# I pit a really stupid t-shirt **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 19, 2008, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-a-really-stupid-t-shirt/434113 "2008-01-19T03:33:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2008, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-a-really-stupid-t-shirt/434113/61 "2008-01-22T15:29:38Z")
[QUOTE=Bryan Ekers] One of these days I’ll have a shirt made that says: _Join Starfleet and See the Universe! Travel to Faraway Star-Systems Encounter Fascinating Lifeforms And Kill Them_ I worked that into one of my fanfics. [/QUOTE] Shouldn’t that be _Join Starfleet and See the Universe! Travel to Faraway Star-Systems Encounter Fascinating Lifeforms And Have Sex with Them_ ---
**Author:** ![Tool\_of\_the\_Conspiracy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@Tool\_of\_the\_Conspiracy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tool_of_the_Conspiracy)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2008, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-a-really-stupid-t-shirt/434113/62 "2008-01-23T02:50:48Z")
[QUOTE=Jess] I’ve also seen ‘My kid knocked up your honor student.’ Which is funny, if obnoxious. [/QUOTE] My favorite variation is “My honor student gets her piercings at \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_”. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2008, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-a-really-stupid-t-shirt/434113/63 "2008-01-23T21:00:12Z")
[QUOTE=Jolly Roger] Enjoy your retirement. [/QUOTE] I am. Enjoy your unearned money. ---
**Author:** ![Jolly\_Roger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/91b2a8/32.png) [@Jolly\_Roger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jolly_Roger)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2008, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-a-really-stupid-t-shirt/434113/64 "2008-01-23T21:59:30Z")
[QUOTE=Monty] I am. Enjoy your unearned money. [/QUOTE] Don’t worry about that, I use it well, to provide for my family. Sorry that sticks in your craw. You know I sincerely meant “enjoy your retirment”, one service member to a retiree. We don’t have to agree on things for one to extend a courtesy. I guess you _were_ fishing for insults, since you chose to insult me. You have no idea what I or any other person on this board may or may not do to earn their money. I could say that you’re a hypocrite if you claim any benefits from your retirement, but unlike you, I won’t profess to know that you claim any. Guess the best way to deal with people when you don’t agree is go directly to insults, huh? At least now I know how small minded you can be. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2008, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-a-really-stupid-t-shirt/434113/65 "2008-01-23T22:14:59Z")
Jolly Roger, Your comments above were insulting to single servicemembers in that they were only dismissive of them. Do you not remember saying something along the lines of “The only people I hear complaining about this are single members!” I do know what members of the military do to earn their money. I also know what the allowances system is and how it works. After all, I did retire as a PN1. I also recognized that you admitted that you don’t earn the allowances–you merely assert that you deserve it, that you need it. There is a difference between _deserve_ and _need_. Why don’t you recognize that it’s not really _you_ providing for your family but rather the _federal taxpayers_? Hey, of course you need it! The Quadrilennial Review Board recognizes that you need it. The same board also recognizes it’s an inequity that shouldn’t be there in that it pays two people differently for something completely unrelated to the job. Their repeated suggestion is to pay _all_ servicemembers a realistic wage based on the performance expected, not on things unrelated to the job. The servicemember can then do like other people do and provide for his family, if any, out of that income. There’s no way a politician is going to try to change the system until there’s a massive backlash against it. As I said above, it would be political suicide: “Why do you hate our troops?” In reality, that should be “Why do you hate our single troops?” I’m glad you’re not letting your family starve or remain without shelter. What sticks in my craw is the socialist/communistic system Congress has set up for our military. The Pay and Allowances system is massively flawed and needs fixing. But it won’t happen while there are so many politicians who pander to those, like you, who can’t seem to grasp that the complaints do not arise because you are married; they arise because you are paid to be married. At least you didn’t trot out the tired retort of “If you don’t like it, then you should get married” to the single servicemember. And if you find my posts to you insulting, too bad. I pointed out my reasons for disagreeing with a flawed system. All you did was state that you deserve it merely because you need it and dismissed single servicemember’s stance on the flawed system. Too bad I can’t fit all that on a T-shirt for you. On edit: Perhaps you care to explain how a married servicemember with no other dependents than his wife needs the with dependents station allowances when he is assigned to the BOQ and his wife, a civilian government employee, is assigned to a BOQ herself on another base in the same area? The JFTR provide for such payment. As I said above, it’s a flawed system. I was understating the case. ---
**Author:** ![Jolly\_Roger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/91b2a8/32.png) [@Jolly\_Roger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jolly_Roger)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2008, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-a-really-stupid-t-shirt/434113/66 "2008-01-23T23:11:51Z")
We can agree on one thing, no politician is going to change the system as you said. It would be suicide for them politically and it would probably hurt the military. But no politician is pandering to me. I didn’t come up with the system and I didn’t have a problem with it when I was single. So its incorrect to say that that the powers that be are pandering to me. I’ve already said why I think married servicemembers should get their BAS. It didn’t have anything to do with “if you don’t like it, lump it”, it was because the expenses increase whn your married. When a civilian gets married and has a financial problem because the pay isn’t enough they will go find another job that pays more. Since you can’t just quit the military outright and since the military wants to keep people in longer than their initial enlistment, its kind of a no brainer that they’d give them BAS. I also said that it isn’t a great deal of money. It ain’t. Hey, and I did say that servicemembers should be paid more. As for saying “I need it”, what I did was give the reasons why someone would need it. You disagree, and thats democracy. If you don’t believe that its needed, well, thats your business. I think its a bit unfair to dump on the married sm’s though. Be upset with the system if you want to, but its not fair to say that the servicemembers that have families don’t need the money. Its not like they’re buying mansions with it. Since I think we can agree that it takes more money to feed and clothe two or more people than it does for one, I think saying that a married SM does need the extra 100 bucks is accurate. If my comment that I’ve only heard complaints from single servicemembers is a bone of contention, well, thats what is too bad, since its the truth. When a married soldier tells me they think their BAS is a travesty of justice I’ll let you know. For the record, I don’t need to bother with telling soldiers that they should get married to make more money. The last guy that complained to me about not getting as much BAS as a married guy (no lie) had a freaking rolex and a new car. Even if he didn’t I wouldn’t suggest that, since I take my responsibility as an NCO seriously. And I have didn’t stretch to find your post insulting, you did insult me directly by implying that my pay is unearned. