Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Moochers Everywhere

Have you ever had the experience of asking your friends or coworkers to pitch in on something (lunch, dinner, beer, etc.) and they opt out, only to come back later and try to mooch off what you had to pay for alone?  If you haven't, you re lucky indeed.  Most people I know, including myself, are all too familiar with that situation, especially in our younger days.
A similar case occurred recently while riding the newly opened "Tide" light rail system in Norfolk, VA.  On the opening weekend, we took advantage of the free access and rode it from end to end, taking note of each station and location along the way.  During the ride, there were a handful of Tea Party loyalists around sharing their complaints about the city spending money on a mass transit system.  One of them decided to grand stand in the middle of one "car" and used the crowd as his captive audience.  After listening to this idiot spew idiocy for a few minutes, I finally had enough.
He said "How is this going to help Virginia Beach residents? Huh?!"
I shut him down: "Virginia Beach voted to skip the project, so their residents have no say in what Norfolk decides to do, so shut the fuck up and go ride your own light rail... ooops! You don't have one, do you?"  That worked.  I'm a Virginia Beach resident, but I'm disgusted with the apathy of residents in the entire area.  No wonder most big companies avoid creating jobs here.  Many have visited to consider it, but almost all of them move on elsewhere.
On a side note: On the opening day of the Tide system, the Tea Party, all 12 of them, staged a protest at the Newtown Road station, complete with signs and clever rhyming chants while walking around in circles.  When the news cameras were turned off, they immediately dispersed and left, but not before stopping by the complimentary donut and coffee table to load up before leaving.  Those entitlements are tough to ignore.

1 comment:

Evie said...

I always wonder if when Tea Partiers when they hear the sounds of firetruck sirens, do they think to themselves "I hope everything is okay" OR do they think "I can't believe I have to pay to put out someone else's fire."

Of course when you light them on fire they're all, "Oh my god, what are you doing? Someone call the fire department!"...