This is troubling me. What would you do?

[pamela]

I read a number of blogs by people who live and travel fulltime in their RVs. This is something my husband and I are researching so I try to follow a number of diverse couples and families who are already doing this. There is one blog for a family of 12 that I occasionally read simply because she has interesting storage and organizational tips. I usually avoid it though because she's a nutjob, Obama-hater. I clicked on a post last night to read something about her kitchen and found a very disturbing statement she made about her camphosting position this summer.

They are camphosting in an RV park in Montana. There is a lake at the park and boats have been getting stuck on a sandbar as the water is very low right now. Here is the passage that disturbed me...

"Yesterday as we were doing rounds, we saw a truck down putting in at the main dock. I usually try to catch and warn the boaters about the sand bar, and to let them know that if they stay to the dock side on the way out, they will most likely get through fine. As he pulled up off of the ramp, Jake said (Jake is often my partner in crime), "Wait mom, he has an O*ama bumper sticker!"

Sure enough. he was on his own. :) :) :) LOL! (and we were LOL!) (just thought I'd let you know so you didn't harbor any delusional thinking about what fine camp hosts we are or anything...)" http://ticknortribe.blogspot.com/

I'm not sure where these people camphost but if it isn't a KOA it is near one and a couple of their kids work at the KOA in the office, store, grill, etc. The "Jake" she mentioned is one of the kids. I thought about emailing KOA with a link to this post but I would feel terrible if her kids lost their jobs. On the other hand, I find it disturbing that she's teaching her kids to treat Obama supporters differently. It's also dangerous. Campers depend on the camphosts and campground employees to warn them about hazards in the area and if they are withholding information based on political affiliation, someone could get hurt.

So what should I do? Should I email KOA a link to this post and let them figure out which of their Montana franchises employs these people? That feels creepy to me since it involves kids. On the other hand, it was a kid who pointed out the Obama sticker and as a person who stays in KOA's pretty frequently, I would hate to think that a person might not be warned of some danger simply because they support our President. What would you do?

[seabeyond]

1. i think it would be a pretty good lesson for a child to learn, that nasty, for whatever reason, is

nasty

[Tunkamerica]

2. She shouldn't have posted it on a public webpage if she wasn't prepared for the consequences

It's her behavior that's wrong. You should not feel bad about letting KOA know that she's not living up to her responsibilities. On the other hand, I doubt she'll change her ways no matter the consequences.

[Warpy]

14. Exactly, if she didn't want any negative consequences

she should have done the job she's getting paid to do.

Yeah, fink her out. Let them hire someone who's actually interested in doing the job.

[XanaDUer]

25. I don't know a lot about the RV lifestyle

Is this a paid position, volunteer with a reduced rate, I wonder? :shrug:

Doesn't matter- they're still acting as stewards of the campground and not telling people about potentially life-threatening issues is pretty evil, imo.

I would tell the KOA. I am sure they don't need lawsuits and things b/c of sociopaths like this group.

[pamela]

28. Camphosts usually volunteer for a free site.

It varies from campground to campground. Some places will have you work a set number of hours for the site and then pay you for any hours over that. At State Parks and National parks, it's usually strictly a volunteer position but private campgrounds often do the site plus pay system.

[Cleita]

49. Usually, it's work in exchange for hook-ups (utilities)

and a parking space (rent). Sometimes there is a small salary too.

[Warpy]

58. The RV lifestyle was for the generation that preceded the Boomers

for the most part and too many of them were Nixon's "silent majority," people whose only reason for voting then was that they hated hippies and after that they hated anybody with brown skin getting a "free ride on welfare." They're manipulated by who they're given permission to hate and they're overwhelmingly right wing.

They're people who managed to have a good lifestyle on the coattails of the New Deal but were manipulated into voting for the end of it by people giving them permission to hate groups of their fellow citizens.

Oh, some of them, especially toward the end of that cohort, were amazing and the left is much richer for their contributions, but the vast majority are the backbone of conservatism.

[Duer 157099]

3. Yes, send the email. She posted her stupidity, you're just passing it on

to those who should know about it.

[Liberal_in_LA]

60. +10 send the post to the management

[quinnox]

4. I wouldn't bother

I would feel like a lackey to do something like this, but if you are upset about the disrespecting President Obama thing then go for it.

