Earn Ben Stein's Money

March 13, 2007 1:50 PM

Terribly ExcitingInteresting article from Ben Stein, regarding business, the economy, and the American middle class. and just when I thought I figured him out..
posted by ShawnString (67 comments total)

Bueller, Bueller.
posted by three blind mice at 1:57 PM on March 13, 2007

Basically the statements in that article run through my head on a loop for hours every day, and have ever since I moved to New York Çity.
posted by hermitosis at 2:06 PM on March 13, 2007

Everything he writes is so great.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 2:08 PM on March 13, 2007 [1 favorite]

huh, I am surprised at the tack he takes, although the article is certainly not grounded in many hard economic facts- also surprising from someone whose public persona is built around being perceived as an intellectual.

The article is more like a set of rather obvious observations, the economic equivalent of "white folks dance like this, but black folks dance like this!"
posted by drjimmy11 at 2:15 PM on March 13, 2007

And yet he unwaveringly supports the Bush Administration and blasts "libruls" every chance he gets.
posted by tkchrist at 2:18 PM on March 13, 2007

Ben Stein came to UCSB a little over a year or so ago, supposedly to give a talk on military recruiters on campus and the "Don't ask, Don't tell" policy. I was interested to hear him talk on this subject, but the speech he actually gave consisted of shameless flag-waving, cheerleading for the administration, and uncritical "support the troops" talk with a healthy dose of liberal-bashing. He didn't mention campus recruiters once. I lost all respect for him that day. Reading this got him a bit of that respect back, but he still has a lot of work to do as long as statements like this remain unretracted.
posted by SBMike at 2:19 PM on March 13, 2007

That was great, thanks... I'm always shocked to remember that Ben Stein is a staunch Republican because he hardly ever sounds like one (at least in the things I've read and seen)... This piece of writing is a brilliant synopsis, an indictment even, of everything that's wrong with a Republican-controlled economy.
posted by amyms at 2:23 PM on March 13, 2007

The article is more like a set of rather obvious observations, the economic equivalent of "white folks dance like this, but black folks dance like this!

stein's remarks have absolutely nothing to do with race.
posted by localhuman at 2:24 PM on March 13, 2007

It's really fun to read the article to yourself (or out loud) in Ben's voice.

Of course, it's ironic in the extreme for a Bush administration apologist (also here) to lament about the state of the economy and the especially about the plight of soldier's families.
posted by robhuddles at 2:25 PM on March 13, 2007

My mom had 2 strokes in 1998 and I was her caretaker for quite a while. I got her hooked on Win Ben Stein's Money & she confessed to me that she thought he was really hot & had a big crush on him. So, for her birthday I decided to see if I could get him to sign something for her. I e-mailed an address I had found that I thought might be him (but I also thought couldn't POSSIBLY be him) & he e-mailed me back within a day or two. He promised to send me an autographed photo for her and he did almost immediately. When the package arrived he had also included a copy of pretty much every paperback he ever wrote. Ben Stein & I were actually pretty consistent pen-pals for a few weeks. I especially remember we had some very nice conversations about dogs. My mother still has the framed photo of "her boyfriend Ben" displayed prominently in her living room.

Due to the above story, I will always think that man kicks ass.
posted by miss lynnster at 2:26 PM on March 13, 2007 [13 favorites]

localhuman: a diagram
replace 'joke' with 'observation'
posted by MikeKD at 2:30 PM on March 13, 2007

Thanks for sharing, Miss Lynn. It's always great to hear nice stories about celebrities.
posted by Oriole Adams at 2:39 PM on March 13, 2007

Ben Stein has been dead to me ever since he appealed directly to the American People on CBS Sunday Morning before the 2004 election saying that we should re-elect Bush because he is just, moral and a man of God.

Ben Stein, for lack of a more polite term, is a cunt.
posted by psmealey at 2:40 PM on March 13, 2007 [4 favorites]

Is he, like, insinuating that the Rich are waging Class Warfare against the Poor? (And the Liberal Rich are just too dumb to realize the benefits they get from it?) Maybe he really is campaigning for the "Monster Ticket".

