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President Obama @ RU Commencement (merged)

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The one great thing about today? His speech is generating headlines and articles and they all mention Rutgers. Great publicity for the University, regardless of whether you support him from a party standpoint, it was an honor and a privilege to have a sitting President speak at the annivesary commencement.
 
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POTUS was right - check your spelling!
RUtix4me said:
The one great thing about today? His speech is generating headlines and articles and they all mention Rutgers. Great publicity for the University, regardless of whether you support him from a party standpoint, it was an honor and a priveledge to have a sitting President speak at the annivesary commencement.[/
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oldman87 said:
Obama Meets LeGrand

“He said, ‘I know exactly who you are and your story is very inspiring — you have inspired so many people that you will never know. Just keep up the good work,’” a not-easily-star-struck LeGrand said. “I’m never at a loss for words, but I was at a loss for words there.”
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What a special day.
Thank you, President Obama.
 
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I was volunteering there. It was really, really chilly for May, but Obama's speech was worth it. You can tell he's a really good speaker. Everyone loved his shoutouts to different aspects of RU culture in the beginning!
 
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LadyRU09 said:
I was volunteering there. It was really, really chilly for May, but Obama's speech was worth it. You can tell he's a really good speaker. Everyone loved his shoutouts to different aspects of RU culture in the beginning!
Click to expand...

LadyRU09,

Twice during the speech he paused about something yelled from the crowd. The first time he said "I can't do that" and continued his thought. The other he paused and smiled and said he might have played a "small role."

Do you know what the two "shout outs" were from the crowd? They were not heard well on TV.
 
RUtix4me said:
The one great thing about today? His speech is generating headlines and articles and they all mention Rutgers. Great publicity for the University, regardless of whether you support him from a party standpoint, it was an honor and a privilege to have a sitting President speak at the annivesary commencement.
Click to expand...

Maybe. But as I read through the comments of the following Yahoo story, which mentions Rutgers only once, they are overwhelmingly negative about the content of Pres. Obama's speech. Did not think Yahoo is an outlet for conservatives. And it may be a symptom of only complainers who complain the loudest will comment on news stories, but it seems that there an awful lot people who are fed up with the last eight years (and maybe the last 16 years), and they want an outsider to be the next President.

Consider this. Pres. Obama mentioned the growing wealth gap. Why has it worsened significantly under his Presidency? Are Democrats really for the working people, or are both parties just two sides of the same coin that feed a broken machine? Whether it is Trump or Bernie Sanders, it is clear that a large portion of the US see the current political system as broken, and two candidates not being Hillary Clinton represent to a lot of people a break from that system. Consider these two comments from the linked story:

https://www.yahoo.com/gma/obama-tar...mencement-193645645--abc-news-topstories.html

"Greyrooster 3 hours ago
I graduate from UC Berkeley in 1963. Dupont offered to hire our entire Engineering class. Those days just don't exist anymore. America was great then. I understand Donald Trump when he says he wants to make America great again."

"
Cristobal G 4 hours ago
Everything nowadays is upside down. Moral compass' needle is upside down. When my dad was young he left Texas searching for his roots in good ol Mexico. He became a nutritionist, archaeologist and mural painter and traveled all over Latin Am. When he got married he decided he wasnt going to make ends meet and petitioned for my mom and my siblings green cards. I remember we waited 10 years. When we finally obtained them, we only had a couple of dollars and pesos, so we hitchhiked all the way to FL and then RI, made friends along the way but never asked the govt for a hand out. In fact we all worked as a family for a while during the summer in a run down factory in RI packaging cheap jewelry. Yes it's quite a story but full of lessons learned and values and taught me of not taking any shortcuts or become a burden. That doesn't mean there is no place for social programs - but those should be limited to those that truly cannot fend for themselves or that fall in really bad times, as long as these 'bad times' are substantiated, documented and monitored as such. I myself have a disabled son who will probably be on government assistance and that is fine - that is why I pay all sort of taxes. We need some balance."
 
