-
Check out the relaunch of our general collection, with classic designs and new ones by our very own Pissog!
-
Welcome to Smogon! Take a moment to read the Introduction to Smogon for a run-down on everything Smogon, and make sure you take some time to read the global rules.
America
- Thread starter TubaKing
- Start date
Sorry, let me rephrase. I learnt a lot about the country itself. Like the education system, pay, health care etc.
Well....I have always wanted to visit Vancouver. :)
But Cali is the place for me...nothing compares to the golden coast!
Hey, I live in China, my food is far cheaper than yours. Brammi your post on page 1 is unbelievable, wow, poorly informed, poorly thought out, pretentiously opinionated. Yeah, never been to America, being a poor little farm boy who lives in a rice paddy. China's got some really cheap hookers and weed though.
The average NBA player gets paid about $5.8 million a year.
The average NFL player's salary is $1.8 million a year and a little less than half of the players in the league make under $1 million a year. Then factor in that the average career of an NFLer is about 3-4 years.
The average MLBer makes about $3.3 million a year. This number is most likely pulled higher because the lack of a salary cap allows marquee guys to have $160 million contracts and whatnot.
The average NHL player gets about $2.4 million a year.
I'd also like to add that they don't just "get out and play a game". The amount of time it takes to train to be an athlete at the professional level is enormous, and even if you do have all the time in the world to train, all the equipment necessary and the proper nutrition you're shit out of luck if another guy just as good as you comes along and is an inch taller. Or a half step faster. Or jumps an inch higher.
I understand you were most likely exaggerating, and yes athletes do make a ton of money for something that can't exactly be defined as a "job", but the amount of talent, dedication and luck needed to get to that level is vast. Also take into account the amount of money these players are generating for their team owners in terms of jersey sales, tickets, stadium concessions, random memorabilia, I think they're getting a decent cut of the profits.
The average NFL player's salary is $1.8 million a year and a little less than half of the players in the league make under $1 million a year. Then factor in that the average career of an NFLer is about 3-4 years.
The average MLBer makes about $3.3 million a year. This number is most likely pulled higher because the lack of a salary cap allows marquee guys to have $160 million contracts and whatnot.
The average NHL player gets about $2.4 million a year.
I'd also like to add that they don't just "get out and play a game". The amount of time it takes to train to be an athlete at the professional level is enormous, and even if you do have all the time in the world to train, all the equipment necessary and the proper nutrition you're shit out of luck if another guy just as good as you comes along and is an inch taller. Or a half step faster. Or jumps an inch higher.
I understand you were most likely exaggerating, and yes athletes do make a ton of money for something that can't exactly be defined as a "job", but the amount of talent, dedication and luck needed to get to that level is vast. Also take into account the amount of money these players are generating for their team owners in terms of jersey sales, tickets, stadium concessions, random memorabilia, I think they're getting a decent cut of the profits.
Are you seriously defending athletes? Sure playing sports is fun, and it's occasionally fun to watch other people play sports, but there is no good reason for athletes to be paid incredible amounts more than professions that actually matter like doctors and teachers or professors.
The amount that athletes get paid is absurd and undeserved. Of course they generate a lot of money, but I think that athletes and other professions that are way overpaid like actors should get some of the money that they generate, while a certain amount should go to the government or professions that we actually need like I mentioned before. But no, they are almost all greedy sons of bitches and need it all for themselves
I think it would help to qualify your claim a little more. The elite athletes do get paid absurd amounts usually. But what about the case of some 3rd string NFL lineman making the league minimum. He's making a little under $300,000 a year and is probably only going to be on a roster for 3 years. So he makes $900,000 and probably has a degree from a very good university.
Sounds like a good life, but that doesn't make him outrageously rich like you're making ALL professional athletes out to be.
But if there was a rule that gave a portion of a players' salary to the government (even though they're already in a pretty high tax bracket), what percentage do you propose it should be?
Also, why not target the owners instead? The owners of the teams are the ones paying these $100 million+ contracts so they obviously have money. So if we're going to arbitrarily play Robin Hood with someone involved in pro sports why not the guys with the fattest pockets?
