Rhodesia/Zimbabwe Loses A Bit More History & Tradition

[spike.t]

by Hannes WesselsA few days ago I watched graphic images of the burning down of the Beit Hall at Plumtree School. A beautiful old building built at considerable cost over 100 years ago by early Rhodesian settlers, through which future generations, involving hundreds of thousands of boys of all races have passed on their way to acquiring the knowledge that would ready them for the challenges of life. Apparently the fires were started by angry inmates under quarantine who had not been fed or afforded decent accommodation. I looked at the photos with enormous sadness and reflected on the fact that this was, in a sense a flaming finale to the process of destruction that commenced in 1980 when a magnificent country changed the shape of its government and its name to Zimbabwe.

Plumtree on fire.
At the same time, rioters were burning down American cities in the wake of the death of George Floyd, following his arrest by a Minneapolis policemen on suspicion of trying to pass a counterfeit $20 bill. Floyd had a history of criminal convictions and had served five year in prison for assault and robbery. The County Medical Examiner’s report has concluded he died of a heart attack not asphyxiation, that he had Fentanyl in his system, had recently used methamphetamine, had coronary artery disease and hypersensitive heart disease. However, footage showing a white policeman with his knee pressed into Floyd’s neck for nine minutes caused international outrage and triggered mayhem.
South Africa’s own Trevor Noah wasted no time in leaping into the limelight, emerging as a sort of ‘star of the show’ as he clambered atop the anti-‘white establishment’ media-bandwagon driven into a righteous frenzy by a Trump-hating press.
“Police in America are looting black bodies,” he cried. “Try to imagine how it must feel for black Americans when they watch themselves being looted every single day. Because that’s fundamentally what’s happening in America.” Asked what good looting does for the community and the country, Mr. Noah, replied: “What good doesn’t it do?” The thrust of his rants was quite clear; the wanton destruction was justified; the fact that the victims, both black and white, had nothing to do with the unfortunate death of George Floyd did not trouble Mr. Noah at all.
A few thoughts crossed my mind as I asked myself why the world reserves all its feigned fury for the relatively rare events when whites are responsible for the death of blacks. In America approximately 7,000 black people are killed in violent incidents each year and over 90% of those murders are committed by blacks. And where was the apoplectic media and ‘Black Lives Matter’ outrage when just under a million Tutsis were having their heads hacked off by machete-wielding Hutus in Rwanda. This colossal crime against humanity closely followed the mass riots in America after the beating of Rodney King by police in Los Angeles in 1992. But America, led by Bill Clinton, the UN with Kofi Annan then responsible for responding to the slaughter, Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton and virtually the entire world stood idly by and did precisely nothing. The international press paid a parting interest. Is it somehow acceptable if blacks kill blacks one has to ask?
And when it comes to police brutality the sickeningly sanctimonious Mr. Noah, who makes millions lambasting and lampooning the president of the country which hosts him might like to ask himself a few questions about how much of a ‘fascist’ and ‘white supremacist’ President Trump actually is. While he can run his mouth without any fear of state sanction, what future would await a white, conservative American comedian who tries to run a talk-show in South Africa belittling the president and the government he leads?
Unfortunately for us here in South Africa, Mr. Noah seems to have a lot less to say about tragic events in his homeland. Under draconian emergency regulations some 250,000 (mostly decent people) have been arrested and charged for breach of stupid rules put in place by a sinister, secretive, Command Council headed by former first-lady, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, a woman who has played a leading role in the awful governance visited upon the country since the ANC assumed power.
Also, under this regimen, 12 people have died at the hands of the police or army in the process of enforcing the regulations. One man, Collins Khosa, was allegedly assaulted by a combined police and army detail in his home while entertaining friends, strangled, then slammed against a wall and a gate before being beaten with the butt of a machine-gun. His partner, has stated that after the detail left Collins was unable to walk, began to vomit and then lost consciousness before dying. The matter was investigated by the SA National Defence Force (SANDF) board, which found that the police and the SANDF had no hand in Khosa’s death.
Asked to comment, President Cyril Ramaphosa explained that: “They (the police) let their enthusiasm get the better of them.” Police Minister Bheki Cele fobbed the question off with an almost incomprehensible statement that, “if someone says I stole a chicken, it’s only an allegation”.
Against this ugly backdrop the ruling ANC has found the gall to involve itself in the Floyd death by calling on the Ramaphosa administration to “engage with the American government” through diplomatic channels to “diffuse racial tensions and build social cohesion among different races”. The statement continues: “While we note the action taken by American authorities in charging one of the officers who was caught on camera kneeling on an unarmed Floyd, it is equally concerning that incidents of police brutality against African American citizens are on the increase.”
What Mr. Noah won’t be telling his listeners is that the officer blamed for the death of George Floyd and three of his colleagues will be prosecuted, tried and if convicted, punished. However, this will not happen where he comes from.
Far from it. Here in SA it appears the Covid-19 health-alarm has been hijacked to suit a political agenda aimed at achieving the same goals set by the Mugabe regime in Zimbabwe. As arguably the most powerful person in the land, Dr. Zuma has referred to the concept of ‘class suicide’ recently. She was quoting from the political tenets of Amilcar Cabral. Cabral, a Guinean academic and anti-colonial activist, called for the elimination of the ‘upper classes’ as the only way of achieving a truly egalitarian society. Challenged by the opposition Democratic Alliance to explain herself, she refused to elaborate but the intent appears to be to destroy the white middle and upper class. Maybe a little more subtle than the methods adopted by Robert Mugabe, a man Dr. Zuma admired and supported, but the ends will certainly justify the means.
In all the above-mentioned situations and scenarios, the deeply troubling truth is that these motivations are underpinned by a heartfelt desire, by a class of people, to destroy whatever they surmise was built by white people. Just what they intend to replace it with when the whites have been eliminated and their structures destroyed is it not known to me but from what I have seen after a lifetime in Africa, I’m not expecting much.

