Anyone have info on this bullshit story?

[Catch22Dem]

A co-worker tells me the following tale. No source or anything:

"Yeah 'John' was telling me he has a buddy down in TX who works for some oil company. They went to the Astrodome and went around to people telling them they had plenty of work for them in TX and could pay them $20/hr. Guess how many took them up on the offer? ZERO. Surprise surprise."

We argued for a bit, I mean we're really good friends and NEVER talk politics (or we wouldn't be friends) but I said it sounded like a crock and he said "Hey man, that's what 'John's' buddy said, so I don't know." I told him his "surprise surprise" comment was over the top, but as far as the story goes, we have nothing to talk about because there was no way for either of us to verify it. We left it at that, but I'd love to have some good information for tomorrow morning. Have any of you heard anything about this? Sounds completely made up to me.

[MarsThe Cat]

1. ask 'John' what the name of the oil company is...

and it should be easy enough to verify, if it isn't BS, which it is.

[arcane1]

2. 0% unemployment in TX, I suppose?

and this "oil company" hasn't been able to fill these positions, and now has to rely on displaced storm survivors to get their work done?

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

3. maybe the best thing

is to find instances where survivors took offers of work.

Here's a paragraph from a blog (Keep Left): I'm sure if you posted, the blogger would give you the details missing here, like a link to the newspaper report:

A recent news story told about a man in my hometown who sent a bus to New Orleans and offered to bring up the first 50 people who signed up. He offered guaranteed employment to these people for 6 months, as well as temporary housing for 3 months. 47 people took him up on his offer. I think this is fantastic. It is generous of him, and it gets these people what they really need--a plan for the future.

http://keepleft.typepad.com/keep_left/2005/09/if_we_can_why_h.html

[walldude]

4. Smells like bullshit to me.

Ask your buddy if he really believes an oil company would pay someone with zero experience $20 an hour. That's $42,000 a year, knowing the greed in the oil industry, I doubt they'd be offering anything like this.

[fasttense]

5. $20.00 an hour??? I know thousands of people who would take a paying job

like that. I think this is BS. My husband is on hourly wage in shipping and has worked for a major firm for three years. He is only making $18 per hour. This is a crock of sh**. Twenty dollars starting salary? I would take it in a heart beat.

[pitohui]

18. i'd take it this minute EOM

.

[JohnnyBoots]

20. I do flood clean up in PA, all my folks were ready to move to

Nola for $15 an hour....which pissed me off 'cause it should go to local displaced workers...in this economy though.

[BiggJawn]

6. Let's see now....

I've just spent several days either on my roof, in my attic, or dodging Dookie in the superdome. I've lost my house, probably my pets, maybe some family members...

And some "buddy" who works for an "oil company" is in a snit because I didn't jump up and kiss his boots because he offered me a "$20 /hr job"?

[Catherine Vincent]

19. Oh wow, you're a survivor?

Are you doing okay? Where are you staying?

[BiggJawn]

26. No, I'm speaking in the hypothetical....

But in an esoteric sense, aren't we ALL "survivors"?

No, I was just trying the empathy thing on for size.

[democracyindanger]

7. Smells like bullshit

1. What oil company?
2. What kind of work? Seems like oil company jobs would require some sort of experience.
3. Given the well-documented reports of people around the country trying to talk to and help evacuees in the various camps they set up, and being prevented by FEMA, the NG and police, how did John's friend get in the Astrodome?

I've got a good friend who's revealed some pretty sick political views since Katrina (His biggest concern is"panhandlers marching to DC to get checks"). I finally told him that it's best for our friendship if he doesn't talk to me about Katrina anymore, because it would only remind me of his bigotry.

[oasis]

8. I have some information on the "bullshit". After careful consideration

I have come to the conclusion that it is "very weak bullshit" :nopity:

[ThoughtCriminal]

9. Oh, I'll bet a lot of us will hear from "Friends of John's Buddy"

Classic urban legend - "Buddy of a friend"
:eyes:

[Mr_Spock]

10. That's just the most sorry ass lie I've ever heard

Tell your coworker to think before he opens his sorry ass mouth.

[Nitrogenica]

11. So you've just lost everything in the flood, and someone

offers you 20 bucks an hour, that would be a godsend. This is obviously bullshit.This story could easily be proved to be false, so come on business owners from Texas!....Offer it UP....20 bucks an hour!..lessee what Texan businessmen are made of. Bet none of them rightie oilmen have it in em'.