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Source said:
LadyRU09,

Twice during the speech he paused about something yelled from the crowd. The first time he said "I can't do that" and continued his thought. The other he paused and smiled and said he might have played a "small role."

Do you know what the two "shout outs" were from the crowd? They were not heard well on TV.
Click to expand...
The first was someone shouting "four more years". The second came from across the stadium from where I was, so I couldn't hear it.
 
Knight Shift said:
Maybe. But as I read through the comments of the following Yahoo story, which mentions Rutgers only once, they are overwhelmingly negative about the content of Pres. Obama's speech. Did not think Yahoo is an outlet for conservatives. And it may be a symptom of only complainers who complain the loudest will comment on news stories, but it seems that there an awful lot people who are fed up with the last eight years (and maybe the last 16 years), and they want an outsider to be the next President.

Consider this. Pres. Obama mentioned the growing wealth gap. Why has it worsened significantly under his Presidency? Are Democrats really for the working people, or are both parties just two sides of the same coin that feed a broken machine? Whether it is Trump or Bernie Sanders, it is clear that a large portion of the US see the current political system as broken, and two candidates not being Hillary Clinton represent to a lot of people a break from that system. Consider these two comments from the linked story:

https://www.yahoo.com/gma/obama-tar...mencement-193645645--abc-news-topstories.html

"Greyrooster 3 hours ago
I graduate from UC Berkeley in 1963. Dupont offered to hire our entire Engineering class. Those days just don't exist anymore. America was great then. I understand Donald Trump when he says he wants to make America great again."

"
Cristobal G 4 hours ago
Everything nowadays is upside down. Moral compass' needle is upside down. When my dad was young he left Texas searching for his roots in good ol Mexico. He became a nutritionist, archaeologist and mural painter and traveled all over Latin Am. When he got married he decided he wasnt going to make ends meet and petitioned for my mom and my siblings green cards. I remember we waited 10 years. When we finally obtained them, we only had a couple of dollars and pesos, so we hitchhiked all the way to FL and then RI, made friends along the way but never asked the govt for a hand out. In fact we all worked as a family for a while during the summer in a run down factory in RI packaging cheap jewelry. Yes it's quite a story but full of lessons learned and values and taught me of not taking any shortcuts or become a burden. That doesn't mean there is no place for social programs - but those should be limited to those that truly cannot fend for themselves or that fall in really bad times, as long as these 'bad times' are substantiated, documented and monitored as such. I myself have a disabled son who will probably be on government assistance and that is fine - that is why I pay all sort of taxes. We need some balance."
Click to expand...
Cardinal internet rule is never read the comment section to any story. Even if you look at the Rutgers Facebook page there are negative comments many of which are ill informed or personally insulting to anyone who comments favorably. The comments number in the hundreds and are made up of about 50 unique posters while the "likes" are in the thousands and you can only like something once whereas a person can comment endless times.
 
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rulaw87 said:
Cardinal internet rule is never read the comment section to any story. Even if you look at the Rutgers Facebook page there are negative comments many of which are ill informed or personally insulting to anyone who comments favorably. The comments number in the hundreds and are made up of about 50 unique posters while the "likes" are in the thousands and you can only like something once whereas a person can comment endless times.
Click to expand...
Never heard of the cardinal internet rule. That Yahoo story had nearly 4000 comments. About 5-10 comments in total mentioned Rutgers, and none in a favorable way. And 95% of the comments were not favorable towards Pres. Obama or establishment politics.

The takeaways from the many comments and stories are that Pres. Obama should not have used a graduation speech as a campaign stump speech and that there are many people who are sick of business as usual in Washington. At the end of his speech, Pres. Obama even indicated he was OK with business as usual and we should just accept it as the way things are. Pres. Obama is an outstanding speaker, and he really knows how to lather up a crowd and getting them in a good mood--his opening remarks about grease trucks, pork roll, etc. really go the crowd warmed up.
 
