# Pitting the Washington Post for glorifying ignorance and stupidity **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 24, 2014, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-the-washington-post-for-glorifying-ignorance-and-stupidity/702371 "2014-10-24T17:43:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2014, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-the-washington-post-for-glorifying-ignorance-and-stupidity/702371/221 "2014-10-27T20:43:45Z")
Or gift certificate or [debit card at U-Haul](http://www.uhaul.com/FrequentlyAskedQuestions/#623). Someday I might not look down on you, **LHoD** , but this is not that day. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2014, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-the-washington-post-for-glorifying-ignorance-and-stupidity/702371/222 "2014-10-27T20:44:08Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > From the [Penske Truck rental we](http://www.pensketruckrental.com/faq.html#rate-other-payment-types)bsite: > > And we all know how nearly impossible it is for someone to get a credit card. > > Regards, > > Shodan Yeah, you just need a large cash deposit. ::smack:: ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2014, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-the-washington-post-for-glorifying-ignorance-and-stupidity/702371/223 "2014-10-27T21:35:56Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > Truck? Weirdly again on point, because someone called me tonight to tell me someone else was giving away a nice, clean couch. Problem : I don’t have a truck, nor friends with a truck. Assuming that this woman has one is a strange assumption. It’s not an assumption. The article states that her husband has a truck. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2014, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-the-washington-post-for-glorifying-ignorance-and-stupidity/702371/224 "2014-10-27T21:45:21Z")
Not that I assumed it, but assuming someone living in rural Alabama has a truck is not at all strange. I’m not sure when the last time you left France and spent time in rural Alabama, but you might want to check it out sometime soon. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2014, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-the-washington-post-for-glorifying-ignorance-and-stupidity/702371/225 "2014-10-27T22:55:56Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Or gift certificate or [debit card at U-Haul](http://www.uhaul.com/FrequentlyAskedQuestions/#623). > > Someday I might not look down on you, **LHoD** , but this is not that day. Your perspective is totally shot. You seriously think that getting a debit card is easy for folks living in poverty? Do you even think before you type these things? [One in four households don’t have bank accounts](http://www.forbes.com/sites/halahtouryalai/2012/09/17/who-needs-banks-number-of-americans-without-bank-accounts-rises/). Of those, less than 20% have used a prepaid debit card in the past year. The level of hassle you’re describing in order to get a couch is quickly rising. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2014, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-the-washington-post-for-glorifying-ignorance-and-stupidity/702371/226 "2014-10-27T23:51:20Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > The level of hassle you’re describing in order to get a couch is quickly rising. They don’t need to lease a truck-- they own one. And if they didn’t, do you think anyone in the rural south who doesn’t have a truck would have difficulty borrowing one from a friend or relative? My god, the lengths people will go through to make these lazy fucking people sound like victims. And that’s exactly what their problem is. Not stupidity, laziness. They want what the want and can’t be arsed to either save for it or find a more economical way to get it than renting. ---
**Author:** ![Absolute](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b2d939/32.png) [@Absolute](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Absolute)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2014, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-the-washington-post-for-glorifying-ignorance-and-stupidity/702371/227 "2014-10-27T23:53:07Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Your perspective is totally shot. You seriously think that getting a debit card is easy for folks living in poverty? Do you even think before you type these things? > > [One in four households don’t have bank accounts](http://www.forbes.com/sites/halahtouryalai/2012/09/17/who-needs-banks-number-of-americans-without-bank-accounts-rises/). Of those, less than 20% have used a prepaid debit card in the past year. > > The level of hassle you’re describing in order to get a couch is quickly rising. You have not read that article carefully enough. It says only 8% of households do not have a bank account, a factor of 4 less than you stated: see Table 1.1. The “one in four” actually refers to “households [which] conduct some or all of their financial transactions outside of the mainstream banking system.” The “some” makes this a completely meaningless statistic - I make plenty of money, but I’ve used a “non-bank money order” once or twice over the past year, so according to their definition I count towards this “one in four” statistic. Bullshit. This woman is _unemployed_. There is nothing stopping her from driving to a bank and opening a checking account. Fuck, most Wal-Marts have a bank branch right inside them. Or she could find a local credit union. It’s not as if she’s working three jobs and just doesn’t have the time. ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2014, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-the-washington-post-for-glorifying-ignorance-and-stupidity/702371/228 "2014-10-28T00:05:22Z")
The problem I have is that people are suggesting the choice is between sitting on the floor and usury. Shut the these places down if you want. I don’t care because I will never shop there. The thing is that you can get a perfectly nice couch for a fairly low sum of money. You don’t even have to go the yard sale / craig’s list route. Here’s [one at IKEA.](http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/90166760/) There isn’t one near you? Well this one is $250 including shipping. Jeezus. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2014, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-the-washington-post-for-glorifying-ignorance-and-stupidity/702371/229 "2014-10-28T00:12:24Z")
