriced toys!! Why can't people just be happy to be together and healthy? Because there are no gifts involved! OMG nooooooo! Damn materialism. (Reply to this)

	snacky 2004-12-26 06:03 pm UTC (link)
	Thank god for the internet! Otherwise we'd have to go out and find real live people to be morally superior to. Oh, I suppose we could all become bill collectors and sneer at people that way. (Reply to this)(Thread)

	sepiamagpie 2004-12-27 02:02 am UTC (link)
	they should just get along with dying already and decrease the surplus population! yeah, I screwed up that quote real bad. (Reply to this)(Parent)

cyn
2004-12-27 03:35 am UTC (link)

I take your point, and perhaps there's some holier-than-thou going on here.

But perhaps there's dash of up-fededness with the whole Families Are Holy thing. Honestly, I'm really tired of the attitude of entitlement, and maybe you aren't in the US, but I get it in the face every day.

I need this spot because I have an SUV full of kids! I need the cart first because I'm trailing 4 kids and I'm OMG so burdened! I can cut you off at 60mph and don't you dare get pissed off, because I'm driving a precious load of babies! I have multiple babies! Feed me/clothe me/buy my kiddies gifts at Xmas time!

I have no children. I confess the pink magic haze that surrounds babies has never touched me, because I've never experienced the magical hormonal infusion. So I can't really relate to the mindset that considers the wee sweet bebbeh the center of the known fucking universe, toward which all rational priorities must bend.

I do, however, value children as individuals who deserve the best chance they can get, which is why I've never had one. I simply don't have the money to give a child the resources essential to a real shot at life.

The drive to propogate to see oneself "continued," to see an eensey face "that loves you unconditionally," without taking thought for the actual life created is -- to my way of thinking -- the worst kind of selfishness and ill-planning. And this wank kinda exemplifies that mindset.

Today was the Feast of the Holy Family in Catholicdom, to which I cling, with reservations. The decon got up and had to allude to "attacks" on the "conventional family" during the past year. So I'm a little wanky my own self.

As a single person, I pay (heavy) taxes for schools, and happily. I support myself and ask for no recognition, by church or state, as a single female. But I, too, get a little pissed off by these waves of women who seek social validation from a man; who, failing that, seek social validation as pregnant Madonnas; who, failing that, ask for naked handouts to assist them in a situation of their own making, because they can't keep their own kids warm.

I won't even touch the threat of litigation, because I've already come three times and I have a weak heart.

*shivers* Who's got a kleenex? Woof.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

antigone, 2004-12-28 06:30 am UTC

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