Great opening statement and remarks. While I respect his positions and right to speak I thought as he moved forward his remarks became too political especially when he spoke about changes in America over the years and then specifically mentioned 8 years as opposed to 10 or 15. Some good advice for grads. But I am sure that as many people in the audience who applauded and appreciated his remarks there was an equal number who thought he wound up getting too much into politics. Obviously his use of the word "wall" several times was a direct reference to Trump etc. While I might agree I just didn't feel that this was the time and place to mske that point among others.

Overall good day despite the politics. His comment regarding Condi Rice was well presented and long overdue. Hope Barchi digested that one because what he did was wrong and sent a wrong message. Props to Obama for recognizing her.
Again a historic and good day for Rutgers. Interesting note is that NJ Governor Christie apparently wasn't in attendance. Must have been our campaigning for Trump. Too bad as he missed a great day in his own backyard!
 
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RU62 said:
Great opening statement and remarks. While I respect his positions and right to speak I thought as he moved forward his remarks became too political especially when he spoke about changes in America over the years and then specifically mentioned 8 years as opposed to 10 or 15. Some good advice for grads. But I am sure that as many people in the audience who applauded and appreciated his remarks there was an equal number who thought he wound up getting too much into politics. Obviously his use of the word "wall" several times was a direct reference to Trump etc. While I might agree I just didn't feel that this was the time and place to mske that point among others.

Overall good day despite the politics. His comment regarding Condi Rice was well presented and long overdue. Hope Barchi digested that one because what he did was wrong and sent a wrong message. Props to Obama for recognizing her.
Again a historic and good day for Rutgers. Interesting note is that NJ Governor Christie apparently wasn't in attendance. Must have been our campaigning for Trump. Too bad as he missed a great day in his own backyard!
Click to expand...
Gov. Christie attended his son's championship baseball game. I'm sure the Christie haters will assail him for that. Not sure there are many Christie fans out there. I'm indifferent, as I put a high premium on making important events for my kids.
 
Does Rutgers pay to have the president speak? Id guess no, since he is a currently in office politician and that's not ethical.
 
RUJohnny said:
Does Rutgers pay to have the president speak? Id guess no, since he is a currently in office politician and that's not ethical.
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[jumpingsmile][laughing][roll]
laff.gif~c200
laff.gif~c200
 
Knight Shift said:
Maybe. But as I read through the comments of the following Yahoo story, which mentions Rutgers only once, they are overwhelmingly negative about the content of Pres. Obama's speech. Did not think Yahoo is an outlet for conservatives. And it may be a symptom of only complainers who complain the loudest will comment on news stories, but it seems that there an awful lot people who are fed up with the last eight years (and maybe the last 16 years), and they want an outsider to be the next President.
Click to expand...

Why would you expect the comments section to be about Rutgers? The story contained Rutgers and that's the publicity people are talking about.

Generally, the comments section for any article is full of people complaining. Comment sections bring out the worst people -- so much that many of the largest websites are beginning to eliminate comment sections entirely. Others have people working full-time trying to moderate them, which is basically a lost cause.

BTW, anyone that is fed up with the last 8 years but thinks the previous 8 before were pretty good is kidding themselves. As you point out, people might be fed up with the last 16. I'm curious as to why people think an "outsider" would be a good move -- especially one without a perfect business record.

I just think it's crazy for anyone to think of Obama as among the worst Presidents ever when the FACTS ( a major terrorist attack on our home soil, sending us to two wars, collapse of the economy, horrible unemployment, from a surplus to a deficit, etc) show that the 8 years of Bush were pretty disastrous. Regardless of what you think of Obama, it's hard to defend the previous 8 years at all.
 
lighty said:
Why would you expect the comments section to be about Rutgers? The story contained Rutgers and that's the publicity people are talking about.

