The Bishop and the Butterfly: Murder, Politics, and the End of the Jazz Age
    MrSmith1's picture

    The Death March of Dimes ...

    By MrSmith1 on Wed, 03/16/2011 - 1:16pm |

    John D. Rockefeller, one of the richest men in the history of the world, used to give out dimes to people he would meet.   Many of the recipients cherished their "Rockefeller dimes" and kept them as inspiration (read hope), that the magic of his great wealth would somehow, even in just a small way, be transferred to them.  So much for wishes.

    Today, the super-rich have nearly everything. Their accumulation of wealth boggles the mind.  The richest 400 people in this country have more than the combined assets of over half their fellow countrymen.

    The old line about "The rich get richer ..." has gone from humorous rejoinder to sadly ironic statement to pathetically cruel redundancy.

    So, I believe it's time to respond in the only way the working poor can respond to a situation which is totally out of their control, with defiant sarcasm.

    Here's what we do:  First, go to your bank and withdraw what's left of your pathetic savings account and ask for it in dimes.  This will allow you to make sure you're always carrying around a hefty amount of coins which, ironically, display the image of FDR, the guy who's legacy has been under attack from our current bunch of robber-barons and their political henchmen.

    Then, whenever you see a rich person on the street, go up to them and hand them a dime.  Tell them you understand that they don't feel rich, so you'd like to help them out, hoping that this will give them a safety net to ensure that they do feel rich, because, feeling rich creates jobs, and, frankly, you could use one.  (Note: Refrain from kicking the rich person in the shins. That will only infuriate them and they will have their chauffeur hit you over the head ... and steal the rest of your dimes.)

    Now, If that's too confrontational for you, you can also throw a dime at any passing limos, while shouting "Go ahead, take it all, you greedy bastards."  Or something similarly appropriate. Be creative.

    Dimes for the wealthy. If it can cure Polio, it can help our millionaires with their self-worth.  Do it for the deserving rich ... After all, they deserve it ... And you'll feel better for helping a fellow human in need.

    Comments

    Awesome. And after you're done with the dimes, throw your shoes.

    V. satisfying.


    by quinn esq on Wed, 03/16/2011 - 1:50pm

    And after you're done with the shoes, throw your socks.

    While somewhat less satisfying, it spares you the humiliation of walking around in socks.


    by Michael Wolraich on Wed, 03/16/2011 - 5:45pm

    Then, shirts, then pants ... I see where this is going ... Then just cut to the chase, and bring back the naked guy wearing a barrel.    I don't know... it's harder to maintain a decent level of sarcasm when you're only wearing a barrel ... or so I've heard.  Besides, giving out dimes to the 'deserving rich' at least gives you some one-on-one snark value for your effort.


    by MrSmith1 on Wed, 03/16/2011 - 6:12pm

    You heard wrong. Sarcasm is best served naked.


    by Michael Wolraich on Wed, 03/16/2011 - 6:41pm

    Sarcasm is the tool of the week!


    by Michael Maiello on Wed, 03/16/2011 - 6:54pm

    Ohhhhh. So, it's Revenge served cold, Sarcasm served naked and Peasant served under glass.

    Got it.


    by MrSmith1 on Wed, 03/16/2011 - 8:14pm

    the image of fdr

     

    Better hurry, while FDR is still on the dime.


    by jollyroger on Wed, 03/16/2011 - 2:29pm

    Yeah, I know, the damned Reagan dime is coming ... To paraphrase Stephen Sondheim in the musical, "Assassins", "We'll be left, bereft of F.D.R."  ...


    by MrSmith1 on Wed, 03/16/2011 - 2:41pm

    Well the evil ones have the teabaggers.

    Why cant we be the ten centers?

    ha


    by Richard Day on Wed, 03/16/2011 - 5:40pm

    (singing) "Ten cents askance, that's what they pay me ..."

    the ten-centers. I like it!

     


    by MrSmith1 on Wed, 03/16/2011 - 8:17pm

    Canada's dimes happen to be made at the Royal Canadian Mint, in (socialist) Manitoba.

    Oddly enough, our dimes have long been made of palladium, and come with polished, razor-sharp edges - and are inset with (non-blood) diamonds.

    You can even buy them in convenient (leather) packages of 10, with a lightweight but durable sling, and a map to the rich parts of town.

    All for just 69 cents. 

    Round the edge of the dime there's a MedicAlert message that reads - "If Found Embedded In Skull, Do Not Remove. On Pain of Communal Shunning & Un-nice Treatment."


    by quinn esq on Wed, 03/16/2011 - 7:09pm

    400, eh?

    So who are the 400, Mr. Smith? If you can give us names, and home addresses, we can deliver the dimes to their front doors.

    Seriously.


    by Red Planet on Wed, 03/16/2011 - 7:52pm

    What? You didn't get your copy of this year's blue-book?

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Register


    by MrSmith1 on Wed, 03/16/2011 - 8:20pm

    Mr. Smith, I am not opposed to performance art in the least. And to tell you the truth I mostly love what you write, in fact until this time I've truly enjoyed everything you've written. I just simply have a big problem using the Bataan Death March as any type of analogy to what you feel about the wealthy in this country.

    You know, some of my friends parents were interred in Sto. Tomas and Los Banos. Some of their fathers who were American soldiers survived that march. Many of those people who came to Sto Tomas were interred first at Camp O'Donnel. Many of those solides fought on Corregidor, prior to their capture suffered and died during that march.  It  bothers me that you or anyone would think this is anywhere near the horrific episode it was in the lives of those people.   To me  that analogy not only makes no sense it is a degrading insult to those who survived that horrific time in the Philippines during WWII.


    by tmccarthy0 on Thu, 03/17/2011 - 12:08pm

    Point taken. My apologies. The title was intended as a humorous twist on the March of Dimes. I most certainly did not mean to disparage any of the brave soldiers involved in that horrific event. My father fought in bought the Aleutians and the South Pacific in WWII and I know it affected him greatly.  I've edited the title to omit the Bataan reference.


    by MrSmith1 on Thu, 03/17/2011 - 2:32pm

    Without in any way disagreeing with the thrust of T's comment, I raise as a (timid) question, surely she means to say that the several individuals mentioned were not "interred" but "interned"?

    Or, per contra,  (and I hope this is not the meaning) did they die in the named internment camps and thus were buried there?

    I notice that Smith did not relate the titleing of his post to the Jeopardy category mashup of two separate memes, which I believe was the origin of his usage.


    by jollyroger on Thu, 03/17/2011 - 7:02pm