tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post3148512326353137130..comments2024-03-14T11:50:14.761-04:00Comments on DarwinCatholic: Work Americans Won't DoDarwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08572976822786862149noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post-87971986296045672612007-06-20T19:07:00.000-04:002007-06-20T19:07:00.000-04:00The Marine Corps has given me an interesting persp...The Marine Corps has given me an interesting perspective on the concept of "work Americans won't do". On the one hand, I'm as American as they come, but I didn't find this a handicap when digging ditches, cleaning barracks, or performing other manual labor. On the other hand, when I was in Iraq, I discovered that yes, you _can_ convince Americans to do work you wouldn't think they'd be willing to do, if only you pay them enough. Many of the civilians working for KBR, which performed many of the support functions at the base where I was stationed, were American citizens. They hadn't been drafted to work in a combat zone; they'd come of their own free will, drawn by the high pay that such work offered. If you can convince American civilians to work in a combat zone using high pay, would it really be all that difficult to do the same here at home? <BR/><BR/>So when someone trots out the canard "work Americans won't do", I don't find it terribly impressive.Avenging Swordhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08523166883700634459noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post-17993018262211618662007-06-17T07:23:00.000-04:002007-06-17T07:23:00.000-04:00The phrase "work Americans won't do" has always gr...The phrase "work Americans won't do" has always grated me also. My paternal Grandmother earned money for her large family by cleaning other peoples homes. Both my parents, God rest their souls, were factory workers, at least my mother was until her plant moved south to Mexico. I grew up in Central Illinois doing agricultural labor for hire as did many of my contemporaries. Then I graduated to washing dishes and scrubbing floors at a Country Club.<BR/>With a BA and a JD that type of work is behind me now, but sometimes I think I learned more from those early jobs than I did from most of the classes I took in College or Law School. I still do all of my lawn work, with the unwilling help of my teenage sons, although I like it no better than the agricultural work I did three decades ago. My Scottish heritage forbids me to pay someone for work I, or my kids, can do.<BR/><BR/>As for the teenage louts, a powerful hose can be useful in such circumstances.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post-65838921701484666132007-06-12T23:53:00.000-04:002007-06-12T23:53:00.000-04:00Right up there with folks who call my mom a "lezbo...Right up there with folks who call my mom a "lezbo" because she has short hair and works for a living.... (classic ranch woman, which means she can boot animals over a fence if they threaten her babies, be they animal or human.)Foxfierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10161683096247890834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post-21987959212240081592007-06-12T18:08:00.000-04:002007-06-12T18:08:00.000-04:00Wow! I always forget part of your ancestry is Mex...Wow! I always forget part of your ancestry is Mexican. You look like a gringo to me. Plus, your accent is hardly patterned after Cheech Marin.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post-86544621980425722982007-06-12T12:37:00.000-04:002007-06-12T12:37:00.000-04:00You're a better man than me. I think I would prob...You're a better man than me. I think I would probably have "spoken" to the teenager and given him a little enlightenment about proper behavior.Patrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03402788402018206599noreply@blogger.com