Rant

There is a guy in my law class who consistently drives me crazy. He's always making comments that are either extremely specific and related to a topic that does not pertain to anything we are talking about or are so loaded with opinion that it is uncomfortable.

Naturally, at the beginning of class today, my teacher was chatting about the Supreme Court ruling on Obamacare. He was merely talking to us about what grounds the Supreme Court upheld it on. In the constitution, Congress is given specific powers, and they aren't supposed to do things outside of those realms. Since this is a law class and we have been learning about these concepts, my teacher was explaining that the Supreme Court's rationale in saying that Obamacare is OK was based on the fact that the US Constitution gives Congress the power to tax.

Out of nowhere, this annoying kid spouts off his opinion. "I just don't know what to say to people who like Obama. They actually like Obamacare! I mean, are you retarded???? It's so dumb. OK, they can say people can't afford health care, but really yes you can if you just get a job. Then they say some people can't get a job, and that's just ridiculous. I know that's not true because I know tons of people who are too lazy to get jobs or aren't willing to take a job that is beneath them to provide for their family. They'd rather be on welfare. I mean, come on, get off your butts!!"

In a room full of people who probably feel the same way as him, I didn't have the guts (or the time, in my defense) to put this guy in his place. He made me so mad though. I notice this all the time at BYU. I think it's because the vast majority of students are conservative, so they feel comfortable stating their opinions as fact. Anyways, in response to Mister Obnoxious:

First of all, using the term "retarded" to describe something that you think is stupid is NOT OK.

Second of all, who are you to think you have everything figured out? Oh, clearly if you disagree with something you must be right - everyone who thinks differently from you must be intellectually inferior! Gee, why don't we just entrust the future of our nation to you, since you so clearly know all the sides of the situation and can prescribe the proper treatment. Apparently the general population and the leaders of our country don't know you exist, or else they would definitely reform the government and have you make all the decisions.

Finally, the national unemployment rate is currently 8.1% and has been as high as 10% within the past few years. This is a lot higher than anyone would like to see it (although, might I add, is nowhere near Spain's rate of 24.3% - yikes!) This statistic is computed including only people who are unemployed and have been seeking employment. I'm sure there are people who are lazy and don't get jobs. But how dare you group every unemployed and underemployed person in that category.

Basically, I don't care if you are conservative or liberal or somewhere in between. Have the decency to realize that there is a rationale behind both sides of the spectrum. Don't assume that just because something seems right to you means that you are right or that the other side doesn't have a good point. Of course you won't agree with everyone on everything, but don't act like you are the supreme authority on what is correct.

Blah.