http://africaunauthorised.com/

 

[Major Khan]

I 100 % agree , Spike T . Look at the recent George Floyd murder ... As an example . What Derek Chauvin did , was disgusting . How ever , he has been apprehended now. The negroes who are rioting now ... Have absolutely ZERO justification to loot and vandalize the businesses of innocent Caucasian people , who have absolutely NOTHING to do with George Floyd’s murder .

The fact that they are still vandalizing other people’s property ... Shows you what the TRUE nature of these people , really is . Those “ Rioters “ are nothing , but a bunch of thieves and thugs ... Who are politicizing a tragic murder ... To further their own agendas , and benefit themselves . And when these store owners arm themselves fo protection against these hooligans ... Their decide to play victim and call them “ Racists “ .

I genuinely am contemptuous of social media ( Such as face book & twitter ) . They give a platform to these lying thugs to spread their false lies , ever where . And these lies are believed by the millions of sheep , who are their followers . People who have NO academic qualifications , whatsoever ... Can suddenly pretend to be massive intellectuals , by posting a bunch of leftist garbage .

 

[DieJager]

Let me get a bit philosophical.
In theNetherlands there was a mass protest despite the corona measures. The left wing mayor of Amsterdam allowed it. Whilst recently we werent allowed to visit a dying family member. The prime minister said our "Black Pete" tradition must go because of the magic word " racism". It has nothing to do with it.

The Hindus call these time we live in the " Kali Yuga" , Muslims and Christian call it Armageddon or the End of Days. The Scandinavians, Vikings, called it Ragnarok.

What we seeing is the end of Tradition. People without faith and belief in the transcendent. The Revolt of the Fourth estate, the masses.

It seems that the time of action is past, we are past the point of return. Best advice is "ride the Tiger". Save the memories and your inner Tradition best way we can. Enjoy hunting and family and the Brotherhood of like minded people.

Die Jager

 

[Red Leg]

I 100 % agree , Spike T . Look at the recent George Floyd murder ... As an example . What Derek Chauvin did , was disgusting . How ever , he has been apprehended now. The negroes who are rioting now ... Have absolutely ZERO justification to loot and vandalize the businesses of innocent Caucasian people , who have absolutely NOTHING to do with George Floyd’s murder .

The fact that they are still vandalizing other people’s property ... Shows you what the TRUE nature of these people , really is . Those “ Rioters “ are nothing , but a bunch of thieves and thugs ... Who are politicizing a tragic murder ... To further their own agendas , and benefit themselves . And when these store owners arm themselves fo protection against these hooligans ... Their decide to play victim and call them “ Racists “ .

I genuinely am contemptuous of social media ( Such as face book & twitter ) . They give a platform to these lying thugs to spread their false lies , ever where . And these lies are believed by the millions of sheep , who are their followers . People who have NO academic qualifications , whatsoever ... Can suddenly pretend to be massive intellectuals , by posting a bunch of leftist garbage .