Then again, if he's supporting The War, he's also supporting a massive example of economic fraud and redistribution of income (to select people).
posted by wendell at 2:46 PM on March 13, 2007

Yeah, I'm sure Ben's a nice guy to hang out with but his support of this disgusting ideology is pretty much unforgivable.
posted by puke & cry at 2:49 PM on March 13, 2007 [1 favorite]

I totally disagree with his politics by the way. I refuse to judge the man's humanity on it, however.
posted by miss lynnster at 2:49 PM on March 13, 2007 [1 favorite]

The problem with Ben is that he truly is a dinosaur. He still thinks the U.S. fights wars for some noble cause.

Also pushed for the Iraq war and backed Rumsfeld frolm the get-go, only to do a 180 - appearing on "CBS Sunday Morning" to recite a "speech" he wrote for Bush- had the President decided to apologize for invading Iraq.
posted by wfc123 at 2:58 PM on March 13, 2007

A person can be an absolutely gem of a human being and still be utterly misguided in some areas. It is the Geralrd Ford syndrome - President Ford, it is said, would buy a starving kid lunch with money from his own pocket but didn't see why cutting school lunch subsidies across America - thus depriving poor kids of lunches - was any big deal.
posted by Joey Michaels at 2:58 PM on March 13, 2007

I refuse to judge the man's humanity on it, however.

I have nothing against a guy who loves his family, loves his friends, donates time and money to his community and selected charities, but insists on voting Republican because, despite it all, he still thinks they are the best people to govern. In fact, I have a few dear, dear friends that fit that description exactly.

But when a man has access to a soapbox, has been an insider for a similarly odious administration, and continues to proselytize as moral and good for an Administration that is anything but, and demonizes the other side in the process, that is a huge failing of both morals and character.

I'm sure that Stein is a nice guy, too, but he's going to hell, and he's taking a lot of people with him.
posted by psmealey at 3:04 PM on March 13, 2007 [2 favorites]

You can now subscribe to Ben Stein's Diary for just $1.95 per month.

Ugh.
posted by bardic at 3:07 PM on March 13, 2007

I m impressed beause for me, he was always the front guy for the free market and all the marvels it would provide, and yet here he is telling us what is not right in America. Additionally, this piece appears in a very very conservative organ, and that, too, strikes me as both odd but also good.
posted by Postroad at 3:07 PM on March 13, 2007

The best part about these sorts of FPPs is the ads on the linked sites keep me abreast of the latest books about how Clinton let us down.
posted by M.C. Lo-Carb! at 3:13 PM on March 13, 2007 [1 favorite]

I don't know what many of you are reading into this, but I'm not seeing much more than another lame attempt by a right winger to rile the true believers to anger against the well-to-do, blue state, hate America crowd:

Here's what else is new and exciting (or terrible) in money: there is real poverty among the soldiers who fight our wars. There are fist fights to get children into $30,000 a year kindergartens and pre-schools in the right neighborhoods in Manhattan. There are 40 million Americans without health care insurance. There are almost 40 million baby boomers with no savings for retirement. There is a long waiting list for Bentleys at the dealership in Beverly Hills. There are soldiers' wives selling blood to buy toys for their kids. There is a man selling non-functioning body armor who threw a $10 million Bat Mitzvah for his daughter. In Brentwood, where the houses start at $3 million, the housewives complain about what a terrible country America is. In Clinton, South Carolina, where the textile mill closed fifteen years ago and there is real hardship, the young men still believe in America and their fiancees at Presbyterian College wait for them while they fight in Iraq.

I'm not seeing an about face here so much as I am an attempt to inflame passions of those that still members of the Republican base. It's not different from what Ann Coulter does, just a helluva lot more clever.
posted by psmealey at 3:17 PM on March 13, 2007 [1 favorite]

Well, I figure it's not my place to condemn anyone else to Hell. That is their cross to bear.

