"Damn Chinese don't even include no damn batteries with their toys."

[Cyrano]

The reason the above statement is in quotes is because it was actually spoken by a (distant) rural relative. I spoke with him on the phone yesterday and he actually believed that the Chinese-made stuff he got for his kids was intentionally packaged without batteries.

(He doesn't own a computer and thinks that everyone who does is some kind of "northeastern, liberal, establishment, commie, Jew, 'faggot.'" He has yet to enter the 20th century, no less the 21st and could easily have been cast in a role in "Deliverance.")

I tried to explain to him that no toy ever made had ever came with batteries, but he told me that was bullshit. He said that when he was a kid, everything came with batteries. (I suspected that when he was a kid, no one in his neck of the woods knew what a battery was.)

All of this may sound a bit churlish coming this soon after Christmas, but some of my best friends are "northeastern, liberal, establishment, commie, Jew, 'faggots.'" And this (distant) relative is one I have to endure (to some degree) but didn't get to pick.

I (fortunately) only had to talk to him for a couple of minutes after talking to his wife, my second cousin. I closed by telling him to go out and get some AA, or AAA batteries, or whatever it said on the box. He said they were "small ones." Given the season, and the fact that maybe there's some hope for the kids, I'll send a package of both. (P.S. His kids are being home-schooled -- oy.)

Unfortunately, the foregoing is true. And it really makes me fear for the future of our country -- and our world.

On edit: Rereading this post reminded me of Oscar Hammerstein's lyrics "You've got to be taught to hate and fear ..." from "South Pacific." My fear is that hate and fear is exactly what his kids are being taught.

[TomInTib]

1. You know, you and I might be related.

I have legions of relatives such as yours.

[seabeyond]

2. "batteries included". yes, that was the past and i had totally forgotten.

not ALL toys. but i do remember the batteries included. didnt necessarily tell you batteries NOT included, but i remember having to look to make sure i saw the batteries included. has been years though, since companies have included batteries. though i saw a few more products this year. i bought father a screw driver that had batteries included.

not the norm though. i remember my parents saying they had to buy batterires before christmas, and we always do it with our kids.

[Cyrano]

3. Check the dates on the batteries. They probably expired in '02.

[Hoof Hearted]

4. Thanks for pointing out that he was "rural".

Cuz golly hee-diddy-do, we all iz jus so DUMB out here in the country.

[seabeyond]

8. lol, wink. this city girl noticed that .... too, with a raised eyebrow. n/t

[Cyrano]

12. Dear Hoof Hearted and seabeyond.

There is no shortage of imbeciles in any city either. This was not a knock at rural people. It was a knock at ignorance. And unfortunately, there is more ignorance in rural areas of this country than in the urban areas.

I wish I could give you a link with statistics, but my remark is based more on my own personal experiences than statistics. Nonetheless, an idiot is an idiot whether rural or urban.

[Fed_Up_Grammy]

5. You fear for the future of the country and the world because of this

guy?

Good lord,lighten up.

[Cyrano]

13. My fear is that there are too many of this kind of guy. Check out our current prez.

[sutz12]

6. Some come with batteries...some don't.

It's usually listed on the box if they do or don't.

:shrug:

[gollygee]

7. When my daughter has gotten a toy, it sometimes has batteries and sometimes doesn't

regardless of where it's made.

And when I was a kid in the 70s, my toys sometimes included batteries and sometimes didn't.

But some toys these days actually do include batteries. There's some kind of murphy's law thing because if I buy batteries, it'll include them, but if I forget to buy batteries it will certainly not include them.

[Ezlivin]

9. The Chinese toys do come with free lead

Your kids will get all the lead they need (plus some) in every toy.

Free.

[seabeyond]

10. lol, now this would be my rant about the chinese product and lack of quality control

screw the battery issue

[underpants]

11. Actually quite a lot of baby toys come with batteries

Iwas shocked but a lot of them do

[NV Whino]

14. Trust me on this...

you don't want to use Chinese batteries.