I thought that this belonged in the Political Discussions thread because of the subject matter and the recent discussions on immigrants, normally I would have put it in The Jokes & other Humor thread. If the mods disagree, then put where you see fit.

Right on, Andy Rooney!

Andy Rooney said on "60 Minutes" a while back:

I don't think being a minority makes you a victim of anything except numbers. The only things I can think of that are truly discriminatory are things like the United Negro College Fund, Jet Magazine, Black Entertainment Television, and Miss Black America. Try to have things like the United Caucasian College Fund, Cloud Magazine, White Entertainment Television, or Miss White America; and see what happens...Jesse Jackson will be knocking down your door.

Guns do not make you a killer. I think killing makes you a killer. You can kill someone with a baseball bat or a car, but no one is trying to ban you from driving to the ball game.

I believe they are called the Boy Scouts for a reason, that is why there are no girls allowed. Girls belong in the Girl Scouts! ARE YOU LISTENING MARTHA BURKE?

I think that if you feel homosexuality is wrong, it is not a phobia, it is an opinion.

I have the right "NOT" to be tolerant of others because they are different, weird, or tick me off.

When 70% of the people who get arrested are black, in cities where 70% of the population is black, that is not racial profiling, it is the Law of Probability.

I believe that if you are selling me a milkshake, a pack of cigarettes, a newspaper or a hotel room, you must do it in English! As a matter of fact, if you want to be an American citizen, you should have to speak English!

My father and grandfather didn't die in vain so you can leave the countries you were born in to come over and disrespect ours.

I think the police should have every right to shoot your sorry ass if you threaten them after they tell you to stop. If you can't understand the word "freeze" or "stop" in English, see the above lines.

I don't think just because you were not born in this country, you are qualified for any special loan programs, government sponsored bank loans or tax breaks, etc., so you can open a hotel, coffee shop, trinket store, or any other business.

We did not go to the aid of certain foreign countries and risk our lives in wars to defend their freedoms, so that decades later they could come over here and tell us our constitution is a living document; and open to their interpretations.

I don't hate the rich I don't pity the poor.

I know pro wrestling is fake, but so are movies and television. That doesn't stop you from watching them.

I think Bill Gates has every right to keep every penny he made and continue to make more. If it ticks you off, go and invent the next operating system that's better, and put your name on the building.

It doesn't take a whole village to raise a child right, but it does take a parent to stand up to the kid; and smack their little behinds when necessary, and say "NO!"

I think tattoos and piercing are fine if you want them, but please don't pretend they are a political statement. And, please, stay home until that new lip ring heals. I don't want to look at your ugly infected mouth as you serve me French fries!

I am sick of "Political Correctness." I know a lot of black people, and not a single one of them was born in Africa ; so how can they be "African-Americans"? Besides, Africa is a continent. I don't go around saying I am a European-American because my great, great, great, great, great, great grandfather was from Europe . I am proud to be from America and nowhere else

And if you don't like my point of view, tough...

I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG, OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA , AND TO THE REPUBLIC, FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL!

I was asked to send this on if I agree or delete if I don't. It is said that 86% of Americans believe in God. Therefore I have a very hard time understanding why there is such a problem in having "In God We Trust" on our money and having "God" in the Pledge of Allegiance. Why don't we just tell the 14% to Shut Up and BE QUIET!!!

I got this e-mail a while back, and I agree 1000%. I think Andy Rooney hit the nail 100% on the head with this soap box. If anyone dissagrees with it, talk to me. I think he is dead on with every subject talked about. Thats it, we can debate this one all day long, but hes right, anyone who says he's not right, is wrong.

Thanks for putting this up Tom I hadn't seent the compilation just pieces here and there.

While I can agree with some of the statements, they certainly weren't Mr. Rooney. Can you actually imagine him expressing himself that way?

Moreover, Andy Rooney himself denied it in 2003, saying: About a year ago, I became aware of a more serious theft of my name and it is so hurtful to my reputation that it calls for legal action against the thief. Hundreds of people have written asking if I really wrote the 20 detestable remarks made under my name that have had such wide circulation on the Internet.

Some of the remarks, which I will not repeat here, are viciously racist and the spirit of the whole thing is nasty, mean and totally inconsistent with my philosophy of life. It is apparent that the list of comments has been read by hundreds of thousands of Americans, many of whom must believe that it accurately represents opinions of mine that I don't dare express in my column or on television. It is seriously damaging to my reputation.
Mr. Rooney disclaimed the above-quoted piece again in his 60 Minutes segment of 23 October 2005, saying of it: There's a collection of racist and sexist remarks on the Internet under a picture of me with the caption ‘ANDY ROONEY SAID ON 60 MINUTES.’ If I could find the person who did write it using my name I would sue him.

http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/rooney4.asp

I think the police should have every right to shoot your sorry ass if you threaten them after they tell you to stop. If you can't understand the word "freeze" or "stop" in English, see the above lines.


I don't hate the rich I don't pity the poor.

I reckon that he is entitled to his somewhat conservative look on things. And I even agree with some of them. But these two are imo are off. Why would the police have to use a gun. There are so many ways to apprehend somebody, but no, shoot them straight away.
And secondly, why not pity the poor? You don´t have to give them your life savings, but some pity isn´t wrong. Pity is a sign you still have a heart and some compassion. Even if poverty is totally due to somebody´s errors, what´s wrong with some compassion?

Read above:

Originally Posted by moving0target

While I can agree with some of the statements, they certainly weren't Mr. Rooney. Can you actually imagine him expressing himself that way?

http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/rooney4.asp

I regret not having checked this out before posting it on this forum. My apologies to all, most importantly to Mr Andy Rooney.

Well, whoever said it, I still agree. That doesn't change.

I don't think any apologies are necessary. It's a common thing in this day and age of instant communication. Can't know everything, can we?

Originally Posted by moving0target

I don't think any apologies are necessary. It's a common thing in this day and age of instant communication. Can't know everything, can we?

We can certainly check things out, using Snopes.com or other similar sites, which is what I failed to do.