> [@LavenderBlue](#): > > The problem I have is that people are suggesting the choice is between sitting on the floor and usury. Shut the these places down if you want. I don’t care because I will never shop there. > > The thing is that you can get a perfectly nice couch for a fairly low sum of money. You don’t even have to go the yard sale / craig’s list route. Here’s [one at IKEA.](http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/90166760/) There isn’t one near you? Well this one is $250 including shipping. > > Jeezus. But does it match the color of your double-wide? ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2014, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-the-washington-post-for-glorifying-ignorance-and-stupidity/702371/230 "2014-10-28T00:13:25Z")
> [@Absolute](#): > > You have not read that article carefully enough. It says only 8% of households do not have a bank account, a factor of 4 less than you stated: see Table 1.1. You’re totally correct–my apologies. If we’re talking about this specific case, then yes, they had a truck. If we’re discussing in general the idea that poor people have access to resources by which they can get furniture inexpensively, that’s a dicier proposition. ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2014, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-the-washington-post-for-glorifying-ignorance-and-stupidity/702371/231 "2014-10-28T00:22:28Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > But does it match the color of your double-wide? It comes in twelve colors. Jeez. I went shopping a year ago for the cheapest possible couch I could find because my daughters are like mini-tornadoes. They are Rita Rudner’s adorable bears with furniture. We found literally over a dozen choices for under seven hundred bucks. There’s no reason the people in question couldn’t live a bit with the couch they had and then save up some money each month. There’s also no reason that woman can’t find a way to make twenty bucks a day extra. Walk dogs. Assist an elderly person. Write shit on the net. Sell stuff on ebay that you find at garage sales. Fill out online surveys. Answer phones at home. The kinds of excuses remind me of some my dumber close relatives. They always have a million reasons why they do pick the stupidest thing they could possibly do and then do it. I’m all for the government trying to help them avoid such dumb choices but I get a little sick of these sorts of excuses sometimes. And a little weary knowing that I’ll probably have to provide a room in my house once my dad dies because my little brother is too dumb and lazy to figure out basic life tasks. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2014, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-the-washington-post-for-glorifying-ignorance-and-stupidity/702371/232 "2014-10-28T00:26:13Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > You’re totally correct–my apologies. > > If we’re talking about this specific case, then yes, they had a truck. If we’re discussing in general the idea that poor people have access to resources by which they can get furniture inexpensively, that’s a dicier proposition. Access to resources, you say? Can you imagine any of our grandparents talking about needing “access to resources” in order to get inexpensive things? They would laugh their asses off. Not sure about your grandparents, but mine were poor. Really poor. Depression poor. They wouldn’t have known “access to resources” from shit on a stick. But they were able to get inexpensive things. Why my grandfather once carried a sofa on his back for 500 miles just to see if my grandmother liked the color!! n.b.: The first paragraph was not meant as a joke, but I couldn’t help myself in the 2nd one. ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2014, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-the-washington-post-for-glorifying-ignorance-and-stupidity/702371/233 "2014-10-28T00:29:50Z")
> [@LavenderBlue](#): > > The problem I have is that people are suggesting the choice is between sitting on the floor and usury. Shut the these places down if you want. I don’t care because I will never shop there. > > The thing is that you can get a perfectly nice couch for a fairly low sum of money. You don’t even have to go the yard sale / craig’s list route. Here’s [one at IKEA.](http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/90166760/) There isn’t one near you? Well this one is $250 including shipping. > > Jeezus. And I’m just as stupid sometimes. That was for the sofa cover not the sofa. But still here’s two couches under five hundred bucks. > **[Home Page - Big Lots](https://www.biglots.com/)** > > Your one-stop shop for BIG deals that make your dollar holler! Save on brands like Broyhill, Swiffer, & Doritos. Plus easy curbside pickup, & same-day delivery! > **[Products](https://www.ikea.com/us/en/cat/products-products/)** > > Browse our full range of products from dressing tables to complete modern kitchens. Click here to find the right IKEA product for you. Browse online and in-store today! ---
**Author:** ![Absolute](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b2d939/32.png) [@Absolute](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Absolute)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2014, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-the-washington-post-for-glorifying-ignorance-and-stupidity/702371/234 "2014-10-28T00:29:59Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > My god, the lengths people will go through to make these lazy fucking people sound like victims. And that’s exactly what their problem is. Not stupidity, laziness. They want what the want and can’t be arsed to either save for it or find a more economical way to get it than renting. This really sums it up. If this woman were working three jobs, and the story was about how she doesn’t have time to go buy a used couch and deal with all the related hassle, and so the only way for her to get any kind of furniture at all is a store like this, it would be