Two interesting events: I tried to contact Sears about my 5-year Master’s protection program, and then my online tech company called to tell me they had a problem and had to refund my money.
I had all my home appliances checked this year. There was a problem with the six-burner stovetop. When I turned on one of the back burners, all three ignitors click away non-stop. I had servicemen come two times with no joy. I had a third appointment. Someone called to ask if a part had been delivered. No. Since it had been a month since it was ordered, it was time to replace the stovetop. She said I would receive a call within 72 hours. That call never came. It was a few weeks later when I decided to track this order down.
I had no luck. Some people I spoke to could find my information, some could not. There is a possibility the protection plan expired. If so, why didn’t anyone tell me? Too much for today. I’ll start up again tomorrow.
I received a phone call from my online tech company. Their server crashed, and they had to reimburse my charges. The man I usually dealt with, Alex, said he would connect me with the accounting department. No, they could not refund it to my credit card. No, they could not just write a check. They could do it through my online banking account. No, I did not have an online banking account. Well, let’s signup. Okay. I needed a pin. No, I didn’t have a pin. What about my debit card? No, I don’t use a debit card. How do I use an ATM machine? I have never used one. He had a meltdown. He accused me of being selfish. I wasn’t denying him anything at this point, just unable to do it his way.
He told me to call my bank and get a pin number. I called Hawaiian First Bank. There were 61 people ahead of me. He told me to stay on the line. I told him that I would do my vacuuming while I waited. He told me to be sure I could hear him when he came back online. I told him I was wearing an earbud. He said, “Well, you’re not completely stupid.” Interesting. He also accused me of being selfish. Interesting. Maybe that’s how these folks justify what they do. They make people like me into bad people. I can see their point of view. I am fully aware I have been fortunate with the material circumstances of my life, food, water, shelter, and health care. My life circumstances have been the best that any human being has ever, ever had. I am grateful. I also am aware that my circumstances have mainly been a matter of good luck, at least 75% luck, if not more.
He was so frustrated with my ‘lack of cooperation’ (if only), he told me he could just keep my money and lock my computer. He also said that he could live on $700 for a year. That made it clear he was not working in the USA. A homeless person can’t make it on $700 a year here.
Since there was no way to get a pin number in a timely way, I told him I would arrange the transfer of money from him to me through my financial advisor at Raymond James. He would call me back at 9;30 am Friday morning, and we would do a conference call.
I called Raymond James in New Jersey to tell everyone what was going down. Jeff said immediately it sounds like a scam. I told him I had been working with these people for over two years. While I was always somewhat uncomfortable; there were cultural differences. I made allowances.
The real problem I didn’t know where to go to get the tech support I needed. I must have called Damon and asked. He told me the company he worked for took care of his computer needs. Ignorance had me penned in.
Read what happened on Friday, the next day. It has a happy ending- at least for me.
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Musings:
On Trump as our leader:
For me, the first concern is about preserving the democracy. It’s a little bit like making preserving a marriage the top priority versus individuals getting it all their way. It’s always a balancing act for me. That’s what makes a good marriage: the unit is strong, and the individuals within the unit are reasonably satisfied. When Mike went off to Catholic University to get his second Ph.D. I told him to do everything for God, for himself, for me, and for our marriage. All four entities had to be taken into consideration for this arrangement to work. If he felt he was ‘taking away’ from the marriage when he pursued his studies, we would be lost. We would have been lost if I had felt that way too. How do we achieve that balance politically? How do we get to be a group of healthy individuals who also see themselves as part of a larger group and don’t see that membership in conflict with their individuality?
I think some of the claims on the right are valid. I’m hearing how each president assumed more and more power, both Republicans and Democrats. I have to admit being guilty of being happy when policies I favored got pushed through.
It’s hard on both sides. Some policies involve moral choices: abortion versus pro-life, welcoming immigrants to come into our country desperate to escape circumstances in their own countries vs. inclusion, economic or political versus preserving our culture and protecting the livelihoods of people who already live here, giving preferential treatment to those who have been denied equal opportunity versus those whose circumstances were not advantageous who are not members of that group, and expecting people to improve their own lives or live in their own filth versus helping those that cannot help themselves.
I can see the underlying value of all points of view. However, I also believe the Republicans and the far-right want a return to a lifestyle that is simply not possible without killing off ‘the other.’ That longed-for lifestyle is dependent on group size. When a group reaches over 150, the political life we were designed for starts slipping away.
Once the group size was too large for us to know each person in the group, we had to develop different criteria for trusting people. Religion came in. If someone is the same religion as I am, I can trust them; if not, I can’t. Good luck!
I heard on Hidden Brain the other day how small groups controlled the behavior if their members. If there was someone who had a special gift and started distributing benefits to select people, so they aligned themselves with him so he gained power (it was probably a him); the rest of the tribe took action. He was reprimanded, exiled, or, simply, killed.
Each one has their point. People in both groups have needs. The problem comes in when someone losses perspective. I knew a woman, now deceased, who complained about how much taxes she had to pay. “I worked hard for the 4 million I earned this year” Her annual salary was a mere 1 million a year; the rest was profit sharing. She was a devoted Catholic and Republican. People like her come from all religions and all political parties. But I am sure there are Democrats out there who have a questionable attitude. So hard to evaluate people’s real needs and get them to accept what their real needs are. How hard does one have to work to make their effort worth 4 million in a year?
I want to hear what other people really want. Then there is a story like above when someone feels ‘they earned’ a salary that would support a small developing country.
I don’t have a solution. I want to be open-minded, but the above story sticks in my craw.
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