Re: Bill Bauer and And thanks guys! Roni, although I have not experienced overt prejudice myself, both my parents have. When my dad was in the 4th grade (year 1949, Memphis, Tennessee), his teacher asked him to come up to the front of the classroom and to face his classmates. She then proceeded to tell the class, "Boys and girls, you know Ronald, but you may not have known that he is Jewish. His people killed our baby Jesus." (I believe that this must have been part of her Easter lesson plan or some such.) Dad told me that this was the most devastating moment of his life -- other kids in the class began to yell at him while the teacher did nothing. A girl began to cry. Other kids stopped talking to Dad for a few years. I have never understood the depth of ignorance and hatred that feeds acts like that. And, of course, I realize that the atrocities leveled toward African-Americans in this country far outpace what most other groups have suffered. In any event, even though I am not Black and cannot directly know your experience, I wanted to say that I believe that I understand the wellspring of sadness that emerges in the face of racism in any form. Doc
Re: Bill Bauer and And thanks guys! You know psychodoc, thanks for your words. And in the mist of everything that is going on in this country....ie....Afghan, WTC, etc, I feel like none of that stuff matters anymore. I have been treated worse by my own people of color than any other group. And that is pretty ironic. Look what hating others of different religions has caused in the east.
Re: Bill Bauer and And thanks guys! One of the most delightful things about the internet is that it transcends all that. (Usually) we do not see each other, or hear an accent, and so we meet mind to mind, and heart to heart. And you come to like someone before they divulge their personal information - by then it makes no difference, age, race, religion, anything - you have become friends. Of course it is also heaven on earth for narcissists, because they assume that everyone they meet on here is just like them, hehe.
Re: Did I add this up correctly Interesting justification. $271,000 is a drop in the bucket when you think about everything else. If your income is as high as Bkev estimated, I'm wondering why you didn't pay these debts. I know that creditors make mistakes, but I would think that some of them are valid. For someone who has taken a pretty harsh stance against lying, I'm trying to figure out your ethical stance. Why is what you did any different from taking $271,000 from a bank? Also, regarding Montgomery Wards and other large companies who file for bankruptcy usually there are items that can be cannibalized for profit. I worked on the Carter, Hawley, Hale (Broadway Dept. Stores, etc.) bankruptcy. Stockholders actually came out ahead on that deal.
Re: Did I add this up correctly You know better than that. No one can do anything that is anywhere near 100% profit.
Hey Roni! Congratulations on AMEX!!! This is wonderful news. Sorry I haven't been posting the last few days, but I'm on vacation with my kids. I just jumped on-line to see what was up and to my surprise, all hell broke loose. I saw you have a new IM handle. You know my info, hit me up so we can chat!
Re: Did I add this up correctly Mr Brown. By this time, it should be obvious to one and all that what is most important is who is making the mistake. In the eyes of many, the fact of oweing a debt one has either neglected or is unable to pay for whatever reason is a far more important than whether or not someone else violates the law and one's rights. Personally, I find that a strange position to take in view of the fact that when this nation was born, our forefathers took great pains in their attempts to ensure that the rights of the people would never be violated by the government they were creating and that this great nation should never become a debtor's hell on earth. If that were not specifically provided for then they would never have created those provisions that provide that one cannot be imprisoned for indebtedness. At that time, the infamous debtors prisons that existed in England and other parts of the world were quite properly hated and abhorred by our founding fathers. If indeed the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness and due process of law were to be taken so lightly as most debtors seem to take them then our government would not be busily passing new and ever more strict laws such as FCRA, FDCPA, GLB and many others Owing a debt which one cannot or does not wish to pay for whatever reason does not make a dog out of him or her. They may very well be making a mistake in not meeting their obligations but they are still human beings and should be treated as such. In reality, the problem does not lie with the collector of debts, but with the consumer who fails to understand that he has rights and has the legal right to force others to observe his rights under the law. One can hardly blame the debt collector for doing his or her job. In the process, mistakes are bound to occur since they are only human too. It is only human to err, but it is up to each of us to learn from our mistakes and try to correct them to the best of his or her ability to do so. If one does not know his rights or does not care to enforce them then he has only those rights which the other person is willing to give him and that is usually not much.
Re: Did I add this up correctly I think he meant that some of the debts are valid. If I owe the phone company $200, but they send me a bill saying I owe $500, does that mean that I do not have to pay the $200 I owe them? Absolutely not, IMO.
Re: Did I add this up correctly There is a lot of truth in this.As a matter of fact it plays a large role as to why consumers are treated unfair and unjust by big business.
Re: Did I add this up correctly I don't pay on an incorrect bill : If they expect payment they have to send me a corrected bill.
Congrats, Roni! When I first came to this board, you were not posting, but your name was mentioned frequently. I think you are a creditnet legend!
