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Mom's New Apartment.

May's Employment Attempts.

Relationship Issues (take your pick as to whom)

Hanners and her HAAAAAAATTT!!!!

The Band!

Harriet officially joins the cast (with her pet bird YB)

Insert Meme Here (space ham, space tea, waffles, etc.)

Something completely different.

[94ssd]

I was so excited for the return of Raven until I read the caption.

DAMN YOU WILLIS JACQUES

[Method of Madness]

That lady ended up looking more like Raven than I intended. Whoops!

Bwahaha, she looks less like Raven than yesterday's clerk looked like Sara, and he didn't say whoops then. MAYBE THAT MEANS SOMETHING.

(click to show/hide)

Or maybe not

[Barmymoo]

People who are condemning May, try to keep in mind that she is someone who ended up in jail. Now that was a result of her poor impulse control, sure, but it's not a nice place. It is hardly surprising that she has come out feeling bitter and angry.

[GarandMarine]

I swear about as much as May does, so I suppose I don't view her behavior as negatively as some of you seem to....

[Thrillho]

I also swear a lot in casual conversation, but again, we couldn't hear her tone of voice, and I would also temper that depending on who I speak to.

[Mad Cat]

People who are condemning May, try to keep in mind that she is someone who ended up in jail. Now that was a result of her poor impulse control, sure, but it's not a nice place. It is hardly surprising that she has come out feeling bitter and angry.

I've been in jail. I'm still fighting the BS charges. I'm bitter and angry. Difference between me and May (aside from fictional/real, carbon-based/silicon-based) is I don't take it out on anonymous individuals around me who have nothing to do with my short stint in the pokey.

[jwhouk]

I've been in jail for the last 21 years.

(click to show/hide)

I work there.

[GarandMarine]

He "works" there

[Barmymoo]

Mad Cat, I'm not trying to say that May's behaviour is acceptable - simply that it's not very surprising that she's angry and bitter. Even apart from the prison, though, she has just been told to her face that she will not be able to get a particular job because of who she is. Frankly I think the shop assistant is complicit in the discrimination by not recognising it as stemming from hate, although I do see her point about losing her job. It is shitty that in the US, people can be fired for disagreeing with their boss's biogtry.

[hedgie]

In the US, people can be fired for no reason at all.  If not hiring or firing stems from any sort of bigotry, you're fucked, unless you can afford to take them to court and win.

[GarandMarine]

At will labor laws.

[Barmymoo]

Yup, that's the phrase I was looking for.

[Thrillho]

How the fuck is that the way your laws work? You can just fire anyone for no reason? That's insanity.

[Barmymoo]

FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEDOM!

[Is it cold in here?]

Heaven help anyone who really got Momo riled.

She acts quickly when treated like an artifact who doesn't have personal space. Clinton ended up on the pavement seconds after meeting her.

[St.Clair]

FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEDOM!

That, and a labor oversupply which is only going to intensify as more jobs are eliminated through automation and outsourcing.
And yet, people are still expected to (find) work.  On whatever terms the employer sees fit to impose.  (Limited, in theory, by law; but as seen here, given the choice between losing one's job and/or bringing an expensive lawsuit for compensation, or (for example) working a few extra hours of "unpaid overtime", guess what many people will pick?)

[GarandMarine]

I prefer it personally as an employer. Being able to terminate dirt bags quickly and efficiently is a boon for me and saves me a drawn out termination process. Albeit I'm a fair boss in the scheme of it.

[pwhodges]

a labor oversupply which is only going to intensify as more jobs are eliminated through automation and outsourcing.

Outsourcing is moving jobs from one person to another rather than simply eliminating them.  But otherwise, what's new?  The industrial revolution did for loads of jobs, both craft (spinning) and labour (agriculture), while creating some that were almost inhuman (mining).  The invention of the typewriter did for the whole class of clerks.  Etc, etc.  We could go back to subsistence, I suppose, and be fully occupied staying alive (and having no Internet or central heating).  But anyway, there will always be adjustments going on, and a healthy economy is the best way to ensure enough jobs.  However, in a world where growth is limited, we may have to change the conventional definition of a healthy economy...

[DSL]

How the fuck is that the way your laws work? You can just fire anyone for no reason? That's insanity.

In the more enlightened and sophisticated workplaces, the preferred procedure is to make the employee in question so miserable he or she quits.

[GarandMarine]

a labor oversupply which is only going to intensify as more jobs are eliminated through automation and outsourcing.

Outsourcing is moving jobs from one person to another rather than simply eliminating them.  But otherwise, what's new?  The industrial revolution did for loads of jobs, both craft (spinning) and labour (agriculture), while creating some that were almost inhuman (mining).  The invention of the typewriter did for the whole class of clerks.  Etc, etc.  We could go back to subsistence, I suppose, and be fully occupied staying alive (and having no Internet or central heating).  But anyway, there will always be adjustments going on, and a healthy economy is the best way to ensure enough jobs.  However, in a world where growth is limited, we may have to change the conventional definition of a healthy economy...

