The Mighty Grimlock~!

Name: Grady Jean

Gender: Male

Age: 20

Reiatsu Color: Dark, Rich Green (Normal)/Blazing, Fiery Orange (Rage Mode)

Reiatsu Aura: The feeling that the person generating the aura has simply no fucks left to give. In "Rage Mode", the aura changes to one of horrific, burning agony.

Faction: Humanity

Rank: One of the last reasonable people on the planet.

Appearance: Pics soon.

Personality:

-Sociopathic
- Sarcastic
- Hateful
- Pessimistic
- Loyal
- Defensive
- Skeptical
- Snarky
- Randomly kind and thoughtful

I am almost certainly not the best person to be performing any sort of introspective analysis on myself. I want to believe I know myself pretty well, but odds are good that I'm completely full of shit. Everything I am seems to contradict itself in the weirdest, most convoluted ways. I'm prone to bursts of sudden and violent rage, but never hurt others when I can help it. I'm loyal to people who support me and are good to me; to my friends and family. That said, I can be one of the most horrible, destructive, villainous, hateful individuals you have ever met.

I try to treat everyone I meet with a bit of basic decency and respect. Whether or not I continue to treat someone with decency and respect depends entirely on how that person responds. I've met people for the first time who did nothing but rub me the wrong way and piss me off.

History:

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Inventory

Stat Tiers

Speed - How fast can a T-Rex Run?
Reiatsu - None. Grimlock is powered by an Energon Core that provides energy to all of his weapons, defenses, and other vital systems.
Stamina - He's a giant deathbot powered by a Macguffin energy source. The Energizer bunny ain't got SHIT.
Strength - He once thrashed his way into a Reaper and back out again.

Skill Tiers

Footwork - Less than stellar in his Dino-mode, but in his standard form he's a bit more agile.
Reiatsu - His "control" over his energy is monitored by onboard "slave" AI systems, and as such is rather good.
Weaponry - Though mostly relying on projectile weaponry in his dinobot mode, He wields an energon sword and shield combo in his alternate mode. As such, he has excellent skill with these weapons.
Hand to Hand - He likes to smash things. A lot.

Faction Skill: Ironhide - Though his body is not actually made of Iron (Macguffin metal, non-rusting and very, very durable. Also resistant to energy and extreme temperatures).

Free Skill: Firebreath - HE FREAKIN' BREATHES FIRE.

Abilities

Personal Abilities

One: Transform (T-Rex Mode/Giant Robot Mode) Being a Cybertronian, Grimlock has the natural ability to shift between two given forms: His normal "Robot Mode" and his secondary form, in this case the form of a sixty foot tall fire spewing tyrannosaurus rex made of metal and pain.

Two: GL Power Core - An upgrade bestowed upon Grimlock by the mighty Malbat, Grimlock is powered not only by his natural Energon System, but also by a Green Lantern Power Core. This power core grants him all the strengths and weaknesses of a Green Lantern Corpsman.

Three:

Arsenal

Form One:

Form Two:

Form Three:

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If you ever need to reach me, here's my contact info:

Skype: Grady.Jean
Gmail: [e-mail]

So forgive this little rant, and the spoilers within, but I really need to get this out of my head. Seriously. I need it out, otherwise the next time I space out in the middle of my shift, the guy driving the forklift might not be considerate enough to hit the breaks before running me over and crushing me into a very dead, very red pulp.

Once again, in case this wasn't clear, spoilers within. DO NOT READ BEYOND THIS LINE IF YOU DO NOT WANT SPOILERS. DO. NOT.

SPOILER: Click to show

So, I loved Avatar: The Last Airbender. No surprise there, it was a solid series with good writing and endearing characters. Watch it all the way through, and then tell me there wasn't at least ONE character you thought was just the shit. Avatar: Legend of Korra has the characters, and...up until the latest episode, had the writing down. Now, I know I should reserve final judgement until I see the season finale next week, but I just can't help myself. This has been bugging me since the first two or three episodes, and y'all have heard at least one or more iteration of it, I'm sure, but I'm going to say it again.

Amon's Motivation makes. No. Sense.