The really sad thing is that most of the businesses being destroyed and looted are either black owned or employ heavily from the local black communities. It is a particularly vicious sort of self-destructive behavior. Even more bizarrely, though most of the actual looters have indeed been black, the people instigating the violence tend to be young, upper middle class whites who associate themselves with the ANTFA movement.

The scene of that man being killed was indeed horrific. But the actual statistics with respect to law enforcement using lethal force are dramatically different than what is portrayed daily by the press. An author by the name of Heather Mac Donald has written a book called "The War on Cops" that effectively lays out actual statistics that completely undermine the left's narrative that blacks are being disproportionately abused by police. It is a runaway best seller, but the New York Times refuses to list it on its best seller list. Our mainstream media, of course, refuses to even interview her.

This country went through something somewhat similar in the late sixties well into the seventies. Riots occurred across the country - a toxic mix of ant-war sentiment and reaction to a series of assassinations, particularly Martin Luther King. Police departments gradually were hamstrung, and over time the centers of many of our major cities descended into crime infested jungles. New York became one of the more dangerous cities in the world.

People gradually became fed up with the chaos. Even Hollywood cashed in with movies like the Dirt Harry and Death Wish series. Eventually, the radicals grew older and many of them grew sick of the dangerous chaos. Tough Republican mayors and governors were elected and the notion of law and order became campaign slogans. By the time Rudy Giuliani completed his fiirst term as mayor, New York was one of the safest large cities in the world.

The pendulum has again swung the other way. The only question is how much farther and how long till it starts to swing back. One hopes the republic will survive until it does.

 

[Hogpatrol]

Progressive cities run by progressive mayors elected by progressive citizens. Yeah, I'm voting for Biden.

 

[Major Khan]

The really sad thing is that most of the businesses being destroyed and looted are either black owned or employ heavily from the local black communities. It is a particularly vicious sort of self-destructive behavior. Even more bizarrely, though most of the actual looters have indeed been black, the people instigating the violence tend to be young, upper middle class whites who associate themselves with the ANTFA movement.

The scene of that man being killed was indeed horrific. But the actual statistics with respect to law enforcement using lethal force are dramatically different than what is portrayed daily by the press. An author by the name of Heather Mac Donald has written a book called "The War on Cops" that effectively lays out actual statistics that completely undermine the left's narrative that blacks are being disproportionately abused by police. It is a runaway best seller, but the New York Times refuses to list it on its best seller list. Our mainstream media, of course, refuses to even interview her.

This country went through something somewhat similar in the late sixties well into the seventies. Riots occurred across the country - a toxic mix of ant-war sentiment and reaction to a series of assassinations, particularly Martin Luther King. Police departments gradually were hamstrung, and over time the centers of many of our major cities descended into crime infested jungles. New York became one of the more dangerous cities in the world.

People gradually became fed up with the chaos. Even Hollywood cashed in with movies like the Dirt Harry and Death Wish series. Eventually, the radicals grew older and many of them grew sick of the dangerous chaos. Tough Republican mayors and governors were elected and the notion of law and order became campaign slogans. By the time Rudy Giuliani completed his fiirst term as mayor, New York was one of the safest large cities in the world.

The pendulum has again swung the other way. The only question is how much farther and how long till it starts to swing back. One hopes the republic will survive until it does.

It is just ... Extremely depressing , Sir .
Our younger generations are indeed , lost . I often look at American Democratic party speeches , on the television ... And I find myself wondering , " What kind of illiterate fool would believe some thing , like this ? "

I sincerely hope that every single looter is thrown behind bars , very soon .

 

[DieJager]

The pendulum has again swung the other way. The only question is how much farther and how long till it starts to swing back.

This is in part what I meant in my previous post. Momentum is going one way. Ride it out till it swings back.

 

[Hogpatrol]

The same history in the U.S. is being destroyed. Confederate statues are being vandalized, destroyed or removed. Instead of leaving them sit to remind everyone of the lessons of history, remove them so we don't have to think about it. But then again, anymore processing that by using one's brain is a formidable task.

 

[randallhebert]

no matter black, white, red purple or a martian, if you are breaking in, looting and burning things you should be arrested.

 

[DieJager]

or a martian

 

[Hank2211]

It is just ... Extremely depressing , Sir .
Our younger generations are indeed , lost . I often look at American Democratic party speeches , on the television ... And I find myself wondering , " What kind of illiterate fool would believe some thing , like this ? "

I sincerely hope that every single looter is thrown behind bars , very soon .