Rather we'll have to change the definition of productive labor.

[pwhodges]

That may well be one aspect of it, certainly.

[cesariojpn]

So if Monday's Sara and Tuesday is Raven, maybe Wednesday's clerk will be Gabby.

Natasha or some male character we haven't seen in a bit.

[FunkyTuba]

Honestly, I am finding it fairly intimidating trying to explain my thoughts.  I am not a particularly intelligent individual, so I doubt I could properly voice the reasoning behind my opinions.  If that means that my views are worthless then I am sorry that I posted them.  I don't really want to be a bother, I just wanted to voice my feelings on the topic presented.

At first it seemed like you were basically just trolling. I think this caused you to receive a stronger negative reaction than you expected.

Now that we've determined that you're (probably, in my opinion) not just trolling but instead are trying to articulating a sincerely held set of opinions, it's an opportunity for fuller understanding on all sides.

As far as intimidation goes, there indeed are a lot of smart people on this forum. They hold strong principles forged in the heat of life-changing and sometimes drastic personal experience. Allow me to suggest to you that testing out your reasoning against such a gauntlet might be a way to hone your beliefs and drop that which might not be worth keeping.

The suggestion to lurk a bit is probably also a good one, if only to get a feel for the ebb and flow of conversation here and how to engage in it. Please keep posting.

[FunkyTuba]

In the more enlightened and sophisticated workplaces, the preferred procedure is to make the employee in question so miserable he or she quits.

You forgot the "targeted RIF" (Reduction In Force):
"sorry, we've eliminated 10% of the positions in the company and yours was one of the 10%"

[Kugai]

They call it Redundancy here.

And I've been through it once, quit once (health reasons - the job was soul destroying and I got out before I found myself in a rubber room), been sacked once (but i was young, dumb and stupid back then) and, more recently, lost the job I had due to the boss fucking up the business and it going under.

May is a Mugwump.

[celticgeek]

Ah, yes, The Lay Off.

[Zebediah]

In the more enlightened and sophisticated workplaces, the preferred procedure is to make the employee in question so miserable he or she quits.

Had that done to me a couple of times. Wound up with better jobs and better pay both times.

[hedgie]

In the more enlightened and sophisticated workplaces, the preferred procedure is to make the employee in question so miserable he or she quits.

Of course.  That way you don't have to pay unemployment benefits.  I "love" the trick some employers pull where they reduce your hours to zero, or at least close to it, but don't officially fire you in order to get around their legal obligations.  Fuck, I think that half the regulations and laws we have (and in some places, I think that *more* are needed, especially WRT employee termination) are simply because of sociopaths trying to skirt both the law and morality.  I know that out of my past jobs, only two employers didn't fight me on overtime pay, or otherwise commit violations of state labour laws.  I just never had the kinda money needed to sue any of those fuckers for everything they had.  I think it's high time for it to stop being a civil matter and start being a criminal one with *huge* penalties that are awarded to the wronged employee.

Edit:  More to the topic, AIs in the QC 'verse probably face even worse even when they *do* get hired.  They don't need to eat, or rest after all, and probably get exploited all the time on OT hours, since they won't fall victim to fatigue and make potentially dangerous mistakes.  Momo seems to have landed a pretty good gig at the library, since Tai is respectful of not only her, but her other minions as people, and she gets to go out like any other person would.

[celticgeek]

Darn!  I wanted it to be a snake. 

On the other hand, Marten now has a pet (or another pet depending on your view of Pintsize).

[hedgie]

Froglord approves.

[Rimwolf]

What a sweet kid!

[Neko_Ali]

Cute Sam is being cute.

[Spiritz]

Awww... I want a friendship frog...

[Aziraphale]

For some reason, I picture her voice as a cross between Marcie and Peppermint Patty.

Of course, speculation on characters' voices could probably take up a thread all on its own...

[Zwammy]

Of course, speculation on characters' voices could probably take up a thread all on its own...

There is one for Momo at this point.

[judemorrigan]

Sam's a sweet kid.

[cesium133]

Of course, speculation on characters' voices could probably take up a thread all on its own...

For some reason I picture Marten's dad as having Patrick Stewart's voice. I have no clue why. 

[Method of Madness]

They have no voice at all to me, and I'm really not sure why.

[Aziraphale]

They have no voice at all to me, and I'm really not sure why.

I'm that way with some of them. There are also a few whose appearance and demeanor reminds me of people I know, but those wouldn't make sense to anyone else who didn't know those people, or at least how they sounded.

Come to think of it, one of the things I dislike is when I see a movie of a book I've read and nobody sounds like they did to my mind's ear.

[Method of Madness]

It's weird...I don't think I have a mind's ear. I started reading the A Song of Ice and Fire books after I watched the show, so I guess when I was reading those I heard those voices. If I ever read the Harry Potter books again though, I'll probably hear them all as Stephen Fry as opposed to any of the movie characters since I spent so much time at work recently listening to most of the Harry Potter audiobooks.