This has been dismissed as me merely overthinking things, but fuck that. I hold all writers to a standard, and after the awesomeness that was TLA, I expect The Legend of Korra to meet that standard, or at least come close. Amon's Motive simply seems weak to me.

Amon, the mask wearing antagonist/Equalist Leader/overall not so nice guy of the series is waging a war against benders. His secret weapon is his ability to (apparently) permanently remove people's ability to bend, a power that until his first on screen use of it was always thought to be restricted to Avatars and (maybe) denizens of the spiritual world. This power makes him a very serious threat to benders everywhere, and in that regard he is an excellent villain. Many "Benders" use their powers to make a living, be it as police officers, or working in a power plant, or other such jobs. Bending is part of their identity, who they are, and Amon can apparently remove that portion once and for all. You'd be an idiot to be a bender and NOT be afraid of him. Couple this ability with his insane fighting skills, and he makes for a very imposing figure.

My fault with him lies in his motivation. For such a skilled fighter, with such a unique ability, his reasoning for "Equalizing" Benders is weak at best. His rationale is that because some benders abuse their powers and harm or oppress non-benders, ALL benders must have their bending removed. Not just those abusing their powers, but ALL Benders EVERYWHERE. Bear in mind that up until about the last two episodes, we've not had a whole lot of insight on what the laws and policies of Aang's peaceful world are, this seems childish. Aside from Councilor Tarllock, none of the Law Makers (Tenzen and those other two that just do whatever Tarllock tells them to) have ever suggested laws that would give benders preferential treatment or privledges over non-benders. While Tarllock has openly advocated curfews and imprisonment without trial for any non-benders suspected of being in league with the Equalists, this is really the only example of Benders legally oppressing Non-benders that we've seen. That aside, the only examples given have been Criminals acting outside the law to extort and harm. If Amon was only targeting a criminal element, I doubt anyone would complain.

However, Amon is targeting Police Officers, Athletes, and common everyday benders alongside the criminals. He's taking their bending left and right, with no discrimination, and his justification is that some people abuse these powers. By his logic, everyone in the Avatar world should have their hands and feet cut off because some people choose to use them to harm others. It's weak, childish writing that I wouldn't normally attribute to the Avatar series, but I ignored it figuring it was building to something (I had a theory, will discuss later).

I felt relieved when Tarllock began enacting laws that directly oppressed non-benders, because it suggested that he was in league with Amon, and that there was a larger, overarching plot that we weren't meant to see just yet. It meant that there was mroe than what we were seeing on the surface. Tarllock is revealed not only to be a dick, but also a Blood Bender with the rare ability to use his skills without a full moon, a force nearly as threatening as Amon himself; he has political power and a dangerous and deadly ability to boot, especially when you take into consideration that he's also a skilled water-bender.

However, that all gets thrown out the window when Amon takes away Tarllock's bending, and in the same scene, irrevocably removes any chance of them directly working together. I was irritated, because it felt like the writers were throwing aside an opportunity to further develop a pair of very excellent villains. Whatever Amon's true identity may be, not only can he remove people's bending, but he can also completely resist bloodbending. His threat level is...well, you know the joke. They could make Amon into a serious, series arcing villain, and instead it feels like they're making him a monster-of-the-week dickhole.

In short, I'm probably just bitching. Maybe the season finale coming next week won't be the end of Amon, or maybe it will, and something bigger and badder will come to take his place. I just feel that the writing slipped a bit since The Last Airbender, and that while yes, this is a children's TV show, that doesn't mean you can't have a deep, fascinating plot full of twists and turns. It doesn't have to be a linear crap shoot, and I'd like to see the writers of Legend of Korra step up to the challenge.
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So back in that little blurb, I mentioned that I had a theory to Amon's true identity. Now, grant it, there are some holes in it, and it absolutely looked better when it seemed likely that Tarllock was working with Amon, but I felt like it was a good theory. Basicallym the theory is that Amon is a physical manifestation, or avatar, of the demon "Koh". Many of you remember Koh as the Face Stealing Spirit Aang encountered in the spirit world when he was seeking some answers to some questions that I've long since forgotten. Koh has had a lot of interraction with the Avatars in the past, even going so far as to steal the face of one avatar's wife, presumeably because that avatar was a bit of a dick.

