Submitted by a reader

                                                                  

Okay, now I’m getting mad!

No, not the insane kinda’ mad. The SEEIN’ RED kinda’ mad! It’s not unexpected: I’ve been fighting it for about six years now but yesterday I saw something on the news that finally made me want to kick the wall (never the dog) and shout impolite words. On TV yesterday I saw a bunch of (and watch out for the political incorrectness that’s coming your way)  loony-toons carrying signs demanding $15 an hour for entry-level workers at fast-foods joints.

Obviously the crowd wasn’t divided according to population – the 12% African minority probably accounted for over 90% of those in attendance. Their shouted epithets broadly indicated they were not candidates for the English as a First Language award.

You probably noticed right off I said “African” and not “African-American.”  The only people who can rightfully use that hyphenated nationality are those with dual-citizenship. The rest are either Africans or Americans and must decide which and conduct themselves accordingly. I’m not a European-American. You’re not a “Whatever-American.” We can’t have it both ways. Like Hemingway said, we’ve gotta be either beast or foul. “Beast-Hyphen-Fowl” is not acceptable. I'd guess not one out of every 1,000 black Americans also has African citizenship. I’m aware that statement will cause the hair to rise on the necks of the “political correctness” nuts. They’ll hurry to respond with accusations like “racist” and “Bigot.”

Know what?  I couldn’t care less!  And know why? Well --

These finger-pointers simply don’t have a clue. To begin with, a “racist” is someone who believes that members of certain races have distinctive characteristics. This then possibly involves the idea that one’s own race is somehow superior to all others. In “enlightened correctness” (as opposed to political correctness) racism is an understandable “general characteristic” of ALL races on this planet. Everyone with an ounce of pride can't help but be prejudiced.

Checking with Noah Webster, a “bigot is “Someone who is intolerant of any creed, belief or opinion that differs from his own.” My goodness, doesn’t that sound just like an Obama liberal? Those exact people who are quick to point an accusing finger are often the biggest racists and bigots of all!

My second reaction to those protesters was, I hoped that most of those dingbats (and I can’t even guess where they were shipped in from) never set foot in a fast-foods restaurant in my neighborhood. From the looks of many of those sign-toters, I’d hate to eat the food that they had a hand in preparing. I'll stop there --  I'm getting close to profiling, and I'd hate to have them call me unconstitutional as well. (Although "unconstitutional racist bigot" does have a certain ring to it . . .)

                                                                                                                                           

Modern-day success is all too often measured solely in dollars and cents. In a Republic such as the United States, ambition and hard work are the acceptable, yet diminishing, path toward success. Using threats and force to get there are NOT a substitute for the American way. Such demonstrations as we are seeing are a form of intimidation that can quickly develop into a physical confrontation. What do you consider “If you don’t give in to our (unreasonable?) demands, we’ll put you out of business”? How much does that differ from pointing a gun and saying, “Give me your money or I’ll shoot you”?  Actually, it's not too far different  …  just using a more direct approach. How often have we seen orderly coercion jump to physical mayhem (old enough to remember the Watts Riots of the 1960s?)

It is not unusual for American home owners or renters to have their lawns mowed by self-proclaimed landscapers. It is not unusual for these services to be performed by independents who drive pickups and hire “casual laborers.” Now what if your own lawn-mower were to appear in front of your house one morning with a bunch of workmen you’d never seen before all carrying signs that said, “We want $100 an hour to mow your lawn!” You’d likely call one of the other lawn-mowers in your town and tell him to come by. It wouldn't be that easy if the government and a union were helping him. Okay, that’s likely a poor simile, but you get the point. And the franchisee that owns your local hamburger joint is powerless to resist a government edict.

I'm not going to finger-point and use the word "unAmerican" but individuals and organizations that move to restrict job-availability aren't helping get us out of the predicament we're in. The BLS reported that in August 142,000 jobs were created. That is .00044 in percentile-speak. That would be like the entire County of Los Angeles hiring the big toe of one worker in a month. What’s worse, the BLS had to use their magic wand to put 80,000 of those supposed new workers into the equation. To save you counting on your fingers, that makes the real total for the month of August only 62,000 new jobs. In L.A. County, that wouldn’t even make a toenail on a worker. In the entire nation, zip!

A scant 62.8 of the labor force have jobs. There is a Real 12% unemployment. The country is in the worst financial shape since the Great Depression. Yet, the unions are hiring protesters with dirty hands to threaten a bunch of small franchisees with possible extinction if they don’t get a $15 an hour minimum wage. Where’s the fairness in this? Have the unions -- along with the entry-level workers -- lost their minds? To satisfy this outrageous demand, the average fast-food restaurants would have to raise their prices by 38% and/or fire workers. Even then, their profits would generally plummet by nearly 80%. Friends, these idiots are basically trying to force small-businesses to commit suicide!

Those few legitimate fast-food workers that are protesting are being used as unwitting stooges by unions who pay the remainder of the mobs to join the marchers. These same unions once played a beneficial role in the development of America. Today, they’re purposely accelerating the decline of American business.

Is it any wonder I get mad?!  Oops! Is anger now on the list of political incorrectness? What's next, thinking?