[WinkyDink]

23. I believe it is the safety issue.

[Whisp]

42. it is a safety issue. this should be reported in some fashion

[A-Schwarzenegger]

5. This seems to point the way & make clear what to do:

"It's also dangerous. Campers depend on the camphosts and campground employees to warn them about hazards in the area and if they are withholding information based on political affiliation, someone could get hurt."

[KayLaw]

6. I would report it.

Btw, my husband and I are looking into the full-timer lifestyle, too.

[pamela]

18. I added you to my buddy list.

We should keep in touch. We're very serious about this. We're looking for a motorhome now and plan to move into it and start getting our house ready to sell. I'll send you a link if I start a blog. I've been thinking about doing that to help me stay focused on all we need to do.

[Corgigal]

54. Wow we are too

Went to look at a 5th wheeler last month and thinking about putting up the house for sale. I'm tried of all the responsibilities of a house and now that the kids are going to be on their own shortly I think the time is right.

[pamela]

62. I added you to my buddy list, too.

I may start a post about this sometime in one of the groups. Maybe the travel group? Not sure where it would fit but it would be good to have a place here where those of us planning to do this could talk. I've been considering it for years and have done a ton of research. We're getting pretty serious about it now and hope to be on the road by this Fall, or next Spring at the latest. I get kind of overwhelmed though, by all that we need to do between now and then. Mostly I just have a ton of crap to get rid of.

[marsis]

7. Well,

at least they're probably good christians.

[izquierdista]

8. I'll vote with #3, not #4

By all means, pass it on.

[petronius]

9. I think it would be a bit creepy to send an email, personally

Reporting people for what they post online (which could be BS, for all you know) sounds freeperish to me.

Her behavior, if true, is swinish in the extreme, but I'm sure her employers have objective means of assessing her performance, and people with direct experience have likely complained as appropriate...

[pamela]

24. It feels creepy and freeperish to me, too.

Especially because there are kids involved. I keep asking myself if I'm being overly-dramatic about the safety aspect but I don't think I am. We travel all over the US and I frequently find myself in areas where I depend on the camphosts and campground employees to warn me of local hazards. That's pretty much the reason campgrounds have camphosts. That's the only reason I'm even considering it.

I'd like to think I would be as troubled by this if it involved a camphost treating a McCain/Palin supporter this way. I think in that situation, I would confront the person directly which is what I may end up doing in this situation.

[petronius]

34. Without knowing anything about this lake, I think you may be over-estimating the safety issue a bit

A low water level should be pretty obvious, and people who put boats in need to be aware of depth. Getting stuck on a sandbar sucks, but it's not like she neglected to fence off the abandoned well or something. Camp hosts can be useful, but campers/boaters need to be responsible as well - not every hazard or inconvenience will be marked.

Also, as awful as this person sounds (and people who would laughingly watch others get into trouble or decline to help just because of a bumper sticker are despicable), you don't really even know if this happened - she could just be making shit up to entertain like-minded friends...

[NotThisTime]

36. If they are laughing about someone else's safety because of the President that person supports TURN

THEM IN, they obviously don't think it's an over estimation. If you are stupid enough to blog such information, then you should be man enough to "man up" as the freepers always say. Kids have to learn freaking consequences. When you discriminate against anyone based on anything including who the person voted for, well, that's discrimination end of story.

[proud2BlibKansan]

46. That's what bothers me the most about this

She is teaching her kids to discriminate.

[proud2BlibKansan]

10. Turn her in

I don't understand why anyone would lose their job over this but if they do, lesson learned.

[obxhead]

11. The safety of campers and their property takes precedence over

political feelings.

If they don't want to put their job at risk for their political feelings, then they shouldn't put their political feelings before the safety of the people they host. I would report it. If no action was taken at the local KOA I would move up the chain.

They made their bed, let them lie in it.

[Horse with no Name]

12. Yes. I would turn them in.

Their hatred should have consequences.

[onethatcares]

13. I've always wondered when people like that

stop teaching their kids to share and start telling them to beat the crap out of others and take what they want.

This would be a good time to let KOA know.

[frogmarch]

15. Email the link to KOA.

That's what I'd do, anyway.

[frogmarch]

16. It may be too late to report them.

It looks as if at least one of them has been raptured.

[pamela]

17. Thanks for that!

That is too funny! I needed a laugh.