@Major Khan, I don't think our younger generation are lost. Not at all. This has ever been the way of the world. The protesters of the 60's are the retirees of today, and they did pretty well building the society we now enjoy. Defying authority has been a rite of passage for the young since the time of the ancient Greeks. I have no doubt that those protesting today will go on to lead productive lives and will continue the work of making the world a better place than it is today. I may not agree with everything the protesters are looking for, or protesting about, but I admire their willingness to stand up for a cause they believe in. And frankly, do any of us not believe in the cause of equal opportunity and equal justice for all? Is that not something worth standing up for? And how about reminding politicians and police who they work for and who pays their salaries? Surely, they need such reminders from time to time?

Are you perhaps conflating protesters with the anarchists and looters? Well, they've been around forever as well, and while they get lots of media attention and create hardship and havoc on a micro level, they have never gotten any traction on a macro level, nor do I think they ever will. Even those protesting today are too sensible for that to happen.

As a wise man once said, "this too will pass" and when it does, I believe we will have moved another few feet towards a more just society.

 

[spike.t]

Plumtree school......

 

[DieJager]

Are you perhaps conflating protesters with the anarchists and looters? Well, they've been around forever as well, and while they get lots of media attention and create hardship and havoc on a micro level, they have never gotten any traction on a macro level, nor do I think they ever will. Even those protesting today are too sensible for that to happen

Well, I hope you are right but that is the utopian in me. In Europe we still are picking the fruits of the hippie-generation. They destroyed religion and their mass imigration pitted one citizen against the other. The youth does not believe in anything anymore. Except instant gratification.Taxes are through the roof, free speech in Europe doesn't exist.

They think they are protesting against racism. Every sane mind agrees in that. But the facts do not collabarate that narrative. It is statisically more likely in America as a white person to die in police custody than a black man. Is their a history of racism, sure. Are people still feeling the consequences of that, sure. Is a America as a whole racist, NO! . That is justs socialist hyperbole. Divide and conquer.

It is the road to socialist control of the masses. Rules for thee but not for me. See the hypocrisy in the way the MSM depicted the lockdown protest vs the current ones. The governors and mayors not following their own rules. Same with mayors in my country.

To quote George Orwell, " some pigs are more equal than others."

I hope socialist will start to like hunting otherwise the future is grim for us hunters.

 

[sestoppelman]

@Major Khan, I don't think our younger generation are lost. Not at all. This has ever been the way of the world. The protesters of the 60's are the retirees of today, and they did pretty well building the society we now enjoy. Defying authority has been a rite of passage for the young since the time of the ancient Greeks. I have no doubt that those protesting today will go on to lead productive lives and will continue the work of making the world a better place than it is today. I may not agree with everything the protesters are looking for, or protesting about, but I admire their willingness to stand up for a cause they believe in. And frankly, do any of us not believe in the cause of equal opportunity and equal justice for all? Is that not something worth standing up for? And how about reminding politicians and police who they work for and who pays their salaries? Surely, they need such reminders from time to time?

Are you perhaps conflating protesters with the anarchists and looters? Well, they've been around forever as well, and while they get lots of media attention and create hardship and havoc on a micro level, they have never gotten any traction on a macro level, nor do I think they ever will. Even those protesting today are too sensible for that to happen.

As a wise man once said, "this too will pass" and when it does, I believe we will have moved another few feet towards a more just society.

I too hope you are right my friend, but I fear you are looking at this thru rose colored glasses. Time will tell.

 

[Deleted member 53080]

@Major Khan, I don't think our younger generation are lost. Not at all. This has ever been the way of the world. The protesters of the 60's are the retirees of today, and they did pretty well building the society we now enjoy. Defying authority has been a rite of passage for the young since the time of the ancient Greeks. I have no doubt that those protesting today will go on to lead productive lives and will continue the work of making the world a better place than it is today. I may not agree with everything the protesters are looking for, or protesting about, but I admire their willingness to stand up for a cause they believe in. And frankly, do any of us not believe in the cause of equal opportunity and equal justice for all? Is that not something worth standing up for? And how about reminding politicians and police who they work for and who pays their salaries? Surely, they need such reminders from time to time?