If he does find himself suddenly surrounded by fire and brimstone upon his demise I am fully willing, however, to write Ben Stein a lovely and heartfelt letter of recommendation very sincerely requesting that the Devil give him a slightly lighter sentence in return for being profoundly kind to my invalid mother and to me. It is the very very least that I can do.
posted by miss lynnster at 3:21 PM on March 13, 2007 [2 favorites]

He worships the festering corpse of Nixon like it was a god. That trumps any "nice guy" qualities he may have.
posted by tommasz at 3:22 PM on March 13, 2007

Such a wonderful and versatile creature is man, who can be both so admirable and so shameful at once. The way to think of men like Ben Stein, really, is to remember that no one should be wholly idolized, or demonized.

But note: this is an essentially liberal way of looking at the world.
posted by JHarris at 3:24 PM on March 13, 2007 [3 favorites]

His essay beautifully illustrates on several levels how and why this country is so totally ass-raped and clueless at the same time.
posted by Fupped Duck at 3:33 PM on March 13, 2007

Here's where I wish there was such a thing as an anonymous post on MeFi.

I was a contestant on "Win Ben Stein's Money." I was chosen, at least in part, because I'm a video game designer and described myself as someone that "played video games for a living."

Before the show, Ben asked me if I was a designer on Everquest.

No, I said.

Good, he said. Because he then told me how he had recently sent his son off to boarding school because he couldn't control him. Apparently, the teenage boy had literally been spending $10,000 a month on Ebay purchasing items and gear for his Everquest characters.

So, the whole "I feel your pain" thing doesn't exactly ring true from ol' Ben.
posted by frogan at 3:52 PM on March 13, 2007 [2 favorites]

Come on! He chose California and New York at places to cite for excess for a reason. So that mouth-breathers reading this in flyover states will read this and walk away thinking that Blue Staters are ass-raping them instead of Bush's buddies.
posted by Mayor Curley at 3:57 PM on March 13, 2007 [1 favorite]

Such a wonderful and versatile creature is man, who can be both so admirable and so shameful at once. The way to think of men like Ben Stein, really, is to remember that no one should be wholly idolized, or demonized.

Fred Clark's been writing lately about civility and the presumption of good faith, and why it's generally bad idea to simply presume that someone who really, really disagree with is either ignorant, evil, or both. These posts have been some of his best, I think.

Ben Stein is a perfect example of someone who seems to deserve at least the basic presumption of humanity and good intentions despite the fact he has defended, and will probably continue to defend people and policies I find repugnant. There is nothing in his actions I find as cynically calculating as Coulter, to whom a previous poster compared him.
posted by sparkletone at 3:58 PM on March 13, 2007 [2 favorites]

Wow, he must of spent almost ten whole minutes compiling that string of trite observations likely culled from email forwards.
posted by Falconetti at 4:00 PM on March 13, 2007 [1 favorite]

Yeah, well, I shall pen no letters of recommendation for Anne Coulter. She's on her own.
posted by miss lynnster at 4:06 PM on March 13, 2007 [1 favorite]

sorry, but:
"..I am fully willing, however, to write Ben Stein a lovely and heartfelt letter of recommendation very sincerely requesting that the Devil give him a slightly lighter sentence in return for being profoundly kind to my invalid mother and to me. It is the very very least that I can do."

If a gift of a signed photo and a few paperbacks from a wealthy man is considered "profound kindness" nowadays, then I am a fucking saint.
posted by tehloki at 4:07 PM on March 13, 2007

Ben Stein is a perfect example of someone who seems to deserve at least the basic presumption of humanity and good intentions

Bullshit. Stein is one of the worst. He uses his celebrity goodwill to constantly grind his Watergate-era axe against "libruls."

I heard him give a speech on CSPAN leading up to the 2004 election. Most of it was drivel, simplistic homilies to "the troops" and "hard working Americans." He asked the audience to give a round of applause to them both, and then an extra one for "the troops" and all veterans in general.

Then he went on to say some really unfair things about Kerry, who is, despite what you might think of him, a fucking veteran, while Stein is not.

