Pencil communism
Posted by Tyler Kinch on October 9th, 2006
I always get a little bit of a laugh when I read conservative-mad blogs. You know, the ones with ridiculous ideas and paranoid-crazed writers? Well today, I didn’t just laugh a little; I am literally rolling on the floor laughing out loud.
The blog that I found so hilarious can be found here. In this post, the writer indicates that his/her daughter came home from school one day and announced that they were sharing pencils at school with other classmates. Basically the teacher gathers all the pencils and places them in a box, for each student to take when needed and give back when done with it. Sounds like a smart solution to a problem. However the writer over at Officially Screwed calls it communism.
The writer asks “Am I being paranoid?†and the answer to that question is yes.
However more disturbing are the serious comments to the post on his/her blog. Here are some quotes that are emphasized by me and also a few of my own comments, to show the thoughts of some conservative bloggers.
Conservative comment: The teacher is corrupting her students with communist ideology. Obviously, the students with parents who can afford pencils deserve to get more out of their education. It’s just common sense: students who can afford pencils (and books and computers and tutors) will learn more and teachers should respect this natural advantage.
My comment: Being rich/poor is not a natural advantage. Our economy is neither natural nor fair. You neglect the poor and they will start a revolution.
Conservative comment: Of course they would take from the competent to give to the incompetent, they seem to believe in saving the weak at the expense of the strong.
My comment: Poor students are not incompetent; I was one of them at one point. You can’t even say all poor students’ parents are incompetent. The only thing that is incompetent in this situation is the economy.
Thanks to “where’d that bug go?” for letting me know about the pencil communism post.
October 9th, 2006 at 1:10 pm
you’re welcome. peace-jeff
October 9th, 2006 at 1:15 pm
When you contemplate your amusement today after reading the “conservative mad blogs”, ponder if you will, that even conservatives may have tongue firmly in cheeks when they think about angels on the head of a pin and such.
On the other hand, as in all good morality plays, the comments about the potential for communist trade union teachers who in canada are massively supportive of the NDP socialists, allow us to stretch the imagination a bit. However, paranoia is not really in evidence, but we do have a healthy respect for the principle that you don’t have to be paranoid to recognize there are really enemies of our society out there. I doubt if this poor little teacher is one of them, but hey, she prolly doesn’t even know we’re blogging !
October 9th, 2006 at 1:42 pm
Pencils are a dime a dozen. What’s wrong with this teacher?
October 9th, 2006 at 2:08 pm
…ponder if you will, that even conservatives may have tongue firmly in cheeks when they think about angels on the head of a pin and such.
Conservatives are not known for satire at all. It’s a safe bet to believe these remarks were made in complete seriousness.
October 9th, 2006 at 2:14 pm
Conservatives are not known for satire at all. It’s a safe bet to believe these remarks were made in complete seriousness.
*nods*……………….. *bursts out laughing*
October 9th, 2006 at 2:23 pm
Conservatives are known for ironic satire. That is, they are funny without seeming to mean so, and of course, the opposite of this statement is also true.
I mean, did we not all laugh when David Tsubouchi suggested people could live on $90 a month groceries? Why, I spend $200 roughly every week and a half, and I shop at the cheapest grocery outlet I can find.
October 9th, 2006 at 2:57 pm
And going on with Adrian MacNair theme, I remember when Tsubouchi said that people in Ontario could bargain for dented cans of tomatoes. Well, for months after, I would ask the owners of the “chain grocery” store if I could bargain for dented cans of tomotoes. What a laugh, no grocer was into bargaining, but everybody sure had a good laugh at Tsubouchi, in fact, he got laughed right of the portfolio.
October 10th, 2006 at 7:15 am
Some of the comments may have been tongue in cheek, but the absolute howler in the post was the bit about how schools used to provide pencils and Kleenex but are now forcing parents to provide them.
So … you wanted your tax cuts, but then when said tax cuts require you, as user of a service, to bear the cost directly, then the taxpayer should be footing the bill? You want your services, but you don’t want to pay for them, in other words. It’s so hard to tell a conservative from a run-of-the-mill cheap bastard sometimes….
October 11th, 2006 at 11:27 am
Oi! This idea is a wonderful one, which has not been implemented in my High-School. Yet, most of us use pens.
Anyways, to the conservative-bashing and me, having to play devils advocate, I have to say that having your own pencil allows for it to be different than the norm, perhaps with a funky exterior or oddly-shapen eraser. This, with perhaps a special bond to the pencil by the child, would allow these communist ideals to be less important, as the child, with the boost to his or her moral, would indoubtedly work better with a cooler pencil than a normal octogon-ish yellow one provided by the system.
October 11th, 2006 at 11:29 am
Oh, yes, before I forget, anyone who needs to fight an anarchist on this can contact me at sachyriel@hotmail.com
The Grey of God,
Sachyriel
October 12th, 2006 at 7:04 pm
I think the first comment was a sarcastic comment… now that I think about it. Still it’s hard to tell the difference between a sarcastic person and a conservative who really believes that.
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