"Chewbacca Mom" and kids given free scholarships to Southeastern University

originally posted by: BuzzyWigs
Then you whine about your kid won't get the same opportunity?? HE WOULD IF BERNIE SANDERS' PLAN WAS put into effect.

Sanders would make her kid wear a Chewbacca mask to get a scholarship?

Hmmmm, I think I feel a slight temperature rise on my skin. What could that be?

a reply to: Konduit

I say it was all staged for attention and they completely milked it.

Of course you say it - funny you had to post that. It must still really sting - right?

Honestly - some people really get their panties in a wad when good fortune smiles on somebody and it had nothing to do with their freaking bootstraps

It's not fair that hundreds of people are drowning in the Mediterranean, that anyone on this planet would ever have to to go to bed hungry, that anyone wins hundreds of millions of dollars...it's not even fair that someone finds five bucks on the sidewalk

criminy

a reply to: Spiramirabilis

I tend to think it's EXACTLY because people are drowning in the Mediterranean and children are going to bed hungry that people latch on, disproportionately, to smarmy, sentimental stuff like this. One, to make ourselves collectively feel better since we actually suck on so many levels, especially the internet. And two, to distract and numb ourselves from the sad, selfish reality of the state of the world.

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

radiant heat from the blowtorch I was playing with, I guess? I don't know.

As for my opinion, well, I am a conflicted person. All I know is that some people don't want other people to have nice things.

I'm just really glad I got to have horses.

a reply to: kosmicjack

As I suggested earlier, not knowing the back story of the individuals, it's possible that this lady made her acquaintance laugh so hard, and lightened up his day so much, that he decided to provide a treat for her that didn't cost anything (letting her and the kids have something they might not have ever had).

Good on him. Maybe he was so tickled he decided not to jump off the nearest overpass after all....maybe he needed a really good belly-laugh just at that moment of deepest despair, and she pulled him back....you just never know how things will ripple.

There is a story about a person on a beach that is covered in stranded star fish as far as the eye can see. The person is picking them up one at a time and tossing them back into the surf, when a passerby stops and says,

"Why do you bother? There are too many of them, what does it matter?"

The person tosses one more into the waves and turns to the passerby and says, "It mattered to that one!"

It may be she is offering us a commodity we have so little of these days. Pure joy. Gratefulness for the little things.

I remember one of the reasons some people were angry and voting for Ronald Reagan was that "minorities" were getting scholarships to universities, "free rides", when the voter's children "didn't qualify" for scholarships due to too much family income. Instead of asking why middle class families could not get some help with college tuition, we ended up going down a different road.

We took this nation to a time where greed was deemed good, dog eat dog, survival of the economically fittest with too bad you didn't get yours but it was your own fault. We, "the little people", divided instead of united. We became our own worst enemy, believing in an economic system increasingly rigged against us.

We were told that college could be paid for by using our retirement savings, equity in our homes, by working three jobs and 40 hours a week and borrowing money, going into much student debt, increasingly for for-profit colleges. We, the little people, voluntarily dug ourselves into this hole, our own graves as it were.

What we traded off to become a nation of rugged individuals was a loss of community. We lost our way decades ago, going down a road which increasingly became dark and devoid of lights to see our way. We became a mean and angry people, lost, looking for the way out, but trying to do so using only the tools we had fashioned to survive, meanness and anger. We lost sight of what this woman is telling us, that there is joy, and joy in simple things.

a reply to: BuzzyWigs

Beautiful parable. The distinction between that and the attention raining down on this woman being that the man on the beach was doing it quietly, because it's the right thing to do. Whereas companies and now this university are jumping on a bandwagon with much fanfare.

I'd buy the pure joy meme if she donated it all to charity or simply opted out of the publicity tour she's been on.

a reply to: kosmicjack

Exactly right

And now? We have the internet - where we can vomit hate en masse - or spread our joy

I am all about the joy these days - and I'll take it wherever I can get it

I read bunches about that video before I actually saw it - I watched it later on at home when I had time. I was prepared to be disappointed and confused. She made me laugh. Watched it 3 times...

I don't care if she ends up with a mansion in the south of France

a reply to: Spiramirabilis

If I could - I would fix this world. There are so many that are suffering - it's not possible to comprehend how many

Giving this one woman something changes none of that

And that's why I'm here ranting. Yes, the school is allowed to spend their money how they see fit, but that doesn't mean that their priorities are in order. I thought Christians are supposed to help those in need, not reward those who "appear" to have no trouble putting food on the table. Yeah, I'm sure I'll take a hit for that.

At this point, what can you do but complain, lol? The rant forum has served it's purpose and my frustration has been released in a controlled manner.

a reply to: eisegesis

I think this story is interesting - more interesting than I thought it was before :-)

Payne, a stay-at-home-mom, is a member of the worship team at her home church The Oaks Fellowship in Red Oaks, Texas. Southeastern’s vice president of strategic partnership, Justin Lathrop, was the founder and former leader of The Oaks School of Leadership at Payne’s home church.

Am I supposed to get all bent out of shape because a Christian University gave something to a fellow Christian?

