Yes, MrP, I do realize that there are two sides to the coin, and while I may have had some bad experiences with telemarketers, that doesn't make the individual callers bad. But there are telemarketing organizations that make it their business to defraud the people they call, and the callers are willing participants; ie. criminals. The unfortunate fact is that it's the bad apples that ruin it for the rest of you, so I (and many others) avoid you like the plague, and take some bit of pleasure in giving any telemarketer as hard a time as I can. I figure if the harder I make you work, the less incentive you have to call me again.
My opinion remains that telemarketing is the real world equivalent to spam -- they call me unannounced and unsolicited, and usually at inconvenient times, trying to sound like my friend and like they care about my well being, when all they're interested in is parting me from my money or getting their hands on my credit card number or other personal information. If through some miracle telemarketing suddenly ceased to exist, those who employ telemarketers could easily make up for the loss in some other way, and the world would go merrily on it's way with nary a blip. For the vast majority of the world's population, telemarketers serve absolutely no useful purpose.
What's obvious is that you take yourself and your job all too seriously. Bully for you that it pays the bills and you enjoy it, but if you go through life expecting people to respect your profession, prepare to be sorely disappointed.
"That’s absolutely the most stupid thing you could say... Do you have any real reason why you should just be handed my number when we’ve had to jump through hoops to get yours? Surely the same conditions should apply for you just as for us, no?"
Ummm, MrP; it's meant to be a joke, ok? And jump through hoops to get my number? Please. You dirtbags get my number and several thousand more for a lump sum, usually amounting to a few cents per name. Don't give me the "we work hard for it so we deserve to use it" BS. Save it for one of your marks.
And MrP; if your verbosity in this thread is an attempt to gain sympathy or even a little understanding for people in your line of work -- FAIL. But you have succeeded in raising my level of contempt for your kind a few tics with each of your comments.
Good grief, MrP; get over yourself. It's a job, doing something that annoys the heck out of 99% of the populace, so it's natural that people are going to lash out at the only representation of the irritation available -- the guy on the other end of the line. And you apparently don't know telemarketing in the US. Most of the calls we get on our home line are from outfits that are raising money for charitable organizations. Organizations that I would ordinarily be happy to give money to, but these outfits pass only a small percentage of the take on to the charity. And the callers know it, so they know they deserve any crap they get from their intended victims.
My favorite trick is this; when I figure out it's a telemarketer, I tell them I'm quite busy at the moment, but I'd be happy to call them back, and I ask for the caller's home phone number. Most respond with something like, "I'm not going to give you my home number!" And I say, "Well you called me at home, so don't you think I should be able to do the same to you?" And I then politely ask them to remove my number from their call list.
Ach dammit; all you gun hating maniacs sicken me. And you really believe what you’re spewing around. You really do believe it. I am deeply saddened by the lack of autonomous thinking ability displayed in the US nowadays
Take that fluff. If you don't like the 2nd Amendment, then change it. Or at least try. And good luck with that.
So Survival International has known about these people for a long time and has made themselves god/protector over them. Interesting.
How many people who are all gung ho about keeping this tribe in isolation would want the same for us if we were visited by extra-terrestrials who possessed advanced technology and were willing to share it with us?
I remember seeing Carlin on the Johnny Carson show years ago. He got up on stage and didn't say a word; just made goofy faces at the audience that made people wonder what he was thinking about. Rolling in the aisles.
And after hearing his brand of dirty humor, including The Seven Words You Can't Say On TV, imagine my surprise to hear his voice as the narrator as my kids watched Thomas The Tank Engine. Oh the irony.
Um, Alex? Your ignorance is showing. I see no problem with a cable operator offering a station like that, but I also see nothing wrong with a special interest group trying to pressure said operator to shut off the tap. Isn't that how you socialist types get your way when the law and the free market don't go your way?
@ Valerie: You go girl! The trouble with Fox News is that it is so different from so many other news outlets that claim to be objective, yet can't see their own biases. When people who see nothing wrong with mainstream media reporting (an affliction many Neatorama readers suffer from) finally see news reported that is slightly positive toward the right. Is Fox News perfectly objective? No. But neither is any other left-leaning news outlet.
@ JamesM: "I have yet to see a single argument against homosexuality that wasn’t religiously based."
Apparently you didn't read my comments above?
@ Xinavera: Guess it didn't take long for the name-calling to start; didn't even require much prompting for you to bring up the Neanderthal thing. Thanks for nullifying your own argument.
A positive outpouring of support in forum like this isn't necessarily a sign of wider acceptance of this sort of thing.
I always knew there was something funny about Mr. Sulu; now I know.
All the comments regarding marriage being based in religion make me a little confused. Sure, most marriages are performed in churches, but that's a tradition thing. If you look at cultures where there is no formal religion, male/female marriage unions can still be identified easily, and marriage ceremonies are common. But look for same-sex marriages in those places... None to be found. From that I'd conclude that marriage between a man and woman is a natural thing, and homosexual marriage is not.