There's On Screen Evidence of spirits crossing over into the physical world including The Moon Spirits, the Hei Bai the Forest Spirit, Wan Shi Tong the Knowledge Spirit, The Painted Lady, and possibly that giant lion tortoise that taught Aang how to Energy bend.

Granted, only the Painted Lady ever took a human form, but Koh's face stealing nature sort of lends itself to the idea that he might be at leastslightly related to Amon. Amon's face has never been revealed, or even hinted at, so we have no idea what he looks like. Though he claims that his face was badly burned by a fire bender, there's no proof to support it. This could be a lie (deception and misdirection being things Koh was always happy to put to use).

Now, I have no idea what motivation Koh could have for being Amon. I don't know what his angle is, what his end game would be, but that seems unimportant compared to the fact that Amon can Energy Bend. As far as we know, Energy Bending isn't something you can learn simply by training really hard. Only the Avatars have ever shown an aptitude for this ability, perhaps due to their deep connection to the Spiritual World. It would be safe to guess that Energy Bending is a technique that was created in the spiritual realm, and that requires this deep connection to utilize. Koh, being a spirit, would have this connection.

So that's my theory on the identity of Amon. He's either Koh taking on a human form, or he's an Avatar of Koh... rewpresenting the Spirit in the physical world and acting upon his will. Seems unlikely, especially with the direction that the story is taking now, but it'd make for an interesting twist, wouldn't it?

*Forgot to add this in before, but there's also the fact that Amon can appaently shrug off blood bending. Tarllock bloodpent nine people at once, but Amon literally shrugged it off and kicked his ass no problem. That's not a Chi Blocker thing either, because Tarrlock had no trouble with four of Amon's chi Blockers and his Second in command. This was an Amon thing. You can't trainb your blood to do anything other than what blood already does. Either Amon has superhuman strength, or there's something else dodgy going on there. Blood Bending might not effect Spirits, after all, spirits wouldn't really have blood, would they?

Picture is Related

I FEEL LIKE THIS ALL THE TIME NOW.

Since I started working at walmart, I've lost 21 pounds, upped my consumpion of Red Bull/Other Assorted Energy Drinks to forty ounces a night, and have had so many lucid murder fantasies that the thought police are no doubt watching me VERY closely. I've never had a job quite like this before, and frankly, if I can help it never will again.

Seriously, do not work at Walmart. The pay is not worth it. Whoring yourself on a street corner would be a better alternative. Believe me, I've considered it. The only reason I'm still working for Walmart is because I have a horrific body and my other Resumes have not turned up any leads.

I think I might be having a stroke. >>

So obviously I'm slipping into one of my more depessing and self loathing moods. My faith in this nation and humanity as a whole has waned to nothingness, and I have trouble smiling and laughing at damned near anything. I don't eat, I spend most of the day sleeping, I have much more violent urges than normal, and most importantly, I hate my very existence.

What the FUCK is wrong with me?

I dunno, depression runs in my family, but I've never been as prone to it as I am now. I think what makes it worse is how much I expose myself to the goings on of the world. I just can't help myself. Half the time it's shit my own country is doing, and the knowledge that I can't do ANYTHING about it.

I have no right to be depressed. I live in a developed nation, I'm not persecuted due to my lack of religious beliefs, the color of my skin, or gender, I have a home and a family that loves me, and friends who want to hang out with me, so why the hll do I still feel like hitting the universa reset button and trying to start everything over from square one? Is it some immature, knee-jerk reaction to the harsh realities of the world? Am I actually sick in the head? I'd see a shrink, but for the life of me I couldn't afford one even if I could find one around here...I need some fucking help or I'm going to end up in a padded room.

I try to follow a very simple rule in life. I guides just about every action and response, with few exceptions. That rule is "Don't be a dick". Now, clearly, some people fucking deserve it, but most of the time, "Not bing a dick" works. It's a simple rule really. I don't talk down to people, I don't degrade them based on ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, etc etc...and it seems like such a simple fucking rule...and it seems like I'm the only person who lives by it. I am surrouned by dicks; human beings who are driven to make my life miserable. I get phone calls from dicks, my employers are dicks, random people on the street are dicks! There's all this unecessary anger and hostility floating around that I simply don't understand.