different. But no. She has all the time in the fucking world. She A) is too lazy to look for a used couch, B) is too irresponsible to save up more than $100 or so at a time, C) must have a brand-new $1,500 couch, rather than the $100-$200 couch she can actually afford. Fuck, _I_ bought a brand-new $600 couch a few years ago because I knew I couldn’t afford a nicer one, and I have a decent job. The thing that most pissed me off about the article was the implication that this lazy, stupid, unemployed moron was entitled to “the material rewards of middle-class life”, e.g. a $1,500 couch, despite doing absolutely nothing to deserve it other than being alive and wanting one. As others have pointed out, there are plenty of options for even brand-new furniture at a more reasonable price point. The only reason she had to go to Buddy’s was that she wanted a _more expensive_ couch than she could really afford, and no bank can _afford_ to make loans to unemployed people except under ridiculous interest rates because they are so likely to default. I like and want nice things too! Where is the Washington Post article about how hard it is for me to afford a Porsche because I don’t make enough money to qualify for the loan? I need a new Porsche instead of a used Chevy about as much as this woman needs a $1,500 couch. But I _really_ want one. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2014, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-the-washington-post-for-glorifying-ignorance-and-stupidity/702371/235 "2014-10-28T00:34:49Z")
> [@Absolute](#): > > I like and want nice things too! Where is the Washington Post article about how hard it is for me to afford a Porsche because I don’t make enough money to qualify for the loan? I need a new Porsche instead of a used Chevy about as much as this woman needs a $1,500 couch. But I _really_ want one. I’ll rent one to you for 2500/month for 10 years. After 10 years, you’ll own it! But first I need to change my username to Buddy Mace. ---
**Author:** ![Absolute](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b2d939/32.png) [@Absolute](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Absolute)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2014, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-the-washington-post-for-glorifying-ignorance-and-stupidity/702371/236 "2014-10-28T00:39:10Z")
And by the way, the market for truck drivers is ridiculously tight these days, so the fact that her husband can’t find steady work suggest he’s probably a fuckup in his own way. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2014, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-the-washington-post-for-glorifying-ignorance-and-stupidity/702371/237 "2014-10-28T01:10:59Z")
Help me parse this: > [@Absolute](#): > > And by the way, the market for truck drivers is ridiculously tight these days, Where I’m from, this means it is hard to find a job as a truck driver. > [@](#): > > so the fact that her husband can’t find steady work suggest he’s probably a fuckup in his own way. So if it is hard to find a truck-driving job, he could be a fucking genius and still be unemployed. What am I missing? ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2014, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-the-washington-post-for-glorifying-ignorance-and-stupidity/702371/238 "2014-10-28T01:11:48Z")
Open question, although I’d particularly like for **John Mace** and **Absolute** to take a shot at it: Let’s say, for the sake of argument, that these folks and people like them are merely lazy and irresponsible. Entitled, greedy, whatever. What is to be done? Obviously “let them starve on the streets” has not succeeded in eliminating laziness and irresponsibility, at least not on this planet. But that’s still pretty much what I hear from a lot of people: Fuck 'em, and let them suffer the consequences of their actions. _But is that a net societal good?_ Is it beneficial to society to allow people as much rope as they need to hang themselves? Does it help us as a nation or a species to let people starve through their own laziness and irresponsibility? ---
**Author:** ![Absolute](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b2d939/32.png) [@Absolute](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Absolute)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2014, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-the-washington-post-for-glorifying-ignorance-and-stupidity/702371/239 "2014-10-28T01:29:59Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Help me parse this:Where I’m from, this means it is hard to find a job as a truck driver.So if it is hard to find a truck-driving job, he could be a fucking genius and still be unemployed. > > What am I missing? The market for truck drivers is tight. Meaning, it is hard to find a truck driver. Sorry if you were confused. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2014, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-the-washington-post-for-glorifying-ignorance-and-stupidity/702371/240 "2014-10-28T01:40:12Z")
> [@andros](#): > > Open question, although I’d particularly like for **John Mace** and **Absolute** to take a shot at it: > > Let’s say, for the sake of argument, that these folks and people like them are merely lazy and irresponsible. Entitled, greedy, whatever. > > What is to be done? Obviously “let them starve on the streets” has not succeeded in eliminating laziness and irresponsibility, at least not on this planet. But that’s still pretty much what I hear from a lot of people: Fuck 'em, and let them suffer the consequences of their actions. > > _But is that a net societal good?_ Is it beneficial to society to allow people as much rope as they need to hang themselves? Does it help us as a nation or a species to let people starve through their own laziness and irresponsibility? Those people are not starving in the streets, so I’m not sure anything needs to be done. People starving in the streets in the US is so rare that it’s not something I’m concerned about. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-the-washington-post-for-glorifying-ignorance-and-stupidity/702371.md?page=11) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-the-washington-post-for-glorifying-ignorance-and-stupidity/702371.md?page=13)