Mammon Revisited

I believe the Biblical concept of dishonest gain and greed as a sin ought to be a more visible concept within the Christian church.

The problem with the evangelical church in America is the they have forgotten that greed is an obstruction to faith. Add to that the lack of introspection and examination of the means by which the religious right have gained wealth and the blind spot widens. Too few Christians realize that their wealth in this country has been gleaned from the poor. Our "largest wealth gap in history" is proof of that. People who work for a living are no longer being compensated at a rate which is equal to their value to society.

And most people who make over $250,000 per year don't consider themselves wealthy. Meanwhile, those of us making $29,000 per year suffer for their ignorance and pride. We're propping up the economy by giving back the little we have. Our margins for survival are getting thinner, and many of us are falling off the scale, casualties of this era of sin and myopia.

mammon [ˈmæmən]

n

1. riches or wealth regarded as a source of evil and corruption

2. avarice or greed

[via Late Latin from New Testament Greek mammōnas, from Aramaic māmōnā wealth]

No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other; or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You can not serve both God and mammon.

— Matthew 6:19-21,24

Is It Possible To Be Bigoted Towards Bigots?

This was something which came up in a forum. A person was espousing his frustration with people being "bigoted" toward people they see as bigots.

I question whether that is technically possible, but understand why the question has to be asked. 

The bigot assumes a couple of things. They believe that their perspective on race is educated by sufficient experience or narrative that it is worthy of being espoused as some level of truth. 

Additionally, they assume that what they see presently as a characteristic or social trait of a group is inherent to that group from birth. This lends itself to wide-sweeping generalizations based upon perceptions and loosely understood "facts."

The nexus of these two errors in thinking is a truncated view of the humanity of any individual they'll encounter of a particular group. This means that they can write off any member of a group, or at least expect them to prove themselves as unlike the perceptions held of that group.

But, like much of what makes contemporary political discourse fraught with ignorance, the bigot fails to understand what factors precipitated what they can see today in any racial group. They also tend to stop short of doing the hard work of interacting with diverse people, who challenge the beliefs they hold simply by existing in the same world as them.

Being "bigoted" toward bigots is not helpful or instructive. Then again, one can question whether that is actually possible. By definition, bigots are not a definable group in any way which is logically comparable to a racial, ethnic, or religious group. Besides, pointing out bigotry is not bigoted, it's more clinical than that. 

However, talking about someone behind their back, although not bigoted, is pointless. If one writes off the person with bigoted ideas then it is essentially like cutting that person off from the same opportunity to grow and learn as we lend to those people we respect. So I can see how it might look like bigotry, even if it's more like shunning.

This makes me think about how intentions matter. There's a place for discernment, but there ought to be no place for discrimination. What separates them? Mostly just the intent of the individual. 

Bigots will never grow and change if they're not treated like humans. Any person who espouses some dislike for flaws in other humans in a way that dehumanizes another human being is essentially becoming that which they despise.

Beatweek Doesn't Get It--WHY I WILL BUY A VERIZON iPhone

http://www.beatweek.com/news/7807-when-verizon-iphone-doubles-marketshare-analysts-will-choke-on-words/


I must say that your characterization of AT&T and the "haters" is wholly misguided. 


I'm a current AT&T (which is actually SBC) customer who has allowed his phone upgrade eligibility to come and go in June in order to wait out the Verizon iPhone. I've had two iPhones, and had ordered the fourth generation product reluctantly amidst a year of billing issues with the company I like to refer to as SBC&T.


I only considered remaining a customer because of the hype over the new iPhone. I was hooked, and had preordered my phone on my first day of phone upgrade eligibility. My 3Gs had died and I was back to using a crappy LG non-smart phone in the interim. I had waited six months using that phone (which has now lapsed to 12 months without iPhone) because I wanted to get the best apple product possible when I finally upgraded again.


I was also aware of AT&T's illogical pricing structure. They are so tone-deaf to customer concerns that I knew that there would not be a discounted rate for the 3Gs when the new phone came out, and AT&T had just announced the eradication of unlimited data plans in favor of further attempts to monetize their services.


Well, when I heard about the technical issues with the iPhone, and the AT&T driven signal indicator issue (that's so typical of AT&T to mislead their customers), I canceled my order for the phone.


All the while I was working on hour 48 of a standoff with AT&T about billing practices and errors with my DSL, bundling, and phone. I'd been given bad information at every level, charged fees because of what a store manager told me, which contradicted what a tech told me on the phone, which was not comprehended by a customer service rep, and so on. This ordeal has stretched for 14 months now.