Do homosexual relationships occur in the animal kingdom? Occasionally, but it's rarer than those who bring it up in defense of same-sex unions care to acknowledge. And when it does occur it's usually something that helps males determine pecking order, not long-term relationships. You Darwinists ought to be able to confirm that homosexuality is one trait that would not likely be passed on to succeeding generations; if it is inherited it's an aberration at best. And in today's human society, I'd dare say that homosexuality for most individuals is more of a learned behavior than anything else.
And the claims that it's a civil rights issue... Not.
My opinion remains that telemarketing is the real world equivalent to spam -- they call me unannounced and unsolicited, and usually at inconvenient times, trying to sound like my friend and like they care about my well being, when all they're interested in is parting me from my money or getting their hands on my credit card number or other personal information. If through some miracle telemarketing suddenly ceased to exist, those who employ telemarketers could easily make up for the loss in some other way, and the world would go merrily on it's way with nary a blip. For the vast majority of the world's population, telemarketers serve absolutely no useful purpose.
What's obvious is that you take yourself and your job all too seriously. Bully for you that it pays the bills and you enjoy it, but if you go through life expecting people to respect your profession, prepare to be sorely disappointed.
Ummm, MrP; it's meant to be a joke, ok? And jump through hoops to get my number? Please. You dirtbags get my number and several thousand more for a lump sum, usually amounting to a few cents per name. Don't give me the "we work hard for it so we deserve to use it" BS. Save it for one of your marks.
And MrP; if your verbosity in this thread is an attempt to gain sympathy or even a little understanding for people in your line of work -- FAIL. But you have succeeded in raising my level of contempt for your kind a few tics with each of your comments.
Good night (or is it good morning for you?)
My favorite trick is this; when I figure out it's a telemarketer, I tell them I'm quite busy at the moment, but I'd be happy to call them back, and I ask for the caller's home phone number. Most respond with something like, "I'm not going to give you my home number!" And I say, "Well you called me at home, so don't you think I should be able to do the same to you?" And I then politely ask them to remove my number from their call list.
Thanks for that DailyKos quote, DJ. I rarely read anything there, and it's good to see some honesty from the left for a change.
Take that fluff. If you don't like the 2nd Amendment, then change it. Or at least try. And good luck with that.
Praise the Lord & pass me another clip!
How many people who are all gung ho about keeping this tribe in isolation would want the same for us if we were visited by extra-terrestrials who possessed advanced technology and were willing to share it with us?
My apologies. I knew it was Adam, I meant to write Adam, I thought I wrote Adam, but... And it wasn't even that late!
I remember seeing Carlin on the Johnny Carson show years ago. He got up on stage and didn't say a word; just made goofy faces at the audience that made people wonder what he was thinking about. Rolling in the aisles.
And after hearing his brand of dirty humor, including The Seven Words You Can't Say On TV, imagine my surprise to hear his voice as the narrator as my kids watched Thomas The Tank Engine. Oh the irony.
Easy to imagine; much harder to prove, like so many other physical and behavioral traits.
Um, Alex? Your ignorance is showing. I see no problem with a cable operator offering a station like that, but I also see nothing wrong with a special interest group trying to pressure said operator to shut off the tap. Isn't that how you socialist types get your way when the law and the free market don't go your way?
@ Valerie: You go girl! The trouble with Fox News is that it is so different from so many other news outlets that claim to be objective, yet can't see their own biases. When people who see nothing wrong with mainstream media reporting (an affliction many Neatorama readers suffer from) finally see news reported that is slightly positive toward the right. Is Fox News perfectly objective? No. But neither is any other left-leaning news outlet.
Apparently you didn't read my comments above?
@ Xinavera: Guess it didn't take long for the name-calling to start; didn't even require much prompting for you to bring up the Neanderthal thing. Thanks for nullifying your own argument.
A positive outpouring of support in forum like this isn't necessarily a sign of wider acceptance of this sort of thing.
All the comments regarding marriage being based in religion make me a little confused. Sure, most marriages are performed in churches, but that's a tradition thing. If you look at cultures where there is no formal religion, male/female marriage unions can still be identified easily, and marriage ceremonies are common. But look for same-sex marriages in those places... None to be found. From that I'd conclude that marriage between a man and woman is a natural thing, and homosexual marriage is not.
Do homosexual relationships occur in the animal kingdom? Occasionally, but it's rarer than those who bring it up in defense of same-sex unions care to acknowledge. And when it does occur it's usually something that helps males determine pecking order, not long-term relationships. You Darwinists ought to be able to confirm that homosexuality is one trait that would not likely be passed on to succeeding generations; if it is inherited it's an aberration at best. And in today's human society, I'd dare say that homosexuality for most individuals is more of a learned behavior than anything else.
And the claims that it's a civil rights issue... Not.
/snarky comment