He's human scum. Simple as that. Willing to say anything for a dollar.
posted by bardic at 4:08 PM on March 13, 2007

Where is Ben Stein and what have you done with his body?
posted by fungible at 4:13 PM on March 13, 2007

ben stein is a douchebag.
posted by quarter waters and a bag of chips at 4:24 PM on March 13, 2007

Uh, I don't care who wrote it. It was a lightweight jab at nothing. Wah wah, the world's an unfair place. Really?! You don't fucking say.
posted by ninjew at 4:52 PM on March 13, 2007 [1 favorite]

He's human scum. Simple as that. Willing to say anything for a dollar.

I am generally inclined to agree with the former. But I don't think the latter is accurate at all. There's no evidence he's willing to say anything for a dollar.

He's willing to say things he appears to really believe for dollars. And probably even for free. If you had a couple beers (or pricey wine or whatever Mr. Stein drinks and talks over) with Ben Stein and shot the shit, I bet he'd say just the sorts of silly, wrong-headed things he says on TV.

While Ben Stein is wrong, and stands for things I find rather disgusting, this doesn't put him in the same class as someone like Coulter, whose beliefs I can't discern from her public persona as it's too cynically calculating for me to tell what's really her and what's just making her two boatloads of money.
posted by sparkletone at 4:55 PM on March 13, 2007

People forget that Ben Stein was a speech-writer for Nixon. I mean, politics aside, you've got to have some idea of what's going on to work at that level. So no one should be shocked at Ben Stein. He may not be a mega-celebrity, but he's a smart dude; he's on the ball; he knows what's going on and how to get things done. If Ben Stein came into my office right now and said he had an amazing financial opportunity he wanted to discuss with me, I would say, "Sit down, Ben. Let's please talk." Whereas if Kevin Federline walked into my office saying the same, I would yell, "SECURITY!" as loudly as I could into the tin can that sits on my desk, which I sometimes pretend is a telephone/intercom/secretary.
posted by Eideteker at 5:09 PM on March 13, 2007 [3 favorites]

“Ben Stein, for lack of a more polite term, is a cunt.” & et.al

Well....saint, devil, what he says is fairly accurate. I’m no financial mogul, but we have lost lotsa industry. - With concessions to the ‘lightwight’ criticisms and such.


“...anger against the well-to-do, blue state, hate America crowd...”

Hmm...you gotta be a Dem to be rich? First I’ve heard of that. (rhetorical, not a rebuttle) perhaps he’s got an ulterior motive. Not sure what he’s asserting though. Bush’s Working Group on Financial Markets rejected further regulation of hedge funds and said that the industry should instead follow voluntary guidelines. So...he doesn’t want to criticise Bush outright or what?


“He added, "We didn't quite see it today, but it's sort of like Waiting for Godot. Eventually it will happen." In the play, Godot never actually shows up, though given that the Dow is currently at...”

Hey, hey, SPOILER alert willya?
Anyway, there’s no proof Godot wasn’t going to show up eventually. I mean the play’s still being performed places. He might make it.
posted by Smedleyman at 5:09 PM on March 13, 2007

I shall forever remember him for the quote "Can anyone even remember now what Nixon did that was so terrible?" It's a question so full of rotten concepts it makes me feel greasy just imagining him reading it aloud. He, of course, would remember what Nixon did, but it assumes that the mass of Americans are simply too dumb to remember that the President was looking for a way to, more or less, fix an election in the dead of night. He had a chance to simply remain silent on the issue, but he did not. Pointing out some economic disparity, which is shiningly obvious to anyone, is hardly what I'd call a big slam dunk. That "peacemaker Bush" thing is a complete joke, and I suspect Stein will eventually be remembered for things he'd rather not be.
posted by adipocere at 5:12 PM on March 13, 2007

If a gift of a signed photo and a few paperbacks from a wealthy man is considered "profound kindness" nowadays, then I am a fucking saint.

No, you're a jerk.