Are you perhaps conflating protesters with the anarchists and looters? Well, they've been around forever as well, and while they get lots of media attention and create hardship and havoc on a micro level, they have never gotten any traction on a macro level, nor do I think they ever will. Even those protesting today are too sensible for that to happen.

As a wise man once said, "this too will pass" and when it does, I believe we will have moved another few feet towards a more just society.

I do agree that this is nothing new. As they say, “history repeats itself”. I however believe that all generations have an equal hand in this mess, but it seems to me that the protesters of the 60s and 70s are the ones who have given us obama, biden, hillary, chuck, nancy and so on and so forth. Not to mention that they, to this very day have played a major role in financing/supporting the hijacking of the media and our institutions of higher education and turned them into nothing but liberal think tanks and re-education centers. I do not say the previous statement lightly as conservative students, speakers, and faculty are persecuted, mocked and threatened on a regular basis. I’m only 28 and I don’t know everything, far less than that actually, and I don’t mean to offend. I apologize for my grammatical errors.

 

[WebleyGreene455]

@Major Khan, I don't think our younger generation are lost. Not at all. This has ever been the way of the world. The protesters of the 60's are the retirees of today, and they did pretty well building the society we now enjoy. Defying authority has been a rite of passage for the young since the time of the ancient Greeks. I have no doubt that those protesting today will go on to lead productive lives and will continue the work of making the world a better place than it is today. I may not agree with everything the protesters are looking for, or protesting about, but I admire their willingness to stand up for a cause they believe in. And frankly, do any of us not believe in the cause of equal opportunity and equal justice for all? Is that not something worth standing up for? And how about reminding politicians and police who they work for and who pays their salaries? Surely, they need such reminders from time to time?

Are you perhaps conflating protesters with the anarchists and looters? Well, they've been around forever as well, and while they get lots of media attention and create hardship and havoc on a micro level, they have never gotten any traction on a macro level, nor do I think they ever will. Even those protesting today are too sensible for that to happen.

As a wise man once said, "this too will pass" and when it does, I believe we will have moved another few feet towards a more just society.

I fear you may be overly optimistic about some of the young people of today. Many of the protestors out there right now, yes, they may well turn out to be productive members of society. Many of them are already. But the youngsters running around with masks over their faces and chucking bottles of urine at people for having different political views, or pitching hissy fits because they were told having electric blue hair isn't terribly appealing, or falling to their knees like and screaming because a so-called "Nazi" didn't agree that we should all embrace socialism? I fear they will only hamper true progress unless they manage to properly grow up, and I just don't see that one happening. At best they will calm down but still harbor those views that they are oppressed when they have never known or seen true oppression, that revising history to hide the bad is the one great truth, and that one must feel overwhelming guilt for the actions of someone two hundred years in the past.

The rioters and looters and thugs, on the other hand, they're only in it for their own selves and can't see past the ends of their noses that nine times out of ten, their actions will make life worse for them, their families, their communities, and their children and their children's children. They are selfish, they are delighted by their selfishness and wallow in it like pigs in mud, and they are like a cancer than rots their communities out from within. And unfortunately it's not only the uneducated who do that. You'll have people who have good jobs, higher education, and who are productive members of society going out and running off with a brand-new stolen TV without an ounce of shame for having done so simply because "Everyone else was doing it, so why shouldn't I?" Right and wrong mean nothing to some people even when they know the difference.

I have sympathy for the protestors who truly care about their cause and want to make the world a better place and are doing it the right way. I am baffled and have pity for the ones who do not understand that they only dig their holes deeper and deeper every time they act damn fools. I have nothing but disdain for looters and arsonists and thugs who harm the innocent and care nothing for any cause or for the world at large.

 

[sestoppelman]

Two youngish adult licensed attorneys were arrested in NY for fire bombing a police car!! Judge cut them loose, a higher courts said, NADA. They were re arrested as they should be.

 

[Mort Hill]

Nothing new under the sun. My wife told my 20 year old son that as he was getting absolutely wound up by the social media accounts of the rioting. Wise words from a wise woman. She said Moses led the Israelites out of slavery and bondage, and yet while the journey to a new free life was still in its infancy, these same people were reveling, revolting, rioting and saying they needed to return. They said they were better off as slaves in Egypt. She told him him to get off that social media crap. Think for yourself. Form your own opinions, listen to your own feelings, look at the facts and decide for yourself. If all men and women are indeed created equal, then your opinion is just that, your own. Others have opinions, but they are no greater or lesser than your own. Just one persons opinion. My 2 cents, but I am glad I married her 32 years ago. I would be much smarter if I listened to her more often.

