There’s an old joke, so old that I don’t even know for certain where it originated, that’s often used to explain why big corporations do things the way they do. It involves some monkeys, a cage, a banana and a fire hose.

You build a nice big room-sized cage, and in one end of it you put five monkeys. In the other end you put the banana. Then you stand by with the fire hose. Sooner or later one of the monkeys is going to go after the banana, and when it does you turn on the fire hose and spray the other monkeys with it. Replace the banana if needed, then repeat the process. Monkeys are pretty smart, so they’ll figure this out pretty quickly: “If anybody goes for the banana, the rest of us get the hose.” Soon they’ll attack any member of their group who tries to go to the banana.

Once this happens, you take one monkey out of the cage and bring in a new one. The new monkey will come in, try to make friends, then probably go for the banana. And the other monkeys, knowing what this means, will attack him to stop you from using the hose on them. Eventually the new monkey will get the message, and will even start joining in on the attack if somebody else goes for the banana. Once this happens, take another of the original monkeys out of the cage and bring in another new monkey.

After repeating this a few times, there will come a moment when none of the monkeys in the cage have ever been sprayed by the fire hose; in fact, they’ll never even have seen the hose. But they’ll attack any monkey who goes to get the banana. If the monkeys could speak English, and if you could ask them why they attack anyone who goes for the banana, their answer would almost certainly be: “Well, I don’t really know, but that’s how we’ve always done things around here.”

While learning something new, many students will think, “Damn, this is hard for me. I wonder if I am stupid.” Because stupidity is such an unthinkably terrible thing in our culture, the students will then spend hours constructing arguments that explain why they are intelligent yet are having difficulties. The moment you start down this path, you have lost your focus.

I used to have a boss named Rock. Rock had earned a degree in astrophysics from Cal Tech and had never had a job in which he used his knowledge of the heavens. Once I asked him whether he regretted getting the degree. “Actually, my degree in astrophysics has proved to be very valuable,” he said. “Some things in this world are just hard. When I am struggling with something, I sometimes think ‘Damn, this is hard for me. I wonder if I am stupid,’ and then I remember that I have a degree in astrophysics from Cal Tech; I must not be stupid.”

I think this is great advice. There have been many times where I’ve been struggling with something outside of computer science (like calculus or my Oceanography class last semester). Just as I start to consider giving up, I remember that I’ve found a way to succeed at some very difficult things; things that are much more difficult than these. It gives me the confidence to continue banging my head against the wall until I finally get it.

“You don’t ever want a crisis to go to waste; it’s an opportunity to do important things that you would otherwise avoid.”

This is a really interesting way of looking at it that I never though of before. Normally, people are afraid of change, because they’re afraid of things going bad. But when things are already bad, people are more open to it. Bush used this in 2003 to start the Iraq war*. Maybe Obama can use it for something more constructive.

*Note: I do not believe that Bush had any ill intentions in starting the war in Iraq, but I do believe he took advantage of the situation to bypass sanity checks and get done what he felt was right. When a person does something like this, they are deserving of any praise they get for being a visionary, but equally deserving of any criticism they get for being a reckless idiot.

As we type, Bill Ayers is preparing to attend Obama’s victory party (I threw up a little in my mouth as I wrote that). He seeks to take away personal freedoms and put us at the mercy of the government. I don’t see a bright side in any of this. – sadie

Sorry – he is evil. After all of the tricks he pulled, how can you even say he might be a good president? – Violet

(in respose to someone saying they are kind of excited)
Interesting. What part are you excited about? Having someone who invoked fraud in the caucuses lead our country? Someone who pays their women staffers 73 cents to the man’s dollar? Someone who counts terrorists among his supporters? Someone who flips off their opponent on national television? Someone who wants to create a civilian police force? Someone who sealed their college records? Someone who encourages their supporters to get in the face of those who disagree? I mean… the reasons to be excited are endless. – Scully931

Obama has not brought anyone together, except to fight against the very lies, fraud and abuse he and his camp inflicted on people, particularly female gender. He and his camp set women back years. They certainly did in my and friends workplaces. – Johnf

Another lazy ass do nothing who knows nothing who got to where he is because of other’s hard work, not his. Same shit, different guy. – Optixmom (one of the moderators and top posters on the board)

Just as a candidate he’s taken us back to 1968. He hasn’t even seen the oval office yet. Nothing but bad will come out of this. – Artists4Hillary

My second favorite, who shows how far these people have really fallen from their candidate of choice:

I will never accept him and instead will spend the next four years working to make sure that NOTHING he wants gets passed. I mean no health care for anyone, no anything. I want all of his wants to be tossed aside then in four years I will vote against him. I have no intention of giving that man a chance to destroy this Country. – Hillarysmygirl08

My other second favorite, from the same poster:

I will never support any of his policies and I do not care if they were Hillary’s or not. No I will oppose everything he agrees with because he is a scum bag that stole this election. You will never convince me that he won it fair and square. I guess the Obots will be excited but I don’t care. Tommorrow I plan to quit my job and just disappear. Why should I work? Obama will make sure I don’t have to work. – Hillarysmygirl08

And my favorite:

Unless you are in the group that will have their hand out looking for something for nothing, I see no way how any of what you say will be true.