[skygazer]

12. My advice would be not to get dragged into these discussions

It just legitimizes them. My father is forever trying to "debate" by forwarding right-wing, mass emails to me and I flatly refuse to bite. I will not waste my time refuting bullshit even though I generally have very compelling evidence of their innaccuracies. Why should I spend my time doing research and offering proof when the other party cannot be bothered?

Tell your "friend" to obtain some proof of the story and then you'll discuss it. Period.

[greyl]

13. Bullfrogs. It's better to know how to end them swiftly. :) nt

[oasis]

14. Perhaps they remembered that James Byrd of Jasper, Tx was offered

a ride by other "friendly Texans in a pickup truck".

[jane_pippin]

15. This is an NPR link that may help you out somewhat:

It's about Biloxi, not Texas so maybe it won't help, but it describes crowds of people lining up for work. Unfortunately, there's not much to be had.
Here's a link to the article. I heard the story on the air this afternoon so there may be an audio link somewhere on the site too:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4847717

edit: I also remember hearing on NPR today a story about people creating jobs in Texas specifically for Katrina survivors (I remember three chefs being mentioned, specifically). That may be on the NPR site somewhere too.

[cynatnite]

16. Shit, I'd move to TX for a $20 p/hr job

I don't buy it at all.

[pitohui]

17. who cares what john's buddy said

my friend was offered a job at twice her normal pay in lafayette, louisiana

you bet yr ass she took the job, she has no home, that $$$ will be a big help

we want to work

who cares what a game of telegraph has to say

[Cocoa]

21. I know for a fact this did not happen

a buddy of mine and a bunch of his friends were posted all over the Astrodome specifically looking for oil companies offering work, and they did NOT see any.

I can't prove any of this, but your friend couldn't prove what he said either, so you should have a productive discussion.

[patdem]

22. Did he explain whey oil companies cannot find good people of TX to take

these jobs?? What is the 'average' pay of laborers in TX? GEE a lie can run around the internets before the truth even has a chance of putting on it's shoes...there are lies...and damned lies...this is a damned lie.

[AnnInLa]

23. ex-husband and 2 sons and innumerable friends have been working

in the oil fields in TX and LA for years and years...on land and offshore...and, they don't pay $20 to anyone but the technical people and, if the job happens to be union-pipeline, which is unusual, to the welders. This area, along with TX, does not allow unions...paying $20 per hour to common laborers or even to skilled laborers is not happening.

[boot@9]

24. more of the...

"welfare queen" line of bs. also another example of the "big lie"(blacks are lazy...even poor whites have PRIDE)

[driver8]

25. That is a crock of shit. Who is his buddy, "Epstein's Mother"??***

***Welcome Back Kotter reference in case you don't get it.

[ultraist]

27. Do you have to even ask?

Christ, how more cliche can someone be? "Lazy, ingrate, welfare leaching Blacks..."

How many versions of that negative stereotype have we heard lately? FUCKING A!

[NorthernSpy]

28. Utterly absurd. I'm prepared to call this one false outright...

... and not merely unsubstantiated -- which, of course, it also is.

I'll bet anything that this story is pure racist slander. From the hearsay origin ("a friend of friend of a friend says that according to some random dumbass he met, blah blah blah"); to the lack of verifiable details (which oil company?); to the absurdity of the claimed scenario ("none of these completely disposessed people would take our $20-per-hour jobs -- honest!"), everything about this loathsome dog of story screams FALSE in huge blinking neon letters.

You know what? Some people are real assholes. The folks who are trying to live in the Houston Astrodome right now have been through hell. They've lost their homes, and mostly likely all their belongings. They've lost their jobs. Many of them have lost family and friends. And many more of them are still waiting to hear whether their loved ones have survived. Whether they've been found...

Some people, your good friend among them, view all this horror and pain as just another opportunity to score some points off blacks. Add rank dishonesty to snotty indifference to outright malice, and you'll have what this latest rumor is made of. And what the rumor's spreaders and believers are made of.

Look -- if your friend ever says anything like that again, and someone strides over and kicks his ass for it, please promise you'll tell us! There's so little happiness in this world, and it would be wrong to deny us -- me -- those precious moments of joy that would follow your announcement, "you guys will never guess who got his ass kicked today...!"

Really. I need this.



(edit: proofreading)