Slant Eyed Polack
Well-known member
The State (i.e. governments large and small, aka Big Bro) will always find ways to stifle individuality, especially when manifested in young people. Here’s a recent example:
Bored and looking for something to do this summer, Danny Doherty hatched a plan to raise money for his brother’s hockey team by selling homemade ice cream.
But a few days after setting up a stand and serving up vanilla, shaved chocolate and fluffernutter to about 20 people, Danny’s family received a letter from the Norwood Board of Health ordering it shut down. Town officials had received a complaint and said that the 12-year-old’s scheme violated the Massachusetts Food Code, a state regulation...
Not a surprise, in deep blue authoritarian Massachusetts.
In the early 90s I lived in in Central Washington State, in a modest middle-class neighborhood. While my house itself was small, it sat on about a third-acre, which meant a big lawn in the backyard. Said lawn took well over two hours to cut and edge, and in the summer the grass grew quickly, meaning it had to be cut at least weekly. The reality is I would cut it about five times a month. Hot, sweaty business in the summertime.
One afternoon there was a knock on the door as I was about wage war on the lawn. I answered to a pair of boys, aged about ten.
“Cut your lawn for 20 bucks?”
Um.. YES.
Whereupon these two rascals (each had their own - okay, most likely Dad’s - lawnmower) cut the lawn — good grief, they ran behind the mowers, and the grass was cut to almost a professional standard in about 40 minutes. They didn’t do edging (“Dads won’t let us cuz they say it’s dangerous”) but that was really just a half-hour job, and easily done after 5 o’clock.
“See you again next week, boys?”
They were actually surprised. “You want us to come back?”
HELL yes. Over the next couple years, I never cut my lawn again. Nor did many of my neighbors, once I and others spread the word. These boys made killing, and worked their tails off. If local council nanny-staters had ever tried to prevent them earning from good, honest hard work, I suspect the resident dads would have burned down their offices. They didn’t interfere, of course, either because they never learned about these budding entrepreneurs or because they just ignored them (as well they should have).
DISCLAIMER: I’m not suggesting that whenever Big Bro goes all authoritarian like they did to the youngster profiled above, neighborhood dads should torch their offices or tar and feather the douchebags. That would be incitement, and I’m never going to do that no sirree not me not ever.
But I sure as hell wouldn’t try to stop them if they did. I would offer to hold their coats, however, just as a good neighbor should.
Bored and looking for something to do this summer, Danny Doherty hatched a plan to raise money for his brother’s hockey team by selling homemade ice cream.
But a few days after setting up a stand and serving up vanilla, shaved chocolate and fluffernutter to about 20 people, Danny’s family received a letter from the Norwood Board of Health ordering it shut down. Town officials had received a complaint and said that the 12-year-old’s scheme violated the Massachusetts Food Code, a state regulation...
Not a surprise, in deep blue authoritarian Massachusetts.
In the early 90s I lived in in Central Washington State, in a modest middle-class neighborhood. While my house itself was small, it sat on about a third-acre, which meant a big lawn in the backyard. Said lawn took well over two hours to cut and edge, and in the summer the grass grew quickly, meaning it had to be cut at least weekly. The reality is I would cut it about five times a month. Hot, sweaty business in the summertime.
One afternoon there was a knock on the door as I was about wage war on the lawn. I answered to a pair of boys, aged about ten.
“Cut your lawn for 20 bucks?”
Um.. YES.
Whereupon these two rascals (each had their own - okay, most likely Dad’s - lawnmower) cut the lawn — good grief, they ran behind the mowers, and the grass was cut to almost a professional standard in about 40 minutes. They didn’t do edging (“Dads won’t let us cuz they say it’s dangerous”) but that was really just a half-hour job, and easily done after 5 o’clock.
“See you again next week, boys?”
They were actually surprised. “You want us to come back?”
HELL yes. Over the next couple years, I never cut my lawn again. Nor did many of my neighbors, once I and others spread the word. These boys made killing, and worked their tails off. If local council nanny-staters had ever tried to prevent them earning from good, honest hard work, I suspect the resident dads would have burned down their offices. They didn’t interfere, of course, either because they never learned about these budding entrepreneurs or because they just ignored them (as well they should have).
DISCLAIMER: I’m not suggesting that whenever Big Bro goes all authoritarian like they did to the youngster profiled above, neighborhood dads should torch their offices or tar and feather the douchebags. That would be incitement, and I’m never going to do that no sirree not me not ever.
But I sure as hell wouldn’t try to stop them if they did. I would offer to hold their coats, however, just as a good neighbor should.
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