I used to be a conservative (at least, what passes for conservative these days), and while that started changing during the Arab Spring and the debt ceiling fiasco, I still maintain the habit of listening to my local talk radio station, which features an array of neocons spewing the same rhetoric I've been hearing since the '08 elections, occasionally altered and repackaged to stay half-relevant to current events. I'm not sure why I still listen, most times I get so mad hearing the lies and logical fallacies these people market as facts. I guess it's partly out of habit, partly to hear how they'll spin stories I read a few days ago online. I don't recommend it.
Anyway, I about lost it today. This guy, Greg Garrison, hosts a show on this particular talk channel in the mornings before (shudder) Rush Limbaugh. The way this guy talks, you'd think we were in the midst of the Red Scare. Today's show in particular (in addition to his shows for the past week or so) were almost exclusively about how these protesters are all teens who don't understand government, college kids who are spoiled and living with their parents, and of course, the S-word. This guy does this for 3 hours. Three goddam hours each day. And he gets paid to do it.
The callers aren't much better. This one prick called in today while Garrison was covering the spoiled-college-kids portion, saying basically "if you can't take on the loans/debt, either get a job or don't go to college". I couldn't believe it. I damn near lost control of my car in my rush to switch frequencies because I'm pretty sure I'd have had an aneurysm if I kept listening. I'm going to community college right now precisely because I don't have a job, and I refuse to take out any sort of loan knowing the shitstorm I'll bring upon myself and my parents. If I had my own income, I'd shoot for state university, but I'd still wind up putting myself 50 large in the hole just to get a 2-year degree. To hear someone say that, and actually believe what they're saying is accurate. It's mind-boggling. It's infuriating. The student loan practice in this country is outrageous, designed to suck you in and keep you in debt for as long as possible. Not to mention the fact that the cost of education continues to rise year after year, while our economy and unemployment rates stagnate. And people AGREE WITH THIS. What the fuck, America? What the actual fuck.
Didn't mean to get so ranty, but, uh.... yeah. Discuss.