Sounds like a good life, but that doesn't make him outrageously rich like you're making ALL professional athletes out to be.
But if there was a rule that gave a portion of a players' salary to the government (even though they're already in a pretty high tax bracket), what percentage do you propose it should be?
Also, why not target the owners instead? The owners of the teams are the ones paying these $100 million+ contracts so they obviously have money. So if we're going to arbitrarily play Robin Hood with someone involved in pro sports why not the guys with the fattest pockets?
Oh no, some southerners had blacks as slaves and had an irrational hatred of them. And then America forced them in war no less to give them up because they KNEW what was going on was terribly wrong. The rest of the story goes that more southerners had irrational hatred of genetically darker skinned people, while northerners were either closet racist or open racist. Others did not understand why this hatred existed and fought alongside blacks to get the rights that were given to them by the Constitution, the rights that they deserve. It would be appreciated if you didn't overlook America trying to right its wrongs.
On another note, the people who actually care about skin color at my school are the Blacks and Mexicans, and I've seen it outside of my school well. It's been a very strange mystery to me.
Awesome, good for you
How is it a social stain to proudly say you love America? Actually, who is determining this? Your opinion? or is there an example of this I can read on people proudly loving your country becoming a social stain on your life?
I don't think you are making a complete sentence here, try again and maybe i could understand better. In reference to the Patriot act, i agree some things meant to protect us that are enacted are unconstitutional and infringing on our rights, but you have to you can't overlook the fact that there have been no successful terrorist attacks on America since then.
no, i mean the ones that subscribe to liberal philosophy, much like i subscribe to its counterpart "Conservative Philosophy"
no.
I agree. I abhor hatred of people who are homosexual. That doesn't stop me from abhorring the act of.
It's disgusting that anyone gets bullied for any reason. What makes gays so special? they're just as human as the rest of us.
why?
I find all of this gross. However i think way too many people give a crap about racism. I hold the sentiment that if people stopped caring about one's skin color, or worrying their collective butts off about other people being racist when worrying really isn't necessary because there was no crime committed in terms of racism, racism wouldn't be a problem...
wait what.
EDIT:
Double wait what?
itt: jealous clumsy asians
ahahahaha
this reminded me very strongly of that jon swift article where he argues that bush was a great president because there are over ten thousand cities in the united states and he only completely destroyed one of them
edit: http://jonswift.blogspot.com/2009/01/president-bushs-legacy-one-of-our.html
Athletes work fucking hard and have a lot of discipline that most people lack, I agree that their salaries are ridiculous, but so is the amount of money generated by the sports they play, you are attacking athletes when there is a deeper issue here that could be addressed, to be clear, I almost feel like you are attacking athletes because they are less exploited than the average person despite filling the same role in the industry. I also think its sad that you dont recognize how great it is that the opportunities created by big sports industries exist, these are really great opportunities that are very much open equally to all who are willing to work hard, incredibly hard, in all most all of the big sports there is a niche even for someone who is short or weak (look at lionel messi). Athletes are in every way artists in the same way an actor is, the professionals that make amazing salaries have probably devoted 100 times as many hours to their respective sports as actors do to acting.
Liking America isn't the social stain, I'm pretty sure he was referring to people like Deck Knight who trumpet "America is the best and most awesome nation ever" line and then go on to ignore statistics that would show that might not be the case. You know, people who praise the free market and our wonderful health care innovations without realizing our research is so advanced because of government subsidies to pharmaceutical industries (while American citizens are going bankrupt every day because of treatable health problems). That kind of blind faith and anti-intellectualism is a social stain.
ROFL. This can't be a serious post. Thank you for highlighting the social stain that CK was talking about earlier.
I'll assume you aren't trolling and really believe that the USA PATRIOT Act has stopped every terrorist attack since 9/11. Then why has the global number of deaths from terrorism increased by 500% since September 11th? Then why are people scared about being mailed Anthrax? Why did people get shot by Snipers in the DC area in 2002? Then why did someone fly a plane into a Texas IRS building last year?
