Say No to Socialism

[jenny_islander]

Seriously. You don't (often) find these people having ideological issues with the fact that the government pays for "socialist" fire departments out of public revenue, but they refuse to understand that health care is a similar issue. Disease spreads too!

Or that we already do have limited socialized health care: for military personnel and their dependents and a much cushier plan for congresspeople.

[Minerva]

But you know that all that modern medicine, like vaccines, is just out there to sterilize you and let the government control your brain. You can keep yourself healthier if you only eat the right foods.... :roll:

And if you die an untimely death, it was God's will and had nothing to do with you not getting yourself to a doctor.

Oh, but if someone else dies an untimely death, it's 'cause they didn't pray hard enough.

[Coconut Flan]

Thanks for the NC info. She was still wrong saying all states do that when NC hasn't even implemented it yet and it's a limited program. I guess that's an example of the wingnuts taking a tiny kernal of truth and spinning it out of reason.

[smiley mcgee]

Thanks for the NC info. She was still wrong saying all states do that when NC hasn't even implemented it yet and it's a limited program. I guess that's an example of the wingnuts taking a tiny kernal of truth and spinning it out of reason.

They do like to do that don't they?! It's easier to use exaggeration about partial truths than real points about actual facts. The least amount of thinking with the most amount of talking.

[SamuraiKatz]

A quick thought about "Samaritan" Ministries. This organization bangs the obama care death panel drum to send fundie insurance business their way. Then "Samaritan" decides which medical costs are "worthy" of being covered the "ministry." Does this make "Samaritan" a death panel of sorts? The hypocrisy burns.

[smiley mcgee]

A quick thought about "Samaritan" Ministries. This organization bangs the obama care death panel drum to send fundie insurance business their way. Then "Samaritan" decides which medical costs are "worthy" of being covered the "ministry." Does this make "Samaritan" a death panel of sorts? The hypocrisy burns.

I think this makes the 'Samaritan' business even worse because at least the nonexistant 'death panels' would be objective, whereas these Christian scammers would be doing a moral litmus test to see if you really deserve the care or if you're just reaping the consequences of your sin, in which case they just let you slip through while still collecting your annual dues. I think it'd be much worse to be judged by their moral standards than my worth to society (not that the second option is much better.) To wrap it all up with a nice little bow: death panels don't exist and most likely never will. 'Samaritan' is already at work.

[nokidsmom]

This is a quote from page 2 of this thread and it perfectly describes the way my in-laws think. My MIL was at our house today and said that she should enjoy her insurance while they have it because once Obamacare takes affect, they'll be uninsurable for pre-existing conditions.. I said I don't think that's right because the affordable care act is making it to where they have to cover you, regardless of pre-existing conditions. Then she said it won't matter because they'll be old enough to be sent to a death panel where IRS agents will do some kind of cost analysis to determine if they're worthy of treatment (and basically if you're old, you'll be denied because you're not worth much to the economy.) I politely asked what her sources were and she couldn't give me any. Is there any way to talk to people who think like this? Would it be rude to forward her actual info on it, even though she'll dismiss it as part of some socialist conspiracy? Has anyone successfully talked some sense into these people or would my time be better spent banging my head against the wall?

Oh my. On a similar note, my MIL, who totally believes whatever Faux News spews forth and is a screaming hypochrondriac, is throughly convinced that once Obamacare fully takes effect, she will lose her healthcare because everyone else will now have access to heathcare. Never mind the fact that she is on Medicare so she will in no way be affected. Particularly at play here is the belief that if more people have healthcare then her doctors will have more patients and it will affect whenever she wants to see the doctor which is all the time. She has this zero sum mentality that if someone else gains, she always loses.

[JesusFightClub]

People will believe anything. My favourite is the (fairly) widespread belief amongst the, um, less educated that the letters on your National Insurance card (in the UK) spell out your race and get you preferential treatment.

Quick explanation - NINos (National Insurance numbers) look like this: PL 11 54 69 D. Each is individual unto you and the numbers and letters change for different people. I first heard the rumour in this form:

Girl: "'Ere, d'you know how some people's card says PW at the start?"

Me: "Yeah"

Girl: "That means Paki White. Like your mum's British and your dad's a Paki. They give the fuckin' Pakis everything in this country so if you have a PW card cos you're half Paki then you'll get a job quicker and you get benefits quicker and, everything. Everyone knows that."

This is absolutely fucking stupid. First and most obvious, the letters and numbers are assigned randomly. There aren't government inspectors checking who your mum's shagging or scouring birth certificates for any trace of a Mohammed or an Asif or a Naseem (Or an Aisha, a Fatima, a Sameena...) For fuck's sake, how would you explain that job to your partner?

"Oh hello darling, busy day at work today! We're almost certain now that Mrs Smith who works in that Tesco just outside the town - oh, you know the one, no, not out by the Cineworld, the huge one in the other direction - had it off with Iqbal the sexy staff trainer from National HQ when he visited to do that training course. Tracey on the customer service desk...ooh, shouldn't reveal sources! Anyway, I've put Preborn Baby Smith down for a Paki White card when he or she turns 16, had a right job getting that past my line manager, I can tell you. Anyway, what's for tea?"

Secondly, we're supposed to believe that the government on one hand loves British Asians so much they give their descendants a card for all the plum jobs going, and on the other said card describes them by a racial slur ("Paki" to British Asians sounds like the N-word to black people). Yeah, I know not much the government does makes sense, but that would reach epic depths of stupidity.

And yet thousands of people believe this although it is, objectively, a load of old shite. Like they believe that there's a secret password that immigrants to the UK have to whisper in a friendly immigration officer's ear and then they are taken away to a warehouse where they can pick any furniture they like, after which they are driven to their new council houses and given a fat wad of cash. If I have learnt anything in this life it's that people will believe any old nonsense if it paints them as the injured party AND if it was the government what done it.

[samurai_sarah]

People will believe anything. My favourite is the (fairly) widespread belief amongst the, um, less educated that the letters on your National Insurance card (in the UK) spell out your race and get you preferential treatment. (snip)

:lol: :lol: :lol:

Although, I can sort of see how that daft rumour came about. My temporary NINO was basically sex + date of birth + random string of numbers. So...yeah, actually, sod it: :lol: :lol: :lol:

[Miranda]

There's a similar belief about US Social Security numbers. The first set of numbers is determined by the state that issues the card. The second set of numbers is called the group number, and there are people who are convinced that that refers to racial grouping, when in actuality it's a subset of the first set of numbers broken down by region, I think, due to the way SS numbers were stored in the pre-computer days. But there's no convincing some people.

[Rosa]

I have actually never heard that one, and it's extra asinine because Social Security number assignment is so transparent (blocks geographically, then numerical order by date/time registered) that it's a security risk - anyone who knows what county you were born in and your birth date can guess your # or mock up a totally plausible fake one.