[XanaDUer]

19. Uh, yeah,

they need to know they're endangering people's lives and property over petty shit like bumper stickers. If I saw a car on fire and someone trapped inside, I certainly would not NOT help them due to a bumper sticker. That's pretty psychotic.

[southernyankeebelle]

20. I would send this e-mail post to them. However, I found that you really can't

put bumper stickers on your car anymore. There are crazies out there. Don't invite them.

[XanaDUer]

21. You know, sad but true

I would not have put an Obama bumper sticker on my car where I used to live in GA, but where I live now, no problem.

EDIT: Typo

[XanaDUer]

22. Just checked out the family

are they Quiverfuls or something?

Edited to add: :wtf: is up with the spelling of Obama?

[Shagbark Hickory]

26. ...

I've learned to become less of a loudmouth and more of a presenter of facts.
If you can find out where it is, email them a link to the blog. Mission accomplished.

[aikoaiko]

27. Its OK to forward it on.

If they failed their job, their boss should know.

[proud2BlibKansan]

29. Oh how sweet. She replied:

Dear Dem Underground...
So, I see that my dis on the O*ama bumper sticker/boat ramp guy has hit a Democratic forum (for those of you that missed it, I'm a 'nut-job O*ama hater'! - thanks for the compliment Pamela ;) - but oh, isn't calling me a 'nut-job O*bama hater' treating me differently than how you would talk about an O*ama lover???
so along the lines of turning me in to hopefully get us fired as camp hosts and getting my kids fired...

Telling the boaters about the sand bar is NOT part of my job (nothing to do with the boat docks are), he was in no way in danger (or we would have posted signs long ago and those ramps would have been closed hello! -contrary to your biased,uninformed forum post, we are not hateful people). The worst that could have happened was that he may just have to push himself off the sandbar (like dozens of others have been doing for weeks), and feel free to let KOA know... I don't work for the KOA, my kids can hold their own as to work ethics (no free ride mindset fed here) and their respect and friendliness speak for themself, also this is a volunteer position - we are helping out because they couldn't find anyone else to hold the spot (if you would like to volunteer your time, 24/7, giving up your weekends to deal with drunks and partying teens, let me know and I'll get you an app)

So, my question is - how is letting 'turning me into the KOA' (hoping to get our site taken and kids fired) righteous, yet my not telling the boater about the sandbar is hateful???
Hypocrisy at it's best... Tolerant of everyone but those that don't think exactly as you do.?.(or support the same pres. you do)

LOL! anyhow, thanks for a good laugh!!!

http://ticknortribe.blogspot.com/2011/05/dear-dem-underground.html

[Tunkamerica]

31. so her response is:

you're just as bad as me... it wasn't that bad... KOA couldn't find anybody else to do the job so they deserve what they get...


Which president is she supporting? I thought there was only one at a time.

[proud2BlibKansan]

35. Who is claiming anyone is righteous?

What a silly accusation.

And yes, what she is doing is hateful.

[pamela]

41. Wow, she clearly can't read.

I guess she missed the part where I said I would feel terrible if her kids got fired. How she turned that statement into "hoping to get our site taken and our kids fired" is beyond me. You'll notice she didn't put a link to this so that people could read what was actually said. I hope she will at least think twice before letting her politics interfere with doing the right thing, but I doubt that will happen.

[proud2BlibKansan]

43. And she just had to get that "righteous" nonsense in there

I swear I never see anyone other than a self-righteous twit like this woman even use that word. Wingnuts are good at accusing us of being righteous. It ranks up there with the worst behaviors in wingnut world.

[Tunkamerica]

47. samuel l. jackson in pulp fiction used righteous...

[bettyellen]

53. she thinks training her kid to discriminate against those who support our president is respectful?

I feel sorry for her kid, she has probably also fooled him into thinking it's patriotic.
I do feel sorry for them, having to do all this crappy volunteer work she obviously hates. I hope the other campers don;t look down on them for the "free ride" they are getting.

[OmahaBlueDog]

30. Yes, you should e-mail KOA

They should at least know what is going on.

[ohheckyeah]

32. She now has a post up

about this thread.

[XanaDUer]

33. Yeah, that's weird

...

