I just read this on Yahoo news. It simply blows my mind. It definitely makes me wonder what our society has come to.
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Just so I understand, the Toys for Tots folk turned down *free* toys for kids, on the basis of a fear that they may end up in the hands of non-Christians who would most certainly be offended by a FREE gift.
A few questions come to mind:
1. Would they turn down a talking Allah doll? How about a doll extolling Satanism? Or, would they refuse a Pilgrim doll, since it could be taken as an affront to the Indians who felt abused at the hands of the early settlers? What about those with gender sensitivity? If someone gave a male doll to someone who prefers female dolls, what do you do about them?
2. How can the Toys for Tots folks say what the reaction will be to the dolls? It seems to me that they’re depriving a potentially large, grateful group of recipients of the *opportunity* to actually approve of the gift they’ve been given.
3. If someone is offended by the gift, what stops them from getting rid of it, perhaps by themselves giving it to some needy, appreciative Christian (or at least not anti-Christian) soul?
4. What is the percentage of folks who would dearly love such a gift vs. those who would be offended by it? Seems like a pretty un-balanced decision.
If the Toys for Tots folks start making these kinds of distinctions (which clearly they are), then aren’t they obligated to treat *every* gift as potentially offensive? We are talking about charity here…giving gifts, expecting nothing in return.
Man, have we gotten screwed up…
I note with some degree of relief this item. See my previous post on the subject.
Glad to see that there seems to be some remaining degree of sanity.
Apparently if you own an iPod (I own two) you are, by definition, a criminal. This according the Universal Music Group CEO (and resident horses’ patoot) Doug Morris. Here’s the quote:
“These devices are just repositories for stolen music, and they all know it, so it’s time to get paid for it.”
I’m so sick of the recording industry’s sweeping generalizations about who is and isn’t a crook. Lord knows I’ve spent a *ton* of cash on music over the last 25 years and I can tell you that I don’t copy music illegally. I buy it. Either I purchase CD’s (my preference), or I download from iTunes, which by the way is far and away the largest *legal* music download site in the world. The recording industry should thank their lucky stars that iTunes and the iPod exist, ’cause for sure they’d be in a world of hurt. With the general load of crap these clowns distribute for $15.00 a piece, it amazes me they’re in business at all.
And let’s not forget the (at least) two class-action lawsuits these bozo’s have lost, for price fixing. Yet they continue to hold the prices artificially high, in defiance of the suites. It goes to show you the overwhelming arrogance of this crew.
Plus, doesn’t it seem a bit disingenuous to suggest that iPod owners are thieves, when the iTunes store has sold so many of their crappy songs? That site can only be used by iTunes/iPod owners, so it stands to reason that those are the folks BUYING the music. So again I say, they ought to be truly thankful that not only does iTunes exist, but also that iPods are out there by the 100’s of millions.
So, here’s your chance to play a bit of a role in this whole mess — Stop buying their junk. There are more and more high-quality independent artists out there and I highly recommend taking a listen.
These lame-brains will never get it.