[Aziraphale]

Of course, speculation on characters' voices could probably take up a thread all on its own...

For some reason I picture Marten's dad as having Patrick Stewart's voice. I have no clue why. 

I'd have pictured something closer to Anderson Cooper, but that could also be partly because of his appearance.

[Aziraphale]

It's weird...I don't think I have a mind's ear. I started reading the A Song of Ice and Fire books after I watched the show, so I guess when I was reading those I heard those voices. If I ever read the Harry Potter books again though, I'll probably hear them all as Stephen Fry as opposed to any of the movie characters since I spent so much time at work recently listening to most of the Harry Potter audiobooks.

It doesn't happen with everything for me, but there are times that I have a very definite idea of what someone sounds like. Not sure why that is... and for some reason, I find it more jarring than when a character doesn't look how I expected.

[Perfectly Reasonable]

I seem to have stepped on some tails with my remark that some are more deserving of rights than others. Who is 'deserving' may be obvious to you, but not someone else. Which is why the subject is a touchy one.

So what is a "right" anyway? When someone says, "I have the right to xyz", he is saying "This is the way I want the world to work, and I expect all right thinking people to agree".

Rights are not bestowed automatically. They must be safeguarded and fought for.

So who should have what rights? Society decides. For instance, we seem to agree that felons should not be able to vote or carry guns. Does this work out for the best? Not always. We can only do our best to cope with an imperfect world.

[Method of Madness]

Rights are not bestowed automatically.

Yes, they are. THAT IS WHAT MAKES THEM RIGHTS. It's also why everyone has them, even if they are too often not recognized or acknowledged.

[Aziraphale]

I seem to have stepped on some tails with my remark that some are more deserving of rights than others. Who is 'deserving' may be obvious to you, but not someone else. Which is why the subject is a touchy one.

So what is a "right" anyway? When someone says, "I have the right to xyz", he is saying "This is the way I want the world to work, and I expect all right thinking people to agree".

Rights are not bestowed automatically. They must be safeguarded and fought for.

So who should have what rights? Society decides. For instance, we seem to agree that felons should not be able to vote or carry guns. Does this work out for the best? Not always. We can only do our best to cope with an imperfect world.

On what basis, pray tell, do you propose to decide who among us -- whether sentient beings in a different container (as in the case of AIs in the QC-verse), or sentient beings whose race, gender expression, sexuality, et cetera, you may find disagreeable here in the real world -- deserve their rights?

And while we're at it, let's take up your other assertion: "So what is a "right" anyway? When someone says, 'I have the right to xyz', he is saying "This is the way I want the world to work, and I expect all right thinking people to agree'"

We expect -- rightly so, I think -- that rights should be "enforced" more or less equally. What you seem to be suggesting, in contrast, seems very close to asserting that certain groups asking for the same rights that several of us already enjoy are asking for "special rights." If I ask for the right to catapult flaming turkeys at my neighbor's house because Jesus, THAT is a special right. If I say that a transsexual ought to be able to enjoy the same right I have as a cis male to walk down the street without having the shit beaten out of them, that is not and ought not to be a special right; nor is the assertion that my wife should make the same money I do for the same job, or that my LGBT friends shouldn't have to worry about being fired for their sexual orientation. Again, equality isn't somehow a special case or status; it's what we owe each other just on the basis of our shared humanity.

Just my $.02 worth, mind you.

[Tova]

They're not my character descriptors/analysis. They're the author's objectively true facts. http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2502 The asshole part was just my personal executive summary of her character to date.

I never said they were yours. Anyway, it was your personal executive summary I was questioning, not the author's "objectively true facts" (which they aren't - that's the character speaking, not the author).

Rights are not bestowed automatically.

Yes, they are. THAT IS WHAT MAKES THEM RIGHTS. It's also why everyone has them, even if they are too often not recognized or acknowledged.

You missed an important part that alters the meaning of what you quoted.

Rights are not bestowed automatically. They must be safeguarded and fought for.

[Rghfrgl]

Take it Marten.

Take it and pass it on to Hannelore.

[GarandMarine]

Edit:  More to the topic, AIs in the QC 'verse probably face even worse even when they *do* get hired.  They don't need to eat, or rest after all, and probably get exploited all the time on OT hours, since they won't fall victim to fatigue and make potentially dangerous mistakes.  Momo seems to have landed a pretty good gig at the library, since Tai is respectful of not only her, but her other minions as people, and she gets to go out like any other person would.

I would preferentially hire AIs just for that honestly. Get some retired military AIs in civilian chassis, make sure they've downloaded the works of Col Cooper and the latest copy of Jane's and the NRA's latest instructor and range officer courses and turn them loose on the sales floor/range. They'd be doing a job related to their original gigs with way less risk and pressure, for a fair wage. I get dedicated, skilled, professional staffers who sure as shit aren't going to let shoplifting happen or screw up the till.

[madhat]

Am I the only one that feels uneasy about the title "bread and salt"?

[Indicible]

It's a title to take with a grain of salt....