Why is self-sufficiency "bad" or "crazy" to so many Americans today? (unemployed, illegal)
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I'm an Electrician and it is difficult training new guys that come in the trade whose Dads did not teach them to even fix a flat on their bicycles.
Then on top of that they are not really interested in learning for the most part except a minority.
They do however want raises and advancement.
It is the "somebody give me, somebody else do for me attitude".
It's not the attitude that built this country in the first place.
It is also a sad reflection on what we have become.
More & more though I seem to see more woman that can or learn to do these things.
I guess if you guys aren't going to do it they will.
Personally I'd be embarrassed to not own the many skills I have accrued over my life.
I am always after learning new hands on skills. I come from a foreign car tech back ground which includes 12dcv wiring and a little acv
These last 6 years i have worked hand in hand with a electrical contractor for industrial wiring who is also a full blown machinist. Combined there isn't a whole lot we can't do. I can't say i always know what i am doing other than marking wire with numbers on both ends and installing them the way the schematic shows them, sometimes more than 1,000 wires in a control cabinet to run hammer mills burr mills and up to maybe 7 or 8 motors for 440 on the other end.
We just bought a bender to make our own copper buss bars of 1 and 1.5 inch by 1/4 inch copper bar stock.
Tools are always the key..... This last cabinet has digital wiring in it as well so we can monitor the use in a distant and far away nation from here..
Oftentimes when I suggest Americans need more self-sufficiency in their lives I get shot down by people and labeled as a "spam bunker loon" even though I don't believe in isolating myself from the world, hording and waiting in my carefully prepared underground bunker for the apocalypse.
Since when was it bad to "do it yourself"? I know hardly anybody who changes their own oil, much less anybody who is capable of doing the things that others now regularly do for us like car maintenance/repairs, making clothing, home construction and repairs, basic food preparation like butchering meat or growing vegetables, making furniture and tools, ect.
A hundred years ago, things like this were part of the standard skill-set of nearly every American! Now those skills are gone; the average man can't hit a nail with hammer, much less fix a roof leak or replace a water heater.
And don't give me the excuse that "this technological world is too technological and complicated to expect anybody to be able to do it" crap. Human minds designed, built and installed every system we live with today.
Are you an inferior mind? An unskilled neophyte? An incapable worker? Those traits used to be the marks of a worthless bum... now you are "weird" and "looney" if you aren't like that.
What happened to America?! Since when was dependence a good thing?
Forget a hundred years ago. Just fifty years ago, nearly everyone could repair their own cars. Points, condensers, timing, dwell angle, listen to the bearings and lifters, and check for oil spots on the ground. If the throttle linkage came off, you got a new clip and put it back on... Cost $0.49.
Are you advocating that everyone get a $3,500 computer scanner so they can plug it into their own cars and determine just which sensor is faulty? Today, you have certified mechanics that can make a Jaguar purr like a kitten, but can't fix a lawn mower because it's not fuel injected. They've never seen the inside of a carburetor and don't have the slightest idea how it works.
Unfortunately, folks like the EPA DO NOT WANT YOU REPAIRING YOUR OWN STUFF. That's why engines no longer have any fuel mixture adjustments.
Because the left truly believes that anyone that is not white is a helpless victim and that it is incumbent upon the government, i.e. taxes and social welfare programs to right those wrongs.
Again, what does black or white have to do with this discussion.....
Quote:
Originally Posted by bluesjuke
I'm an Electrician and it is difficult training new guys that come in the trade whose Dads did not teach them to even fix a flat on their bicycles.
Then on top of that they are not really interested in learning for the most part except a minority.
They do however want raises and advancement.
It is the "somebody give me, somebody else do for me attitude".
It's not the attitude that built this country in the first place.
It is also a sad reflection on what we have become.
More & more though I seem to see more woman that can or learn to do these things.
I guess if you guys aren't going to do it they will.
Personally I'd be embarrassed to not own the many skills I have accrued over my life.
I agree with the above, especially the bolded area. I'm a woman and know how to change my oil. Luckily, my husband usually does it for me, as he thinks its embarrassing for him as a man to have me out there on our urban, city block in front of neighbors and those using transit on the bus that goes down our street, to see little old me out there changing the oil.
Also, like a PP mentioned, you can take the oil to an auto store to recycle for you. We never pour it out on our property. The auto store is about 2 miles away and I'll just take it there. We have a special oil changing container that you can twist closed after all the oil comes out that is specifically for taking to the auto store to have them recycle the oil. It was less than $10 at the time we bought it.
I also have gardened in the past, but our dogs destroyed my garden and that pissed me off so I haven't done it the past couple years. I actually am going to get another started this spring though as hubby finally turned half of our backyard into a yard for the dogs so they won't be able to get to the garden area.
