I believe there's nothing wrong with complaining at times as it can and does bring about positive changes..But to complain just to have something to say, and not do anything about it, makes some people just another part of the problem..They just like the drama, and really, who needs more drama?

I agree PolarExpress......for me it all comes down to constructive vs destructive criticism or "complaining"

I am a (LEGAL) immigrant and have lived in the US for almost 20 years.
It has always amazed me that a country so abounding in resources and, yes, privilege, has so many who seem obsessed with "petty problems" to complain about here at home, and abroad.
this country used to be known for its optimism and "let's do it!" attitude..... not the negative, pass the blame game that seems to have become the focus for some.
IMHO time to just try to fix what is broke and stop all the finger pointing!!

and as for those emails, I dont even read past the subject or first line anymore before they hit my delete box

I don't understand all the complaining about immigrants???? Manufactured problems.... I think getting us all to focus on the small stuff is a ploy to distract us from the important stuff. This "ploy" is orchestrated by those in power who want things for themselves and their friends and not for all of us. If they can divide and conquor this will keep us busy while they run the government in their favor and not ours.

This thread reminds me of this interpersonal theory.

It was popular in the 60's and 70's and I found it very interesting then.

The "complaining" is a form of Ain't it Awful, and when applied to cars, the game is called GM.

This Wiki entry explains it pretty well, but does not do so completely (not all "games" are listed).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transactional_analysis

People need strokes, people need to have someone to listen to them, and when that becomes difficult or impossible, as in the political arena, there are not many avenues left to vent anxiety and fear, but complaining.

Sometimes I think people need "validation" as much as food. Validation is food for the mind/soul.

You know where I used to work, there was a colleague with severe issues. He was having anger tantrums on the job and affecting everyone. He'd lash out at people for some internal reason. There were times he scared me hugely.
He had to be pulled off a couple of other male colleagues too. Well, I seemed to be immune to this. But I watched it with horror, since management did NOTHING (even with complaints). In a medical professional environment, this is just unacceptable. Then one night about 2 yrs ago, this troubled guy attacked me. Over the years working with him, I looked younger than I really am, but now I am really gray, and I guess I look like his mother--where much of the anger comes from. As soon as I grayed up, that is when he started on me too.
One night I thought he would strangle me...I was terrified. All I did was walk past him on my way to MY area...and he was upset about something else, and turned it on me. Terrifying and surprising.

I quit the next day...because I knew that it was a matter of time that someone would be seriously hurt and it certainly would not be ME. I began to think this guy was a candidate for going "postal". I felt he had medical reasons for his outbursts, and I won't go into that long story. But I left. When I returned from my summer vacation, they were calling me back. This person was "let go" finally, and would I return. And I did. A year later, we found out this guy had died (he was only 47) and I know it was because he had medical reasons. (he had a doctor phobia and would not seek help until it was too late--cardiac).

We all complained at one time or another out of his presence about him and why nothing was done about it. We had to vent that fear and anxiety and disappointment over a situation totally out of control! The others there were not about to leave the job over it....but I certainly was!

LOL, Cheri, case in point, bottled water! We have the best water in the entire world, but it's just not "good enough"!

The LEGAL immigrants are the cornerstone of this nation's greatness! The ILLEGAL immigrants are a decimation of our nation's purpose. That said, I am actively involved in forging legislation that will settle that issue.

Hi AMN, help me understand then because illegal immigrants really do not affect my life and I really don't understand. Please explain to me how they really affect your day to day life. I can think of so many other problems that do affect my day to day life. I am not being a stinker here. I really want to understand.

My husband told me that he heard on NPR that a farmer wasn't going to plant a field of tomatoes because he couldn't guarantee that he would have the labor to pick them and he couldn't gamble with the investment. The labor was not guaranteed because of some new laws on immigration. This issue can affect our food supply!