I've resigned myself to strip down my bill to bare minimum services (which I am still being overcharged for) and wait it out. I've been looking at Sprint and the EVO, but have mostly been waiting to shift to the Verizon iPhone when it arrives. I'm even willing to pay the bloated termination fee which AT&T has instituted to coincide with Jan1, 2011, in an attempt to harm folks who intend to shift away from their horrific business model.


And as for AT&T and complaints. First, this is NOT AT&T. That company died when SBC bought the name during a merger with the company. AT&T wireless and Cingular were consolidated, as were their POTS services. SBC then did the Texas thing and pushed out the vast majority of the AT&T workforce to early retirement. They carried their aggressive business plan out to the fullest, buying the name AT&T without maintaining the quality inherent within.


They were trying to rehab their horrible image as a company, and they were willing to pay anything to accomplish that.


At the time they did have the biggest network of cell towers and service in the country, post-merge. That was not a lie then, but it is now. They've dumped towers throughout USA in the couple of years to follow, after they gained market share. They got us in the door that way.


But when the service became compromised as they shut down AT&T's previous assets, and pushed out all that Telecordia had represented as an industry standard, the customers began to suffer. I have now had enough.


That said, I used to work as a contractor for AT&T, SBC, Ameritech, Verizon, US Cellular, T-Mobile and other service providers. I built a lot of their equipment, and was a liaison and quality auditor for SBC and AT&T separately. AT&T and Verizon were always the best two companies to do work for.


SBC was trying to model their quality program after AT&T for years pre-merge, but failed miserably. Their people just couldn't get past their own incompetence. Then, once they bought the name, it no longer mattered. They could drag AT&T down to their level, where it resides today as the worst-rated company of any sector of the U.S. economy.


So don't try to obfuscate. I'm a former insider, and soon to be a former SBC&T customer. I've been saving up for over a year, suffering with a non-smart phone, and overpaying AT&T while biding my time. I'm done being abused by this company. I'm more than willing to give Verizon a shot.

My Letter To Former WI State Senator This Morning at 4am

Wisconsin Senate adjourns; Vinehout says senators have done 
Jack Craver on Wednesday 12/15/2010 10:10 pm 

"Dave Hansen, the acting Senate Majority Leader, referenced his deceased granddaughter, and said he hoped to remain friends with his colleagues. Lena Taylor, who, just minutes before had referenced Decker's defection and said "it's not all about you," and that she would look forward to seeing who "gets an appointment," thanked him for his service and said she appreciated appointments he had given her.

Kathleen Vinehout, however, stood up and adjourned in honor of state workers. Visibly emotional, the senator from Alma who barely won re-election in November lamented the damage the failed vote would do to worker protections, especially for those at the lowest end of the pay ladder. "I'm afraid we did them a great disservice today, Mr. President," she concluded."
.

Former Sen. Decker,

I understand that you were narrowly defeated in the past election. That had to be devastating. 

However, your legacy is now far more devastating. You've tossed the state employees under the bus as you left office. We're going to suffer immeasurably for your passive-aggression.

Never forget this day. This is the day your career in politics ended. There are plenty of us who will insure that you'll never be elected to any office at any level for the rest of your life. You're the Hester Prynne of Wisconsin now, but you have no Hawthorne to craft a sympathetic tale about your suffering. No, this narrative is wholly yours.

You've proven to many that politics trump policy, and that the Democratic Party espouses support of the union, courts their endorsements, but has no qualms about tossing them onto the icy road when the wheels of self-interest need a bit of traction. 

I hope that you have trouble sleeping for the next four years. You know that state employees have already lost more than sleep. Every two weeks I lose a huge chunk of my already pitifully small paycheck to furloughs. Scott Walker will inevitably triple our furloughs and balance the budget on the backs of those who serve at a rate which is far less than our value to the state.

He also has designs toward repeal of SELRA, and the decertification of the unions. As a former union-basher, I understand the impetus for that. I also now fully comprehend the errors in thinking which precipitate such myopia. 

May you never darken the door of a political building again, and may you be instead offered no option but to work within the public sector as a classified employee for the rest of your years on the planet. That would be the only justice which would be equivalent to your misdeed.

Again, your name is now synonymous with failure and devastation. You make Bill Buckner look like a MVP. 

Sincerely,

,

Christian E. Vettrus

UW-Milwaukee

AFSCME Local 82

Executive Board

Physical Environment Committee

PEC Transportation Subcommittee

PEC Naming Subcommittee