Am I supposed to be upset that this woman got a lot of attention - completely unsolicited?

Am I supposed to begrudge her her good fortune - or be upset that she'll accept it?

From your own link:

Over 90-percent of our students receive institutional aid. We've had the privilege to increase that aid from $6 million to $25 million this year. If we can help her in any way, we want to do that," said Executive Vice President Brian Carroll.

I simply don't care about this story the same way you do

Her good fortune won't tip anything one way or the other. But, people complaining about this just might

What? People can't give gifts anymore?

Pfft.

a reply to: ladyinwaiting

Sorry, it wasn't meant to be 'hostile', just I know sometimes when people are given things they don't appreciate it as much. Sometimes, they feel superior or create enmity between others that have to work hard for theirs and then sit right next to them.

Didn't mean to apply it to them specifically, sorry about jumping to conclusions.

originally posted by: AugustusMasonicus
a reply to: eisegesis

It has no impact on me because I feel if I had that type of sentiment it affects my personal view on life and how I conduct myself. I was never one for the crab basket mentality and to me it is irrelevant on who may or may not 'deserve it'. Plenty of better things of happened to other people who we can say do not 'deserve it' but I need to worry about me, my family and my personal business.

I usually enjoy your posts because they're quick-witted and hilarious. This little string here is neither, but simple and profound. Something I feel we should all consider in all things.

Besides, she's not getting a scholarship for wearing a Chewbacca mask - her kids are getting the opportunity for college educations without the burden of debt. As a mother, she would probably willingly humiliate herself in front of the world for her children. Heck, I'd even wear a White Sox hat if it provided a free college education for my kids!

a reply to: TheKnightofDoom

I sometimes have mixed feelings about the internet. Sometimes it just makes my mind and my heart bleed

But this story is fascinating - people glommed onto this. All she did was put on a mask and laugh at the absurdity of it - and herself

Honestly? Just the idea that so many people joined in to enjoy something so harmless and simple and fun kinda makes me feel better about things

originally posted by: Spiramirabilis
All she did was put on a mask and laugh at the absurdity of it - and herself

But that's not all she did. She videoed it and posted it on line. "Pure joy", which is her catch phrase, would mean just doing it for it's own sake and NOT posting it on line.

I know I used the word "commodity" in my prior post, but that, unfortunately, is how we see things nowadays. Charities? Many of these "charities" nowadays are really money makers for their establishers, with a small portion spent on those in need.

I am reminded of a story in the Bible, which is supposed to be Good News....haha.... Jesus and his followers went to stay at Martha and Mary's home. Martha seems to me like the one who really could run a household: prudent handling of income, providing a well kept home, taking care of guests, taking care of day to day routine, etc. Mary, OTOH, spent a huge sum of money on ONE thing, and ONE guest! She knew something was still missing from Martha's perfect party, and she provided it. And, boy, did Mary get mean things said to her about her gift. She was a clueless spendthrift, a disciple said! That money could have been spent on the poor! Wait a minute, Jesus, said. Back off. You know that there will always be poor. But just for this moment, Mary understands what is needed.

Yeah, there's a lot of crap in the world, but, yeah, neither can we individually solve it all. It's a humanity problem. Humans cause their own societal problems. What we can do is be both Martha and Mary. Be prudent in our lives, but also do what others would deem "imprudent". Follow what is in our Hearts. Martha provided the sandwiches, and Mary poured out Love and Kindness directly into the World. Chewbaca Mom poured out, from her Heart, what she thought her friends would enjoy at the moment, a bit of joyous laughter.

Hell, Jesus, couldn't solve the problem of the poor in his time, they were still there when he died! But what he did do was leave us with advice, no, a commandment, so that we could, as individuals (and as nations) stop being so damn selfish and reach out to Others. It all starts with changing ourselves.

Sorry OP but you just come across as no fun at all, sometimes in the doom and gloom of the world a video surfaces that makes us laugh and you can't find any positives from that?
The original video is hilarious, not because of the mask but because the woman allows her inner child to come out and she doesn't care, I find her endearing because of it.
Every person I've shown the video to has laughed their ass off, now times that by millions and the effect of that 1 persons video has lightened the days of millions of people.
I for one do not grudge her 15 minutes of fame and the perks that come from it because she has lightened my day every time I watch it.
Get off your high horse op and get a humour transplant.

Well, get ready for more of it and good luck figuring out what's real and what's not.


auth.ama.org...

a reply to: kosmicjack

I haven't read the whole thread, but this woman has posted other videos in the past, and has quite a few followers. Her videos are all about finding the joy in life. I saw one where she is in the car with her kids and she is singing the song from Lion King, getting the words wrong, and it's hilarious.

She is a bit of a performer (I think she has a theater background), but I don't see anything wrong with sharing your joy of life with others. I sure don't think she's doing it to get free stuff, but I do think she rather likes the attention. Meh, if I was an extrovert like she is, I'd probably love the attention too.

a reply to: kaylaluv

I don't have a problem with her, just maybe the cultural/corporate (over)reaction I was just pointing out it wasn't a simple as putting on the mask, for pure joy. There was more to it.