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2008, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-a-really-stupid-t-shirt/434113/67 "2008-01-23T23:43:15Z")
How is it earned? Where did I say that you don’t need the money? By the way: BAS = Basic Allowance for Subsistence. That is not dependent on having dependents or number of same. COLA = Cost of Living Allowance. Not only is it different depending on having dependents or not, there is a different rate for the number of command sponsored dependents overseas, up to a maximum rate of “with five dependents.” BAH = Basic Allowance for Housing. There are “without dependents” and “with dependents” rates for each paygrade. Do you know why it would be political suicide to change the system? I see two reasons: 1. The emotional reaction of “Oh, no! You’re going to take away my allowances!” which nobody has said. I’ll let you decide for yourself if you’re showing that reaction, even a little bit. On the other hand, my consistant stance has been to _pay everyone a realistic wage based on the work_. 2. The massive increase in taxes that would be required to _pay everyone a realistic wage based on the work_. Politicians can, and often do, get away with agitating for some tax increases, but agitating for a huge tax increase is now, and always has been, political suicide. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2008, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-a-really-stupid-t-shirt/434113/68 "2008-01-24T01:07:53Z")
Quick and possibly redundant history lesson about the “I’m with Stupid” shirts. When they first came out (back in the old days when a custom t-shirt kiosk in the mall was a new thing) “I’m with Stupid” was half of a pair of shirts. The other shirt read “Stupid”. This was supposed to be a hilarious gift for dating and newly married couples. Needless to say, one shirt of the pair would tend to be worn more often than the other. Although I have seen a pair or two walking down the mall, with “Stupid” even staying on the proper side of the arrow. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2008, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-a-really-stupid-t-shirt/434113/69 "2008-01-24T16:12:05Z")
[QUOTE=Jess] First of all, ‘Wife’ isn’t a job in the Navy. [/QUOTE] Correct. Asea, it’s more akin to a rotating shift duty roster. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2008, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-a-really-stupid-t-shirt/434113/70 "2008-01-24T22:25:57Z")
[QUOTE=ladybug] I wrote one into a fanfic that had the arrow pointing up. [/QUOTE] That T-shirt’s been around for awhile. I’ve never come across an instance of its being inaccurate, though it’s good of the wearers to have a sense of humor about it. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![casieispretty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/258eb7/32.png) [@casieispretty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/casieispretty)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-a-really-stupid-t-shirt/434113/71 "2008-01-25T13:01:13Z")
Bumper stickers are only used by people of lower class. ---
**Author:** ![casieispretty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/258eb7/32.png) [@casieispretty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/casieispretty)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-a-really-stupid-t-shirt/434113/72 "2008-01-25T13:02:28Z")
Oh, and personalized plates are only used by douchebags. ---
**Author:** ![Sean\_Factotum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@Sean\_Factotum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sean_Factotum)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-a-really-stupid-t-shirt/434113/73 "2008-01-25T13:45:29Z")
[QUOTE=neutron star] And what’s with these “I’m with Stupid” t-shirts? Why, “Stupid” is a rare enough name that the chances of you standing next to someone with that monicker are infinitesimal! And if the word “stupid” is referring to the person’s intellect, I’ll have you know that I spent the better part of the 1980s administering random IQ tests to the people standing next to those wearing this shirt that I saw in public. Would you believe that their scores tended to be _average_?! For **shame** , t-shirt manufacturers, for _shame_! [/QUOTE] I got one of those, but it was a concert T-shirt. Aimee Mann was touring on [that album](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/412PB30EATL._AA240_.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![Smid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/838e76/32.png) [@Smid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smid)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-a-really-stupid-t-shirt/434113/74 "2008-01-25T14:17:14Z")
Least favourite one was the “I’m not gay but my boyfriend is”… I hated it when my girlfriend wore that one. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-a-really-stupid-t-shirt/434113/75 "2008-01-25T14:35:22Z")
I think I could make a few bucks if make a sticker/Tshirt that combines all the condescneding slogans and reads: “In case of Rapture, this car, whose driver is a Navy Wife (toughest job in the Navy), whose son is an honor roll student at James Woods High School, will be unmanned.” ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-a-really-stupid-t-shirt/434113/76 "2008-01-25T16:05:39Z")
[QUOTE=Knowed Out] I think I could make a few bucks if make a sticker/Tshirt that combines all the condescneding slogans and reads: “In case of Rapture, this car, whose driver is a Navy Wife (toughest job in the Navy), whose son is an honor roll student at James Woods High School, will be unmanned.” [/QUOTE] “and therefore won’t brake for fat chicks because Jesus loves you.” ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2008, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-a-really-stupid-t-shirt/434113/77 "2008-01-28T20:03:08Z")
My most recent four from [www.northernsun.com](http://www.northernsun.com) I’m already against the _next_ war. Make art, not war. Feminist chicks dig me. (under a picture of George Washington) The United States is in no sense founded on the Christian principle. _George Washington_ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-a-really-stupid-t-shirt/434113.md?page=3)