 

[Major Khan]

@Major Khan, I don't think our younger generation are lost. Not at all. This has ever been the way of the world. The protesters of the 60's are the retirees of today, and they did pretty well building the society we now enjoy. Defying authority has been a rite of passage for the young since the time of the ancient Greeks. I have no doubt that those protesting today will go on to lead productive lives and will continue the work of making the world a better place than it is today. I may not agree with everything the protesters are looking for, or protesting about, but I admire their willingness to stand up for a cause they believe in. And frankly, do any of us not believe in the cause of equal opportunity and equal justice for all? Is that not something worth standing up for? And how about reminding politicians and police who they work for and who pays their salaries? Surely, they need such reminders from time to time?

Are you perhaps conflating protesters with the anarchists and looters? Well, they've been around forever as well, and while they get lots of media attention and create hardship and havoc on a micro level, they have never gotten any traction on a macro level, nor do I think they ever will. Even those protesting today are too sensible for that to happen.

As a wise man once said, "this too will pass" and when it does, I believe we will have moved another few feet towards a more just society.

It was also the youth of the 1960s and 1970s , who :
> Got hunting banned in India .
> Got fox hunting banned in Great Britain
> Made meat eating taboo in India
> Who are now pushing for more gun control in America .
> Who are pushing for a ban on importing hunting trophies in Great Britain .
> Who are pushing for a ban on importing hunting trophies in America .
> Who pioneered the trend of veganism in Great Britain .
> Who pioneered the concept of veganism in America .


They certainly built a society , indeed . But not certainly 1 that we enjoy ( At least I do not ) . And they are influencing the youth to fall under their sway ... And finish what they started .

In 1969 , India ... We all used to laugh when young Indira Gandhi was attempting to convince India's youth to despise hunters and go vegan . We treated her as a spoilt brat , who would NEVER succeed in influencing India's youth . Hunting , gun ownership and meat eating were core parts of Indian culture . That was our fatal error .
We underestimated the problem , severely . As young @Sam Kunal ( Who currently lives in India ) can attest ... Our fatal error cost India's hunting community , dearly . Because we all were optimistic that Indira Gandhi would never succeed ... That bitch and her thugs successfully indoctrinated 3 entire generations of people in my birth country , against hunting , gun ownership and meat eating .


In my country , we have a Bengali saying , " Saap er matha shathe shathe kathbe " .
In English , that translates in to " Cut off the head of the snake ...As soon as it hatches " . I believe that we need to identify and crush a problem ... While it is still small. Or else , we will suffer in the long run . In my case ... I have actually lived through an era , where not being able to recognize a problem ... Cost us dearly .


Fighting against racial discrimination and injustice ... Is a noble cause , in and of itself . My problem is this : The protestors who are not personally looting ... Are supporting the 1s who are . They are acting in solidarity with them .

Instead of going after Derek Chauvin ... They are going after police officers and Caucasians , as a whole .

Infact , today ... I dare say that the youth is far more problematic , than the youth of the 1960s and 1970s . Why ? Because of social media . It takes a minute ( Literally 1 minute ) for some " Social Media Celebrity " to post some thing untrue on ( For instance ) face book ... Which suddenly becomes viral and becomes believed by millions of young , impressionable minds .

 

[Hogpatrol]

My take on the U.S. is people are fed the idea that they can't solve their own problems or survive without government assistance. Doing drugs? We'll provide you with a safe place to shoot up. Don't have a job that pays enough to have a cell phone or internet service? The taxpayers will take care of that. No computer for at home learning during the pandemic? Taxpayers, pony up the money for the kids' computers so their parents can keep up their new car lease payments. Need to feed those four kids you had out of wedlock? Uncle Sam will take care of that at school, yeah, breakfast and lunch. Do they need medical care? No worries, the hospitals' emergency rooms will take care of them. They'll just soak the insurance companies to subsidize those costs (who ultimately pays for that?) Thousands of illegal immigrants in your neighborhood school? Jack up the property taxes to pay for them. Having said all that, it's a lot different than when I grew up. The wealthiest households in the neighborhood, the kids had new bikes. Second hand was the name of the game for me and my siblings. If I wanted more of something or a better bike, I hustled odd jobs in the neighborhood. Neither the government or NGOs (don't get me started on these misguided, work ethic destroying assholes) subsidized my wants OR even my needs. You just went without.