I was the only one of 5 siblings taking care of a mother who had just had 2 strokes... BY MYSELF. I broke off a relationship & quit my job (my sole means of support) to do it and was totally terrified and in over my head, seeing that she appeared to be dying and trying to figure out how to keep my head above water. In passing Ben happened to say some very helpful and incredibly supportive things to me during a time where I very much needed someone to, and the photo he gave my mother made her the happiest I had seen her since her strokes. So yes, I remain appreciative and I shouldn't have to clarify a damn thing to YOU to validate why I remain thankful. So lay off & please move on your merry way to be a jerk to someone else. Thanks.
posted by miss lynnster at 5:45 PM on March 13, 2007 [1 favorite]

Wah wah, the world's an unfair place. Really?! You don't fucking say.

The article has little to do with "the world". It's about the fact that America is an unfair place. And that it has become significantly more unfair in the past generation or so.

To which you may repeat, "Really? You don't fucking say."

And, though cynical, you'd be right. But that doesn't change the fact that the current situation is contrary to the American Dream.
posted by Flunkie at 6:05 PM on March 13, 2007

Larry Ribstein points out Stein's stupidities from time to time.
posted by Kwantsar at 8:07 PM on March 13, 2007

Hmm...you gotta be a Dem to be rich?

You didn't know? Look at Bush and Cheney - just a regular couple of guys, out clearing brush and shooting ducks. No rich-guy windsurfing for them, no sir.
posted by bashos_frog at 8:39 PM on March 13, 2007

The article has little to do with "the world". It's about the fact that America is an unfair place. And that it has become significantly more unfair in the past generation or so.

To which you may repeat, "Really? You don't fucking say."

And, though cynical, you'd be right. But that doesn't change the fact that the current situation is contrary to the American Dream.
posted by Flunkie at 8:05 PM CST on March 13

The last time I checked, America is part of the world. And in the past generation, more so than ever before. The things he discusses have immense consequences, and not just for Americans. Wal-Mart, China, oil, trade globalisation, and so on. These are a few of the many areas where our participation affects the world around us. And if you don't think this has anything to do with the American 'dream', you're looking in the wrong direction. This mythical American dream is the driving force. Consumption. Convince me that this stupid fucking dream is anything other than that. And just because there are people struggling to live day to day, doesn't mean there aren't people that are living their version of the myth. It's just that the gap keeps widening. This is how it always has been, and always will be. Those who exist at the top will always use more than their share of the resources to make sure they stay at the top. And yes, one of those resources is inexpensive labor, borne by those below them. Oh, yeah, and money. They'll use what they have to make more of it. How is that news?

And that's exactly my point. This is why it's a lightweight jab. Is there seriously anyone out there who doesn't understand this is the way the world works? The hedge fund thing is just another way for those at the top to increase their share.

Why would it be a dream if everyone had it all?
posted by ninjew at 9:00 PM on March 13, 2007

I think that Ben Stein would be an interesting, decent guy to know personally and I've found him entertaining on television and in film. That doesn't mean he's not incredibly shrewd, cunning, and manipulative when it comes to politics.

Apparently there are rich people who make their money off of the losses of others. There are also those who are barely scraping by when they're decent, hard-working people. It takes a daring man to point out the ills in the system, offer no explanations outside of simple greed, and despite his economic background, provide no advice on how we can dig outselves out of this hole. Is there anyone, anywhere who would not nod along with this in speech form? I'd walk away enthused, until I realized that there's no proposal here, no ideas. He's stated many things, but he's said nothing. A speechwriter.
posted by mikeh at 9:13 PM on March 13, 2007

I don't know who Ben Stein is, but man, he sure seems to have peed in a lot of people's cornflakes.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 9:23 PM on March 13, 2007

"Look at Bush and Cheney - just a regular couple of guys, out clearing brush and shooting ducks."

Ducks? Are you familiar with Cheney's work, sir?
posted by Smedleyman at 9:27 PM on March 13, 2007

miss lynnster:I am fully willing, however, to write Ben Stein a lovely and heartfelt letter of recommendation very sincerely requesting that the Devil give him a slightly lighter sentence in return for being profoundly kind to my invalid mother and to me.