Generally, the comments section for any article is full of people complaining. Comment sections bring out the worst people -- so much that many of the largest websites are beginning to eliminate comment sections entirely. Others have people working full-time trying to moderate them, which is basically a lost cause.

BTW, anyone that is fed up with the last 8 years but thinks the previous 8 before were pretty good is kidding themselves. As you point out, people might be fed up with the last 16. I'm curious as to why people think an "outsider" would be a good move -- especially one without a perfect business record.

I just think it's crazy for anyone to think of Obama as among the worst Presidents ever when the FACTS ( a major terrorist attack on our home soil, sending us to two wars, collapse of the economy, horrible unemployment, from a surplus to a deficit, etc) show that the 8 years of Bush were pretty disastrous. Regardless of what you think of Obama, it's hard to defend the previous 8 years at all.
Click to expand...

But was there any positive publicity for Rutgers when the overriding tone of the day was that Pres. Obama used it as a stump speech for Hillary? Rutgers alums can revel in the first part and last part of the speech, but that was overtaken by the overly partisan tone and hatchet job portion of the speech. The last two Presidents would both be in my top 10 of worst Presidents. And with the current choices for our next President, it looks like we may be on a streak for another current Presidents be in my worst group. My Pollyannaish wish is for someone who governs more from the center and builds consensus on both sides to be President. But that option is not available right now. Michael Bloomberg would have been a great choice, and it is disappointing that he did not enter the raise as an independent.
 
RU62 said:
Great opening statement and remarks. While I respect his positions and right to speak I thought as he moved forward his remarks became too political especially when he spoke about changes in America over the years and then specifically mentioned 8 years as opposed to 10 or 15. Some good advice for grads. But I am sure that as many people in the audience who applauded and appreciated his remarks there was an equal number who thought he wound up getting too much into politics. Obviously his use of the word "wall" several times was a direct reference to Trump etc. While I might agree I just didn't feel that this was the time and place to mske that point among others.

Overall good day despite the politics. His comment regarding Condi Rice was well presented and long overdue. Hope Barchi digested that one because what he did was wrong and sent a wrong message. Props to Obama for recognizing her.
Again a historic and good day for Rutgers. Interesting note is that NJ Governor Christie apparently wasn't in attendance. Must have been our campaigning for Trump. Too bad as he missed a great day in his own backyard!
Click to expand...

Agree with you on many levels, RU62. I am not a supporter of President Obama. But am completely proud of my Alma Mater having the sitting President speak at commencement. I thought it got a bit too political (I think politicians have a tough time not going down that road) but, he gets huge points in my book mentioning Condi Rice the way he did. It is not often these days that a speaker (whether a politician, reporter, pundit, news anchor, or average Joe) will verbalize an opinion from the other side's point of view, or perhaps against that of his/her own supporters.

Bravo, POTUS.

Congrats RU!
 
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Knight Shift said:
Maybe. But as I read through the comments of the following Yahoo story, which mentions Rutgers only once, they are overwhelmingly negative about the content of Pres. Obama's speech. Did not think Yahoo is an outlet for conservatives. And it may be a symptom of only complainers who complain the loudest will comment on news stories, but it seems that there an awful lot people who are fed up with the last eight years (and maybe the last 16 years), and they want an outsider to be the next President.

Consider this. Pres. Obama mentioned the growing wealth gap. Why has it worsened significantly under his Presidency? Are Democrats really for the working people, or are both parties just two sides of the same coin that feed a broken machine? Whether it is Trump or Bernie Sanders, it is clear that a large portion of the US see the current political system as broken, and two candidates not being Hillary Clinton represent to a lot of people a break from that system. Consider these two comments from the linked story:

https://www.yahoo.com/gma/obama-tar...mencement-193645645--abc-news-topstories.html

"Greyrooster 3 hours ago
I graduate from UC Berkeley in 1963. Dupont offered to hire our entire Engineering class. Those days just don't exist anymore. America was great then. I understand Donald Trump when he says he wants to make America great again."

