tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6839640152386255769.post183525667850181199..comments2024-03-25T11:08:29.439-07:00Comments on Ralph Pullins: Go to hell, Grandpa JoeRalph Pullinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534005874102856715noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6839640152386255769.post-15400246323085121852015-04-21T09:42:20.000-07:002015-04-21T09:42:20.000-07:00OK. So I agree that the factory is Wonka's and...OK. So I agree that the factory is Wonka's and is the result of his evident genius. He is very welcome to give his factory to whomever he chooses.<br><br>However, first of all, it is Charlie Bucket, not Charlie Bieber, who I can only assume is Justin's little brother, and is of no relevance to this discussion.<br><br>Also,the Oompa Loompas essentially represent outsourcing, the loss of jobs at home to a cheaper and more pliable foreign workforce. Given your later statements, it seems that this is a concept that should be distasteful to you.<br><br>Joe the Plumber is, in my mind, associated with Sarah Palin, and therefore cannot be taken seriously.<br><br>Entitlements were conceived in the 1930's after the unchecked capitalism and greed that you seem to be supporting crashed the American economy (the first time), and we literally had Americans starving to death.<br><br>Snowden is in exile because he exposed the government's illegal spying on American citizens, amongst other abuses of privacy and freedom. I would think someone who leans right would be supportive of a check on government overreach. <br><br>Also, the "Murica. love it or leave it" argument is not an argument at all but a way to shut down a reasoned discussion. <br><br>Furthermore, politics are boring.Ralph Pullinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10534005874102856715noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6839640152386255769.post-87843099550111217012015-04-21T09:22:39.000-07:002015-04-21T09:22:39.000-07:00Wonka shut down the factory and got rid of all his...Wonka shut down the factory and got rid of all his human labor because he was tired of all his secrets being stolen through industrial espionage. It wasn't a cash grab, like Burger King moving their corporate offices offshore to avoid paying taxes. He was just tired of getting ripped off. Given Joe's quick willingness to sell the gobstopper to Slugworth I have to imagine he didn't get laid off, he got busted with his hand in the till. <br><br>I can't get behind the idea of Charlie as a model for obedience; He ultimately disobeys the known authority in his life, Grandpa Joe, and does the right thing. I cannot believe the notion of honesty, perseverance, and hard work paying off is necessarily a lie, either. I believe we get to choose how we live, how we interact with the people around us, and that that will be reflected in the quality of your life and relationships. It may not always look like you want it to, or as you daydreamed it to be, but you will in the end get the world of your own making, be it horrible or loving. <br><br>Wonka as a Robber Baron is a thought I have had, especially when it comes to the Oompa Loompas. It does seem a little "Big Daddy White Boss knows best" to displace an entire indigenous population and make them live and work in your chocolate factor "for their own safety." There had to be dissent amongst the Loompas when this happened, a group of them that argued for finding a Loompa solution to a Loompa problem, rather than losing their autonomy and homeland. "We can handle schnozzwangers and vermicious knids," they must have said, "but once relinquished, we can never regain our culture and homes." But we see more and more that fear and the illusion of safety wins out over freedom and individual rights.Ralph Pullinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10534005874102856715noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6839640152386255769.post-17467815179772736762015-04-21T08:58:08.000-07:002015-04-21T08:58:08.000-07:00Joe as a counterpoint to Charlie's goodness? ...Joe as a counterpoint to Charlie's goodness? Interesting. I hadn't really thought of that, that he was a literary device to accentuate the virtue of our protagonist. OK, I like it. Dude is still a jackhole, though.Ralph Pullinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10534005874102856715noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6839640152386255769.post-1883327135283075512015-04-20T17:40:59.000-07:002015-04-20T17:40:59.000-07:00Wonka built a candy empire through hard work and s...Wonka built a candy empire through hard work and smart business. What’s wrong with that? He should be rewarded for his labor, and if he want’s to give his company to Charlie Bieber, well, that’s his call and no one else’s. The Ooompa loompas don’t seem to be complaining about having a job. Joe was probably slacking on the job, so Wonka fired him and got some workers with a better attitude.<br><br>Entitlements are killing America, not capitalism. If you want to know how well communism works out, just look at the USSR. That worked out reeeaaalll well. It’s a good thing we only have a little more time with Obama or we might find ourselves there soon enough. <br><br>We need less Grandpa Joes and more Joe the plumbers. If you don’t want to to work, get on a plane and go to Russia. Say hi to Snowden for me.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6839640152386255769.post-21048815682992993022015-04-20T10:55:07.000-07:002015-04-20T10:55:07.000-07:00Devil's advocate:There's a lot of history ...<br>Devil's advocate:<br><br>There's a lot of history behind Ol' Joe. Remember, he was laid off when Willie Wonka axed all the local workers and found some cheaper labor (Oompa Loompas). <br><br>Maybe Joe was harboring some animosity over that. "Fuck that robber baron mother fucker. Don't listen to him! Lets drink his fizzy stuff and steal his gobstopper!"<br><br>Maybe Joe is a case of social entitlement. Disillusioned by failure and unwilling to play the game, he opted to do nothing at all – at the expense of his family, of course, but don't social ills always affect the least deserving? <br><br>Maybe Charlie's virtue is really just fear-driven obedience. What did he really do anyways?...Get lucky and obey? At least Joe worked at the factory at some point. What do the hard working little orange guys get?<br><br>Joe is a victim of capitalism who got beat down by life and was ultimately reduced to a welfare case. Wonka is a greedy opportunist. The Oompa Loompas are the exploited labor force. <br><br>Charlie is the bullshit lie we're all supposed to believe. "Even when things are tough, just obey and be patient. It will pay off." Everyone else in that story is a victim Wonka's greedy ambition, including Joe and Charlie's poor mom. <br><br>Joe is a nice little scapegoat but so are the welfare cases in this country. We're all so distracted by our squabbling for crumbs that we forget about the people who stole the rest of the loaf. <br><br>Grandpa Joe, go to hell. You are old, weak willed, and a burden to your family. Charlie, you are a nice boy, and someday you might grow some balls. Willy Wonka, FUCK YOU!!!!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6839640152386255769.post-60148299607706972212015-04-18T11:42:47.000-07:002015-04-18T11:42:47.000-07:00I believe the point of Grampa Joe is to show the g...I believe the point of Grampa Joe is to show the goodness of Charlie. I believe that I see Grampa Joe in most of us, so he's still a good character. But, point taken.Yvonne Pullinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12278408174157291161noreply@blogger.com