MRSD, I also believe that when people are overly complaining about bigger issues it is because they have internal or personal issues that they just cannot deal with successfully. This anger and frustration spills over into issues where they can vent this stuff.

hmmmmm AMN ....I am not to sure I would agree it to be "best water in the world", and I sure wouldnt drink what comes out of my faucet

we had our water here analyzed and were so shocked at the results that we immediately got a reverse osmosis unit for drinking/cooking and filters for the showers etc.The good pure water just aint so good and pure anymore (no amount of contaminant is "within acceptable range" IMHO), but..... rather than just complain about it or make the bottled water companies richer, we shopped around and found a portable RO unit for under $200

I believe it Chemar... Florida is sooooo polluted and your fresh water lake,
may be GONE in 10 yrs!

Where we are in the city...we still have good water. But up North we are forced to get it out of Lake Huron. The freighters are dumping ballast and other obnoxious waste and our whole Northern shore is now fairly unsafe.
I've been double filtering it for over 20 yrs now. And getting laughed at by the cousins. But I see in the last 5 yrs they are now filtering too!
With no electricity manual filtering is a challenge and time consumer!
I take some bottled up there, but it doesn't last long. We boil water too,
but that consumes the propane which 150 dollars a tank! No easy way!
(we use PUR filters)

BTW the water main repairs we have been having...are a nightmare too. Last week when they finally dug ours up...red sludge
came out when it was opened. We had to run all our faucets and toilets for a LONG time and we are still running them a LONG time.
One toilet plugged up the tank mechanism, and it wouldn't stop running.... and my husband had to fix it. And it is NOT over YET!

Wow!! Mrs. D.

Too bad no one suggested anger management courses for this man. Might have helped him.

How sad that he was so frustrated and had such deep-rooted anger for whomever he was angry at, that he thought it acceptable to take it out on others.

I've been a victim of that kind of mentality. I was lucky, I escaped. But I vowed, never again.

Oh, once, when I was 18, I had a job as a typist. There was a maintenance man who thought I was his private property. Now I was 18, didn't know a fig about men and their thoughts, and whatever. I did know that when a man looked at me in a certain way and it made me uncomfortable, that I had the right to "say no".

I kept saying "no". He kept NOT HEARING ME!!!I can even remember his name to this day. JARED!!! My god, this was 42 years ago, and I remember.

He got me up against the wall by the elevator (no one was around), and he put his face up to my face and said "Why won't you go out with me?", what's wrong with me, do you think you are too good for me?"

I had never been exposed to this type of MEN behavior before and I was clueless.

So I just said "oh no, it's not you, it's me, I just have problems". Can you believe I said this??"

I also reported him to management and he was fired the next day.

THANK GOD!!!!!

I have, in my lifetime, (with a boyfriend),WAY BEFORE ALAN, have been the victim of abuse.

I vowed never again.

And it never happened again.

I think (because of some deep rooted memory I have that I promised myself it would never happen again), that if some man ever put his hands on me, that would be the last day he had hands.

But that's just me.

Thank god for therapy. That's all I can say.

Okay, well, I live in a fruit belt and we are hosts to thousands of illegal immigrants (currently estimated at near 150k) who at one time came to work as farm labor and stayed. I am quite disabled and depend on certain public funding for my healthcare. In MI, that state funding is being drained by medical, food and shelter needs of non-citizens of the nation into which I had paid rather significant taxes for many years.

Let me qualify this with the fact that I am very aware that legal citizens are also draining these same resources.

These folks almost all work, but at jobs that pay "under the table", therefore, not giving anything back to the system. Every fall, roughly 800 new, illegal immigrant children enter our school systems, enjoy the resources until their parents move them on to a warmer climate.

60% of them will never graduate high school. 31% of MI's illegal aliens will be arrested for some type of crime this year, draining those resources and giving nothing back. 12% will drive uninsured vehicles that end up in collisions, again draining resources provided by tax-paying citizens of this nation. 70% will visit food banks 2 or more times between Sept. and Nov. It's really too much to type here, but a little googling will get you details by state, county, etc.

I agree that their work is needed, I understand that many Americans would refuse the work they do, and I do have compassion for the children of transient parents.

I also believe in law, and they are breaking it every day. Further, it is not adequately enforced. So, I am involved in trying to fix this situation.