"
Cristobal G 4 hours ago
Everything nowadays is upside down. Moral compass' needle is upside down. When my dad was young he left Texas searching for his roots in good ol Mexico. He became a nutritionist, archaeologist and mural painter and traveled all over Latin Am. When he got married he decided he wasnt going to make ends meet and petitioned for my mom and my siblings green cards. I remember we waited 10 years. When we finally obtained them, we only had a couple of dollars and pesos, so we hitchhiked all the way to FL and then RI, made friends along the way but never asked the govt for a hand out. In fact we all worked as a family for a while during the summer in a run down factory in RI packaging cheap jewelry. Yes it's quite a story but full of lessons learned and values and taught me of not taking any shortcuts or become a burden. That doesn't mean there is no place for social programs - but those should be limited to those that truly cannot fend for themselves or that fall in really bad times, as long as these 'bad times' are substantiated, documented and monitored as such. I myself have a disabled son who will probably be on government assistance and that is fine - that is why I pay all sort of taxes. We need some balance."
Click to expand...

LOL, Yahoo comments section! Perhaps you are unaware of their reputation as the most toxic comment section on the internet. Google for some fun.

And you would think people would learn by now that online forums, comments sections, etc. are hardly predictors of political races. Four years ago, the same posters here who continue to offer the worst, most misguided, ill-informed political analysis, had Romney all but elected. Anger and resentment drive the bus at the expense of reality today.
 
Knight Shift said:
But was there any positive publicity for Rutgers when the overriding tone of the day was that Pres. Obama used it as a stump speech for Hillary? Rutgers alums can revel in the first part and last part of the speech, but that was overtaken by the overly partisan tone and hatchet job portion of the speech. The last two Presidents would both be in my top 10 of worst Presidents. And with the current choices for our next President, it looks like we may be on a streak for another current Presidents be in my worst group. My Pollyannaish wish is for someone who governs more from the center and builds consensus on both sides to be President. But that option is not available right now. Michael Bloomberg would have been a great choice, and it is disappointing that he did not enter the raise as an independent.
Click to expand...

I think your assessment that the degree of positive PR for RU was minimal is quite flawed. If you simply Google Rutgers and Obama you get countless articles on the speech, all of which mention Rutgers and usually provide some picture of Obama speaking with all the Rutgers regalia and signage in the background, as per the Times pic, below.

And, yes, much of the coverage of the speech was on Obama's political comments about Trump, but just about every article I've seen also mentions Rutgers, positively, in some way. Below is an example from the NY Times, still the most important news source out there. If you can't see that as amazingly positive free PR for Rutgers, then I don't know what to tell you.

Mr. Obama came to Rutgers after students, faculty members and even relatives of students spent the past three years lobbying the White House for him to speak on this anniversary for the school.

“The truth is, Rutgers, I came here because you asked. You are the first to launch a three-year campaign,” he said. “Emails, letters, tweets, YouTube videos. I even got three notes from the grandmother of your student body president,” Mr. Obama said, drawing laughter. “And I have to say that really sealed the deal. That was smart because I have a soft spot for grandmas.”

But Mr. Obama made clear that Rutgers was precisely the kind of institution that he wanted to celebrate. Last week, Mr. Obama spoke at thecommencement of Howard University, a historically black university, and told the next generation of black leaders that passion must be tempered by strategic thinking and a willingness to compromise.

Rutgers, one of the first nine government-chartered institutions in the American colonies, “could be the most diverse student body in America,” he said. And he likened Rutgers’ long history of success with that of the country as a whole.

16obama-web-master768.jpg
 
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CranfordKnight said:
LOL, Yahoo comments section! Perhaps you are unaware of their reputation as the most toxic comment section on the internet. Google for some fun.