I feel like dropping out of humanity...and it fucking sucks.

So in case anyone's worried or wondering or praying that I'm dead in a ditch somewhere in the backwoods of Indiana, do not fret (or do), I am quite alive. I'm working pretty much full time at Walmart. Well, as full time as they can milk out of me without actually giving me any benefits...dicks. Still, working 8 hours a night leaves me completely drag ass tired, and since I have to drive an hour and a half to get to work every day, it means I am literally spending twelve hours a day on my job.

The long and the short of it is thus: I only get two days off a week. Lately those off days have been spent putting things back on my car that fell off, or sacrificing large portions of my paycheck to pay other people to do that because I am fucking incompetent with anything more complicated than a god damned Gameboy. So to all who had to wait on my posts, I am sorry. Time is at a premium, and as much as I hate it, I have priorities offline. I'll try to post when I can, but I'm going to be missing that one week deadline more often than I'd like.

So this right here is too awesome not to share. Like, literally; I didn't have a choice in the matter. The Cosmic Forces of Epicness FORCED me to share this. Even now, I am but a helpless pawn to their whims. It's a story about questionable legality in a small midwestern town, so all you "Lawful Good" types skedaddle. It might rustle your jimmies. All gone? Good. Let the rustling begin.

I have a friend of mine in my hometown. He's a year and change younger than me, and to simply say that he's my friend would sort of be an insult to a relationship that's lasted almost sixteen years. This man is more of a brother to me than my real brother. I'd trust him with my girlfriend, with my car, with my family, and he does the same. I spend so much time with him that his own mother jokingly calls me her son. We did just about everything together during our high school days. Now that we're grads though, we've rifted. Work and classes keep us busy, and our schedules don't mesh up the way they used to.

My friend, we'll call him Ken, is going into the Marines. He's wanted to join the Corps for years, and I've always supported him in it. There were some medical issues preventing him from joining up, but those finally got cleared after a lot of work on his part and on the part of his local recruiter, and so he's shipping out sometime this month for Basic. I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little nervous about this. You hear rumors about the Marines, and I'd hate for my best friend to change into something I don't recognize anymore. It worries me, but I trust him, so I support him every step of the way.

So, the night before he heads out, I talk him into meeting me at the park where we used to play as kids. He pulls up in his car, I'm already waiting for him there. It's cold, but not too bad. I stoke up a little camp fire (It's safe, in control) and pull some folding chairs out of the trunk of my car, as well as a cooler. We set up, I pass him a beer (I'm legal, he isn't), and we just sit there for a few hours shooting the shit and reminiscing. Real manly stuff here. So midnight rolls around, things get real quiet and calm, and a cop car pulls up. No sirens, no flashing lights, just pulls right up along side us. The town's one cop, and older guy in his fifties or sixties, gets out with his flashlight and comes over to the fire with us, asks us what we're doing.

Now, I'm nervous. I just got caught drinking with a minor, and that shit is taken seriously these days. Sure, he's a year out, and beer has almost no alcohol in it so you'd have to drink a lot more than what we've got with us to get drunk, but still, zero tolerance policy and all that. So I bite the bullet and explain to the officer what we're doing here. He recognizes me (apparently knew my dad when Dad was on the Volunteer Fire Department), and lets on that he himself is a former marine.

So believe this shit or not, he sits down with us and asks us to pass him a beer, and of course we do because he's a god damned cop, and he could wreck our shit. And he drinks for a bit, and there's this long, awkward silence that follows...because, and I cannot stress this enough, HE IS A GOD DAMNED COP. Finally, he breaks the silence by talking about his time in boot camp, and his tour in 'Nam. So they have this long convo about what drove them into the corps, and all I can do really is stay quiet.

so the Cop finishes his beer, he wishes us a good night, and says if we're still here in an hour, he'll have to ticket us for trespassing. Not for, like, the booze, but for the trespassing. So that's where the story ends. Ken and I resolve to be Bros for life, we did NOT get ourselves arrested, and I saw him off to Boot Camp like the brother I am. Maybe I disapprove of the current Regime's mission statement, goals, and overall policies, but I will be damned if I'm going to turn my back on someone who's never turned his on me. There's nothing spiritual here. Nothing that I would tentatively call faith or religion; It's simply...admiration. Admiration for a cop who cared more about supporting a young man than enforcing a stupid rule, admiration for my friend, who was able to follow his dream, admiration for whoever the hell brewed that beer...I have no fucking way to end this, I'm rambling.

till next time.