My ex-girlfriend was a contestant on Win Ben Stein's Money. Off-camera he came and talked to her and propositioned her in the sleaziest most disgusting way that it made her sick to tell others about it.

I guess, in terms of personal interactions, thats a -1 from me to counter your +1 when the letters of recommendations start flowing into Hell...
posted by vacapinta at 9:29 PM on March 13, 2007

Guess he's on his own then. Obviously I'm very glad he didn't do any such thing to me or I'd be on here calling him a pig right now. But... he didn't, so I can't. He remains on my good side.
That said, if he'd have taken a moment to proposition my mom I do think it might've been the happiest day of her elderly life.
posted by miss lynnster at 10:06 PM on March 13, 2007

Bueller, bueller.

Ben Stein is an actor. He writes well. He's witty and pithy. In a theatre of lesser talents, Ben knows he make easy money as an actor throwing red meat to the Republican base.

The erstwhile Ms Coulter has made millions off selling her droolings to these knuckleheads, why not Ben Stein too? The Ben Stein who writes for the American Spectator is an actor playing to a demographic instead of a theatre audience. Sure, he's a nice guy. He responds to fan-mail. He signs autographs. It's all acting. He deserves praise for using his acting skills in the nice way miss lynnster explained, and he deserves condemnation for using his acting skills to keep the criminal regime in power.
posted by three blind mice at 11:36 PM on March 13, 2007

But that doesn't change the fact that the current situation is contrary to the American Dream.

I think America is the patient in one of those commercials with Abe Lincoln and the Beaver (movie) where it needs some medical intervention to get back to its dreams.
posted by grapefruitmoon at 12:05 AM on March 14, 2007

http://www.metafilter.com/59409/Earn-Ben-Steins-Money#1620074

The quality of a person's character cannot be determined by his actions toward one person. I maintain that, whereas to you he may seem profoundly kind, his gesture was token and his personality and beliefs make him a far worse person than he appears to be to you. Even self-important jerks are kind sometimes.

Hell, even I, the profound jerkwad, have been known to volunteer in my community and assist in the daily commute of the blind students at my university.
posted by tehloki at 1:32 AM on March 14, 2007

Hmm...you gotta be a Dem to be rich? First I’ve heard of that.

If you want to engage in an adult discussion, it would be better if you didn't pull my quote completely out of context ("rhetorical, not a rebuttle" -- bullshit, you're being purposefully misleading). Did you actually take a look at paragraphs I cited? Where he contrasts the rich and self-indulgent in New York City, Brentwood and Beverly Hills to the wives of soldiers selling blood and young men "still believing in America" in South Carolina.

Utter baseless tripe, unsupported with anything, to suit only one purpose: pitting simple decent folk with old-fashioned "values" versus rich malcontents who live in areas that are largely against the war (and by sly extension hate the troops), against the administration and yet are benefitting from this great nation.
posted by psmealey at 1:37 AM on March 14, 2007

My ex-girlfriend was a contestant on Win Ben Stein's Money. Off-camera he came and talked to her and propositioned her in the sleaziest most disgusting way that it made her sick to tell others about it.

Win Ben Stein's Love Child.
posted by sparkletone at 2:12 AM on March 14, 2007

What tehloki said. I grew up around some very intelligent, very nice, very nasty people, who were never anything but kind to me and mine. You remember kindness, of course, but it's foolish -- maybe even morally shortsighted -- to overlook a person's overall character because of how they treat you in particular.

Hell, most say that GW is a fine person to get along with...

Oh damn I've godwinned the thread.
posted by dreamsign at 2:51 AM on March 14, 2007

There's absolutely no depth to this piece. He's describing the symptoms of class disparity, with no insight as to its cause or possible solutions.

It's like going to the doctor with a cold, and the best he can do is to tell you, "yes, you seem to have a runny nose."
posted by malocchio at 7:54 AM on March 14, 2007

If you notice, I haven't tried to stop anyone else from badmouthing him or told anyone else that their opinions are wrong. People sure are bent out of shape simply because I appreciate something the guy did and opened up to share it, aren't they? It's interesting to me... I've fully acknowledged that I do not agree with him on things and I fully understand why he is disliked by some, yet it seems like people can't handle that I'm just not interested in jumping in to say anything bad about him.