And you would think people would learn by now that online forums, comments sections, etc. are hardly predictors of political races. Four years ago, the same posters here who continue to offer the worst, most misguided, ill-informed political analysis, had Romney all but elected. Anger and resentment drive the bus at the expense of reality today.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I realize that Yahoo does their share to stir the pot and toxify their stories with both left and right slants. But the two examples I gave in my post did not seem to be the toxic rantings of right wing nutjobs.

And it's not just Yahoo comments, LOL. I know many, many folks who, in person, express the same disdain for politics and usual, and are behind either Trump or Sanders as alternatives to "the system."

It's a shame, because the divide between the left and the right seems to be growing wider. Was really hopeful at the beginning of Pres. Obama's administration, things would get better in this regard, but it got much worse. Folks on both side are to blame.
 
Knight Shift said:
Yeah, I realize that Yahoo does their share to stir the pot and toxify their stories with both left and right slants. But the two examples I gave in my post did not seem to be the toxic rantings of right wing nutjobs.

And it's not just Yahoo comments, LOL. I know many, many folks who, in person, express the same disdain for politics and usual, and are behind either Trump or Sanders as alternatives to "the system."

It's a shame, because the divide between the left and the right seems to be growing wider. Was really hopeful at the beginning of Pres. Obama's administration, things would get better in this regard, but it got much worse. Folks on both side are to blame.
Click to expand...

The blame lies mainly with the media. And not in the "liberal media bias!!" b.s. that conservative whiners like to complain about. It's the advent of partisan news outlets, websites, talk radio that allow political viewpoints to exist in a bubble. Facts are irrelevant when so many never hear opposing viewpoints, when every negative is spun into a positive and vice versa on both sides, so they discard any information that exists outside their worldview. This is what President Obama was referring to yesterday, yet it was immediately denounced by some as politicizing the speech.
 
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CranfordKnight said:
The blame lies mainly with the media. And not in the "liberal media bias!!" b.s. that conservative whiners like to complain about. It's the advent of partisan news outlets, websites, talk radio that allow political viewpoints to exist in a bubble. Facts are irrelevant when so many never hear opposing viewpoints, when every negative is spun into a positive and vice versa on both sides, so they discard any information that exists outside their worldview. This is what President Obama was referring to yesterday, yet it was immediately denounced by some as politicizing the speech.
Click to expand...

I agree with the first part of what you said, but Pres. Obama could have done a much better job of toning down the hatchet job on Trump (and for that matter Sanders) in his effort to protect everything sacred to the party hacks on both sides. Here's a quote from his speech.

"Yes, special interests and lobbyists have disproportionate access to the corridors of power. But, contrary to what we hear sometimes from both the left as well as the right, the system isn’t as rigged as you think, and it certainly is not as hopeless as you think."

Yet the system is rigged, particularly within the Democratic party. You don't have to look any further than watching Bernie Sanders get hosed by super delegates.
What is more perplexing is what has happened on the other side. A lot of unhappy folks in the Republican camp. That's great. But the usual party hacks look like they will be a major reason why the Republican party may lose yet another Presidential election. Trump has a lot of issues and warts. But so does Hillary Clinton. The presidential election is going to be very interesting.
 
Knight Shift said:
Yeah, I realize that Yahoo does their share to stir the pot and toxify their stories with both left and right slants. But the two examples I gave in my post did not seem to be the toxic rantings of right wing nutjobs.

And it's not just Yahoo comments, LOL. I know many, many folks who, in person, express the same disdain for politics and usual, and are behind either Trump or Sanders as alternatives to "the system."

It's a shame, because the divide between the left and the right seems to be growing wider. Was really hopeful at the beginning of Pres. Obama's administration, things would get better in this regard, but it got much worse. Folks on both side are to blame.
Click to expand...
You might want to go to the Youtube comments next.
 
anvilofstars said:
You might want to go to the Youtube comments next.
Click to expand...
Yeah, they are quite entertaining and even more off the charts than Yahoo comments.
Would be quite interesting to see some of these commenters in person and what kinds of lives they lead. Are people really that angry? In some circles, I do hear real people talking and they could be reading from Yahoo comments. Maybe eventually, we will all come together as a nation, but I will not hold my breath.
 