We aren't any safer from terrorism now than we were on 9/10/2001. If anything we are less safe because people have given their trust to incompetent security theater teams to stop anything if it goes wrong. And for that, we get constitutionally guaranteed, supposedly inalienable freedoms removed...including "Constitution-free zones" spanning 100 miles from every border that conveniently include over 2/3 of the American population, giving the Dept. of Homeland Security the right to stop, search and detain anyone for any reason indefinitely without due process. But hey, at least we're safe! right?!?!
I agree with most of what you said in this part about race and bullying, but the reason why gays are "special" these days is because there are laws being proposed and passed every day specifically designed to undermine homosexuals - you don't see politicians trying to outlaw interracial marriage anymore, but you do see them trying to outlaw gay marriage. Nobody is saying that gays are more special than any other group in terms of discrimination faced, it's just a more relevant topic.
It doesn't make sense for someone who contributes as little as an athlete does to make that kind of money when we're forced to fire teachers and nurses every day, you're right. But it does make sense when you realize that they bring in TONS of money by putting their talents on display. Athletes only make that amount of money because people will pay to see them. Doctors would make more money if they drew crowds of 100,000 people every week to watch them operate. In a capitalist society, how much money you have does not equate to how important or skilled you are (unless you're bribing politicians). That's a common misconception.
Referring to them as products is perfect - I wish I thought of that =\
hahahaha, oh my, I didn't even catch that. Thanks for pointing it out, you just made my day brighter.
jrr you took j-man's mistake and ran with it, I was saying that one of the strongest proofs that patriotism is a fucking shameless horror is how it becomes a stain on your "record" to be "proven not patriotic", and that people actually ever spend time trying to prove they are or are not patriotic / that another person is not patriotic, let alone in a political debate in any form (like, you know, when no one cared to oppose the Iraq War for fear of ruining their careers forever).
Deck Knight is a social annoyance, not in any way a stain as far as I know; it takes things like brainwashing children into hating homosexuals before you are getting to a stain level.
I kind of get what he means about racism (I think): he thinks that those who are not white (i.e. all those persecuted, since whites basically never are persecuted) should learn to live with it, since that will make it go away when they stop making a big deal of it. Of course, this phrasing does not make it much better.
Deck Knight is a social annoyance, not in any way a stain as far as I know; it takes things like brainwashing children into hating homosexuals before you are getting to a stain level.
I kind of get what he means about racism (I think): he thinks that those who are not white (i.e. all those persecuted, since whites basically never are persecuted) should learn to live with it, since that will make it go away when they stop making a big deal of it. Of course, this phrasing does not make it much better.
The really funny thing I find about the US in general is, is that everybody has to find some scape-goat to be at the "bottome of the barrell" so to speak. We may be against a class hierarchy system, but we sure do love our social hierarchy. The trend has basically gone from blacks, to women, to asians, to mexicans, to Arabics, to gays. After gay people are finally (hopefully) accepted into US society as not the bottom of the barrell, what will be next?
My feelings are that fat people will be the next ones that are called out and bashed continually and unmercifully. After that it will be stupid people. And then we'll probably go back to hating on black people again. It's all a vicious cycle really.
My feelings are that fat people will be the next ones that are called out and bashed continually and unmercifully. After that it will be stupid people. And then we'll probably go back to hating on black people again. It's all a vicious cycle really.
After looking at the posts, you're definitely right about that. I wish I referred more to your post instead of trying to respond to jman's...I might be a little more sane at the moment if I had.
He mentioned teaching kids in CCD in another post, which is why I thought it applied. Teaching kids something as serious as religion while preaching that they aren't ready to learn about their own bodies in sex ed came across as ridiculous to me.
I thought that was hilarious too. "There wouldn't even BE racism if other races didn't keep bringing it up when they get treated badly!"...classic strategy. Out of sight, out of mind. That always solves the problem. At least I got a lovely new sig out of it :D