First a brief background...After teaching for 8 years, I was unable to find work for over a year until I recently got a part time job as a Librarian at the local Air Force base library. Now I knew going in that generally speaking, the military isn't exactly a liberal stronghold, but I kinda hoped that at least the people intelligent enough to use a library would be smarter than the average bear, so to speak.
Unfortunately, today I had my first run in with a full on whack-a-doodle. I tried sooo hard to remain pleasant and nice, but this was too much and I had to walk away. the following is the conversation:
Mr. A (whack-a-doodle): (to Mr. B) Oh hey, I've got some news that will interest you. I was watching the news last night and you know how they want to pay for all this free health care? They're gonna tax wheelchairs!
Mr. B (fellow co-worker): Really? Hmmm.
Mr. A: Yeah. If you are in a wheelchair you're going to get taxed. If you have a pacemaker, you'll get taxed.
Me: Really, sir? I follow politics pretty closely and I haven't heard this. Can I ask where you got this information from?
Mr. A: It was on the news!
Me: Which news station was that? (thinking FAUX)
Mr. A: MSNBC.
Me (an avid watcher of MSNBC): Wow. I haven't heard that at all. Do you remember which show it was on?
Mr. A: Uhhh, it was one of those commentators. I don't remember. But I looked it up on the internet and it's true!
Me: Huh. Interesting. (opens google on the circulation computer and types in "Wheelchair tax". Sure enough 5 link down...factcheck.org (
http://www.factcheck.org/2009/09/rnc-tax-attack-goes-too-far/). Inwardly I smile knowing it is busted) Oh huh. Well here's a non-partisan website that says that is completely incorrect. ( I turn the monitor to him to see).
Mr. A: (After a minute) Well, I don't believe things on the internet...they told us that the public option was dead didn't they?!
Me: (Realizing that any sort of logic will be lost on this guy.) Well that is what some people hoped.
Mr. A: Besides, I read the Senate bill, so I know it is in there.
Me: (Thinking - I'd put millions on the fact that 90% of the members of congress haven't even read ALL of the bills. I read everything I can get my hands on and I haven't even been able to get through the huge long pages of legal crap, there is no way that this moron has read anything more than the cherry picked language from a single section and twisting it to mean something completely different.) Well, I haven't had the opportunity to read the whole thing, so do you remember what section that was in?
Mr. A: No I don't. But I read it!
Me: Uh-uh (going back to work rather than risk losing my job logically ripping apart this guys points)
Mr. A: Well, I don't trust any of them government people. They told me when I retired I wouldn't have to pay anything for my health care...but I do have to pay for Tricare!! And if it is the same people that are in charge of Medicare and the VA, look how well that worked. I spent all those years fighting the communists and now we're letting them take over...
Me: (Walking away at this point.)
Seriously, what is wrong with these people? Do they not realize that they make absolutely no sense at all!? Did I miss something last night on MSNBC on this or was the RNC attack ad played again? I noticed that the factcheck article is from almost a month ago.
It took every ounce of self-control to not go off on this guy. What makes it even better is that this guy was specifically telling this to Mr. B in an effort to make sure that Mr. B would view the health care reform in a negative light. Mr. B is a vet who is now wheelchair bound.
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(384 posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