I have alot of faults, but the one thing that I always have had was a pretty good abilty of sizing up the character of others.

IMO BO is a egotistical, manipulative sleeze. Maybe you can look foward to that type of person representing our country for the next 4 years, but I honestly have to say, not me.

He will fail those who expect him to deliver free everything, and infuriate others from whom he tries to take the fruits of their many years of personal sacrifice and hard work.

I reject him, his socialistic philosphy, and his concept of what is “Fair”. The beauty of this country used to be that I could feel this way, and you could feel another. Lets see if the new annointed “one” allows that freedom of speech to stand…..with his proposed “fairness doctrine” I have serious doubts. – Tague

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, you heard it here first: Barack Obama is going to successfully pass a law preventing people from disagreeing with him. Right after he institutes Sharia Law and makes Louis Farrakahn secretary of defense.

However, in the interest of being fair and balanced, I will also post the smartest, most logical responses in the forum (and not just because they’re less anti-Obama, but because it’s obvious that strong logical reasoning went into them):

Ultimately, time will tell. He’s got some promises he’s gotta keep. Bringing back troops, and lowering taxes for the middle class among his top 2. Remember guys, these were Hillary’s policies, and Bill’s policies – which we supported so heavily until Hillary lost. We just had a problem with the guy representing them. So my only hope is he tailors himself to be more like her.

I’m past denial to acceptance. The first African American president, that alone is exciting. So would the first Woman President, either way, it’s a step forward for America. – ZforHill

I think the main thing that urked me about Obama was the fact that he was given an unfair advantage by the media, almost everything about him was exaggerated to absurd levels – but despite that fact he has proven himself to be a smart man who surrounds himself with bright people. Whether you admit it or not, he ran the most efficient and innovative campaign out of any of his competitors.

I’m actually pretty eager to see if Obama lives up to the hype that the media and his campaign have built – if he does then I will absolutely be impressed. Seeing hundreds of the thousands of people celebrating this man is a powerful sight, the excitement is becoming a bit contagious. – no_more_bush

]]> http://jboxer.com/2008/11/reactions-from-the-hillary-clinton-forum/feed/ 4 http://jboxer.com/2008/11/a-collection-of-condolences-for-obamas-grandmother/ http://jboxer.com/2008/11/a-collection-of-condolences-for-obamas-grandmother/#comments Tue, 04 Nov 2008 02:48:36 +0000 Jake Boxer http://terrorist-fist-jab.com/?p=23 I’ve been reading the Hillary Clinton Forum for a long time – since back in April in fact. It’s the breeding ground for “PUMA”s – Democrats who were so completely devoted to Hillary Clinton, that they’re now more anti-Obama than the racists you see on those videos (despite Hillary’s pleas).

Today, Barack Obama’s grandmother died. A post was made on the Hillary Clinton Forum, titled *** “Obama’s Grandmother has died” – Condolences Only!*******. To give you all an idea of what these people are like, and what “condolences” really mean to them, here are a few choice quotes:

“And now we may never know the truths she held. In any case, I offer prayers for the peaceful repose of her soul and prayers for those of her relatives who might have actually loved her.” – Julianne Barbato

“RIP, Toot-  Maybe it’s an omen.” – ShyFire

“My prayers go out to the Obama’s family. From everything I read about his Grandmother, she was a pioneer. She picked herself up by the bootstraps and made her own way. I am sure she will be missed by Obama’s sister and her friends. I don’t think obama had much of a relationship with his Grandmother. That’s a shame because he could have learned so much from her. Instead, he hung out with Frank Davis. I know she was proud of Obama no matter what he did and for that he should be thankful. Again, they are in my prayers.” – Vici57

“This is sad, my prayers go out to this woman. She deserved a lot of praise and her grandson I believe wasn’t deserving. A strong woman and my condolences.” – Bacio83

I think the most telling part is, at the end, I was surprised that these were the worst things said.  Based on the normal content of the site, I was expecting stuff along the lines of “something seems fishy… this is just Obambi trying to pander to Florida voters!!!”  I’m not kidding.  Check out the rest of the site, you’ll see what I mean.

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