I'm not sure why it's upsetting people so greatly that I've explained why, for my own heartfelt and personal reasons, I can't jump on the bandwagon at the anti-Ben parade. Not sure why that inspires some posters to be jerks when I'm not telling anyone they can't hate away at Ben for their own reasons. You can all carry on with your Ben bashing, I don't care. My personal experience with him just leads me to refrain. And patronizing insults aren't exactly going to want to make me join you... y'know?

Now, if you want to start an anti- Anne Coulter or Rush Limbaugh thread? I'm on the bandwagon. I'll carry a flag. Whatever.
posted by miss lynnster at 8:42 AM on March 14, 2007

I know what you mean, lynnster. I mean, I hate Kelly Ripa (maybe more than Ann Coulter) but if I had to pull off the road with a flat tire and Kelly appeared with a jack and helped me put on my spare, from then on I'd probably overlook her simpering bubble-brained media persona and her cardigan-strangled asexuality and always remember her quite fondly.

Once someone makes human contact with us, no matter what their motivations may have been, they become more than just a flat surface for us to project our opinions onto. They become people that we (sort of ) know. Which is sort of how political apologists like Stein are probably born in the first place. But it's not like you wrote "Mrs. Lynn Stein" in your notebook a thousand times afterward or are trying to clone him. You just had a nice story about a confusing and rather opaque public personality, and I'm sorry the parade tracked footprints across it.
posted by hermitosis at 8:54 AM on March 14, 2007

We're just angry because your subjective experience of Stein is so different from ours. You see him differently.
posted by tehloki at 9:07 AM on March 14, 2007

I'm not sure why it's upsetting people so greatly that I've explained why, for my own heartfelt and personal reasons, I can't jump on the bandwagon at the anti-Ben parade.

Because nobody likes gray ruining their perfect little black and white world, of course.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 9:22 AM on March 14, 2007 [1 favorite]

My ex-girlfriend was a contestant on Win Ben Stein's Money. Off-camera he came and talked to her and propositioned her in the sleaziest most disgusting way that it made her sick to tell others about it.


Deep down you know she considered it.

And that's what's making you angry.
posted by dsquid at 9:36 AM on March 14, 2007 [2 favorites]

dsquid, will you marry me?
posted by hermitosis at 9:41 AM on March 14, 2007

I hate Kelly Ripa too. And hey... Keifer Sutherland once cut me off in traffic by driving his black BMW in the parking lane on Vine and then swerving in front of me when the signal changed. So despite everyone telling me how great it is, I have yet to watch 24 'cuz I still haven't quite forgiven him. I'm just kinda stuck in my ways I suppose. ;)

And dsquid? Hee.
posted by miss lynnster at 12:01 PM on March 14, 2007

I don't think anyone is freaking out your comment, miss lynnster, though the initial reply was unnecessarily callous. People are simply reacting to what appears to be a suggestion on your part that, well:

... if you want to start an anti- Anne Coulter or Rush Limbaugh thread? I'm on the bandwagon. I'll carry a flag. Cause they didn't send us any stuff.

But honestly, I think you know this and you're kinda avoiding the point, albeit humourously, which is always worth points on the blue.
posted by dreamsign at 5:04 AM on March 15, 2007

Well, you totally missed this. The man didn't just send me stuff. I'm not that shallow or easily bought, people. He was very nice to me during a time where it make a difference, that's all. And at the time, that was a lot.

I'm sorry but you'll all have to just find a way to cope with it: I don't agree with him politically, but I'm not going to deny my very personal residual feelings of appreciation for someone just to make other people comfortable. Why should I have to?

Your mileage may obviously vary and that's TOTALLY cool. That my mileage varies should be equally okay.
posted by miss lynnster at 11:16 AM on March 15, 2007