Knight Shift said:
Maybe. But as I read through the comments of the following Yahoo story, which mentions Rutgers only once, they are overwhelmingly negative about the content of Pres. Obama's speech. Did not think Yahoo is an outlet for conservatives. And it may be a symptom of only complainers who complain the loudest will comment on news stories, but it seems that there an awful lot people who are fed up with the last eight years (and maybe the last 16 years), and they want an outsider to be the next President.

Consider this. Pres. Obama mentioned the growing wealth gap. Why has it worsened significantly under his Presidency? Are Democrats really for the working people, or are both parties just two sides of the same coin that feed a broken machine? Whether it is Trump or Bernie Sanders, it is clear that a large portion of the US see the current political system as broken, and two candidates not being Hillary Clinton represent to a lot of people a break from that system. Consider these two comments from the linked story:

https://www.yahoo.com/gma/obama-tar...mencement-193645645--abc-news-topstories.html

"Greyrooster 3 hours ago
I graduate from UC Berkeley in 1963. Dupont offered to hire our entire Engineering class. Those days just don't exist anymore. America was great then. I understand Donald Trump when he says he wants to make America great again."

"
Cristobal G 4 hours ago
Everything nowadays is upside down. Moral compass' needle is upside down. When my dad was young he left Texas searching for his roots in good ol Mexico. He became a nutritionist, archaeologist and mural painter and traveled all over Latin Am. When he got married he decided he wasnt going to make ends meet and petitioned for my mom and my siblings green cards. I remember we waited 10 years. When we finally obtained them, we only had a couple of dollars and pesos, so we hitchhiked all the way to FL and then RI, made friends along the way but never asked the govt for a hand out. In fact we all worked as a family for a while during the summer in a run down factory in RI packaging cheap jewelry. Yes it's quite a story but full of lessons learned and values and taught me of not taking any shortcuts or become a burden. That doesn't mean there is no place for social programs - but those should be limited to those that truly cannot fend for themselves or that fall in really bad times, as long as these 'bad times' are substantiated, documented and monitored as such. I myself have a disabled son who will probably be on government assistance and that is fine - that is why I pay all sort of taxes. We need some balance."
Click to expand...

1. Comments sections in online articles are the least representative of anything ever in the history of time. Their sole purpose is entertainment value for people who know better.

2. Cristobal G's comment irks. me. He/She weaves a sad, yet admirable tale of all the trials & tribulations the family went through just for the privilege of coming to America. Sacrifices were made, conditions were difficult, they worked hard, but never relied on any taking shortcuts are receiving handouts. But then his/her child will be on government assistance because he/she pays taxes for that? I'm not saying the child should not be on government assistance, but this person's second point contradicts their first.
 
ClassOf02 said:
1. Comments sections in online articles are the least representative of anything ever in the history of time. Their sole purpose is entertainment value for people who know better.

2. Cristobal G's comment irks. me. He/She weaves a sad, yet admirable tale of all the trials & tribulations the family went through just for the privilege of coming to America. Sacrifices were made, conditions were difficult, they worked hard, but never relied on any taking shortcuts are receiving handouts. But then his/her child will be on government assistance because he/she pays taxes for that? I'm not saying the child should not be on government assistance, but this person's second point contradicts their first.
Click to expand...
Yeah, so either Cristobal's comment is "real," or just someone who has a vivid imagination. I selected the two particular comments because they at least appeared to offer a balanced perspective on the state of things for normal American folks, and not some right or left-tilted toxic rant, which represents most of the comments. There is also a good deal of heavy trolling in comments sections with some people taking their opposite view point just to stir the pot and watch people take the troll bait. But back to the two comments I quoted, whether real or not, they raise fair points about income inequality and the wealth gap which continues to grow.
 
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