[stuntcat]

56. then

then we can tell her here what a sad shame it is that people like her are raising children? oh the future's so bright :eyes:

[jmowreader]

37. Now she has a note to us on her page

So Dana, since I know you're reading: You're still an asshole.

[XanaDUer]

38. It's strange how she caught on so quickly

what is she doing, monitoring the internet for negative remarks about her esoteric blog?

[Tunkamerica]

39. somebody here told her most likely

[XanaDUer]

40. Yup.

nt.

[proud2BlibKansan]

44. Many blogs have a notification feature

Anytime anyone links to your blog, you are notified. A lot of blogs even list those sites on the side of the page.

[XanaDUer]

45. Gotcha

Thanks.

[Cleita]

48. My husband and I did it for ten years and we also

often campground hosted. It was a great life, unfortunately most of the other RVers are white, conservative, fundies. Mostly we avoided socializing with them and they didn't care because they didn't like Californians anyway. However, I never knew one of them not to help out a fellow RVer or camper if they were in trouble or passing on knowledge like that of the sand bar because of politics. That's a new low in my book. There were often campers I didn't like because they were Rush Limbaugh dittohead assholes, but there was no way I would treat them any differently than any other camper.

[Nay]

50. As RVers ourselves, Mr Nay and I always go out of our way to help

anyone in need at a campground, and the favor is (mostly) returned to us. Campers should look out for each other. If horrible people like this camp host become the norm, then it will be a sad day.

[XanaDUer]

51. Lol, and she's reading this, too

:hi:

[Trekologer]

52. 50/50 the story is made up

But assuming it wasn't, an employee laughing at the misfortune of a customer would be grounds for deserved termination in my book.

Let's change the parameters of the story for a bit. Let's say that the boaters were instead a shopper at a supermarket reaching for an item on a high shelf. Instead of assisting the customer, an employee watched the customer struggle for the item then ultimately knock it off the shelf, breaking it, and having the contents splash all over the customer. All while the employee sits back, laughing at the customer.

In that scenario, if I'm the boss, the employee would clean up the mess then be shown the door.


Edited to add: turn them in and don't be upset one bit about it.

[Dj13Francis]

55. I say do it.

Complain to high heaven. Do everything you can to ensure this lady gets held to account for this.

[jberryhill]

57. Send them an expression of your support

Tell them that you share their contempt of the n---r president, and invite them to join your klan.

See if they accept your invite.

[Aerows]

59. It's a safety issue

This is a teaching moment for everyone involved. She bragged about it online - she get to suffer the consequences for her bigotry regarding people's political viewpoints. I hope that if her family member needs help that they don't get denied help or safety information because they are bigoted a-holes against Democrats.

[Amaril]

61. Is there an organization or offce......

.....that monitors or oversees these "camp host" people? I would absolutely report her to anybody and everybody I could think of, with a link to her blog. Her behavior was irresponsible and reckless and she definitely doesn't need to be in any kind of position of trust or authority. What if there was a life threatening situation going on (gas leak, fire, etc.)? Would she refuse to notify any people with whom she doesn't agree politically?

She is obviously too immature -- intellectually and emotionally -- to be trusted with anything more important than a hang nail.

[Pithlet]

63. Turn her in. Without a doubt. nt

[yellerpup]

64. Report her.

She is being worse than irresponsible and lives could be at stake if she isn't 'corrected'. I doubt that her children are in the dark on whether or not she is a nice person, but they may not realize the consequences of her failing to inform a fellow camper (with an opposing viewpoint to hers) of dangerous camping conditions. If her children suffer it will be because of her big mouth, not because of you.

[snot]

65. Which other parents shd be protected from the consequences of their own wrongful actions because

it might adversely affect their kids?

[Zorra]

66. This woman is a petty dictator. An authoritarian conservative that abuses

what little power she feels that she has in her sad little life.

She's only going to continue hurting people through her inability to handle even just a little bit of responsibility.

You'd feel horrible if you didn't do something, and then someone got hurt or killed because of her lack of responsibility.

[ekelly]

67. We camp regularly...

and pull our boat. Campers rely on the knowledge of parkhosts in many situations. I would call or write to let someone know what's going on.
Someone could get hurt or their boats could become damaged.

[XanaDUer]

68. Kick

...

[Snoutport]

69. Let her boss read her own words. You don't have to do anything but let her speak for herself

[Left coast liberal]

70. Leave a comment with a link of this post.