I also am very good at fixing appliances. I will rarely ever call a service person as I feel they are overpriced. I recently fixed our stove and changed out some breakers in the breaker box. We have those new types, I researched online and watched youtube videos to learn how to do them and it would have cost me about $200-$300 to have an electrician come and change them for me. I spent $40 on the breaker and did it in about 20 minutes. I had to fix some wires on our stove - we have an electric stove. A few months ago I fixed our front loader washing machine, it had a code showing, I looked it up and did what the google said to do lol. Pretty simple. I did have to enlist hubby's help with that one because our washer is really heavy and I couldn't lift it while getting off the front cover at the same time so he assisted with the lifting. A few years ago I fixed our water heater, an element had burned out and I once again consulted google and youtube and got it remedied. In today's day and age, one should be more self sufficient IMO since we have all this information at our disposal.
My husband always wants to call a service person. He figures we make enough money to hire someone. But I am cheap and won't spend $200 on a service person if I don't have to. I have a ceiling fan that has been sparking recently and I am going to attempt to put in a new fan for that room too and I am confident I can do it. I have even considered taking an auto mechanic class at our local technical college so I can not rely on my mechanic as much as I do. But I think I will focus on the garden this year and hope nothing else breaks down.
Because the left truly believes that anyone that is not white is a helpless victim and that it is incumbent upon the government, i.e. taxes and social welfare programs to right those wrongs.
So you would think there are no liberals/democrats that practice self sufficiency?
Well its obvious that if you do a job yourself, then it contributes to unemployment.
Question is, should you care.
That is an interesting angle, however you are forgetting that many people who are self-employed also possess the skills to do many of the "jobs" that you seem to think will make people unemployed if not hired out to them.
I am curious as to if you count the self-employed as being employed.
I can and have done lots of jobs myself but there just comes a point where it is less efficient for me to do it myself then to get a specialist who already has all of the tools. Sure, I can do plenty of service on my car but it will more than likely cost the same as the parts to get a specialist to do it plus then my warranty stays valid because I can document the working being done.
Again, what does black or white have to do with this discussion.....
I agree with the above, especially the bolded area. I'm a woman and know how to change my oil. Luckily, my husband usually does it for me, as he thinks its embarrassing for him as a man to have me out there on our urban, city block in front of neighbors and those using transit on the bus that goes down our street, to see little old me out there changing the oil.
Also, like a PP mentioned, you can take the oil to an auto store to recycle for you. We never pour it out on our property. The auto store is about 2 miles away and I'll just take it there. We have a special oil changing container that you can twist closed after all the oil comes out that is specifically for taking to the auto store to have them recycle the oil. It was less than $10 at the time we bought it.
I also have gardened in the past, but our dogs destroyed my garden and that pissed me off so I haven't done it the past couple years. I actually am going to get another started this spring though as hubby finally turned half of our backyard into a yard for the dogs so they won't be able to get to the garden area.
I also am very good at fixing appliances. I will rarely ever call a service person as I feel they are overpriced. I recently fixed our stove and changed out some breakers in the breaker box. We have those new types, I researched online and watched youtube videos to learn how to do them and it would have cost me about $200-$300 to have an electrician come and change them for me. I spent $40 on the breaker and did it in about 20 minutes. I had to fix some wires on our stove - we have an electric stove. A few months ago I fixed our front loader washing machine, it had a code showing, I looked it up and did what the google said to do lol. Pretty simple. I did have to enlist hubby's help with that one because our washer is really heavy and I couldn't lift it while getting off the front cover at the same time so he assisted with the lifting. A few years ago I fixed our water heater, an element had burned out and I once again consulted google and youtube and got it remedied. In today's day and age, one should be more self sufficient IMO since we have all this information at our disposal.
My husband always wants to call a service person. He figures we make enough money to hire someone. But I am cheap and won't spend $200 on a service person if I don't have to. I have a ceiling fan that has been sparking recently and I am going to attempt to put in a new fan for that room too and I am confident I can do it. I have even considered taking an auto mechanic class at our local technical college so I can not rely on my mechanic as much as I do. But I think I will focus on the garden this year and hope nothing else breaks down.
Reps coming - more people should strive to do what you do for yourself!
That would probally make a good Great Debates thread: why do human beings need other human beings for survival?
I have read the standard biology and psychology treatments of the subject that all say that we are social beings who have only survived because we have depended on each other - but I do challenge that particular view.
I see no reason why people working independently - could not survive.
I think that the people who buy into the interdependence theory are either people who have never been isolated from others and can't imagine any other type of life(let alone being self-sufficient) or are confusing survival with our current day technological, highly organized and regimented, consumer society which operates on goods and services provided by others.
There is nothing wrong with the supply and demand, technology oriented society which we have created. I am an electronics technician - my living has come through technology and science. That actually makes the people who call me "anti-science" seem rather silly.
It simply isn'tneccesary for survival.
Last edited by Harrier; 10-07-2012 at 09:53 PM..
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