So, no doubt, many of you are wondering where Sengoku is going to be going with this. Where I’M going with this. Well, to be honest, I’m not entirely sure yet. This thread is…an experiment of sorts. When AK was rebotted into its current form, the good folks that keep us wild’uns from tearing the place apart advertised the plot as “Character Driven”, which I’ve taken to mean that WE drive the plot. WE push it forward. The plot has been non-existent to this point. Now, we all know that Roleplaying isn’t always about fighting. Fine, I get that. But we can’t roleplay a proper story without Conflict. Conflict is a key element to any plot. Without conflict, there IS no proper plot. Let me assure you, folks, we need a plot. Look at the past couple of threads, and what have they been? Chaos. Past threads with arrancars running about unmolested, shinigami being chatty, and Rukons getting drunk and being grouchy.

This thread is an attempt to inject PLOT into the lifeblood of AK. I want to get us involved in something, and what better way to start, than by getting the Rukons ready to take back what is theirs? What will come of this? I don’t know. Maybe someone will make a decent counterpoint to Sengoku (Crazy, I’m looking at you because frankly, Ryuu is being awesome right now). The point of it all is that nothing is going to change until we do something. There is going to be no future to AK without a proper plot, without motivations and ambitions. Sengoku has set his goals: Retake the Fourth, one piece at a time. All that’s left is for people to decide if they’re for, or against, and to do something about that.

Okay, so recently our resident red headed sadist got inside my head with some very sharp, pointy tools and planted the idea of a menu for the Notched Axe. Since I have a very sponge-like brain, this idea has taken root, and NOW I CANNOT REMOVE IT FROM MY HEAD. So I must write. WE HAVE A MENU NOW PEEPS.

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Spare Ribs - Carved from God only knows what (Sengoku says it was a pig), these ribs are slowly roasted inside a hot oven while being regularly covered in a sauce made from honey, brown sugar, crushed and pulped tomatoes, and a secret ingredient he refuses to tell anyone. The ribs are served with a vegetable side of your choice, two fluffy yeast rolls, and a potato made to your order.

Apple Mead - A cool, refreshing drink that Sengoku brews in the still outside his inn. This delicious beverage is made by cooking a large number of apples, cinnamon, and unhealthy amounts of sugar until the whole mix is a smooth, pulpy mess. The pulp is then moved to the holding tank, where yeast is added. It's cooked for days, constantly tested, and finally strained and filtered to produce a delicious elixir that one star struck citizen claimed was "Like drinking ice cold apple pie with a shot of hard liquor".

Gotei 5 Chilli - Buyer beware, this chilli is not to be taken lightly. Sengoku has always enjoyed a challenge, and in one instance he was called upon to feed a large group of Shinigami. Well, ya'll know how that was likely to turn out. The Gotei Five Chilli is a slow cooked special, made with five different kinds of meat (Beef, Pork, Chicken, Venison, and a fifth that Sengoku keeps a secret), fat red kidney beans, ripe tomatoes, red onions, and fiery peppers. This caustic brew stews until the meat is cooked, the peppers and onions are soft, and the broth has turned a nice bloody red color. The resulting chilli is so spicey that it's left those with weaker stomachs in tears, but it's just so good that they can't stop eating it! Gotei 5 Chilli is served with Corn Bread Muffins and unlimited free drinks.

(More likely to come later, had to leave. If you want Sengoku to name a dish after your character, PM to discuss!)

Hey guys. Sort've a minor announcement here, but I'm nervous as fuck and I feel like I need to get this off my chest, because if I don't, it might be too late. To cut a very long story short, I got busted doing something very, very stupid. Police were called and I was taken away in hand cuffs. Details are left out, and it looks like this will all blow over, but just in case it doesn't, I want to get this out here and now. I could end up gone for a fair amount of time, and if I go, I want to know I got to at least say this to you guys.

I love you, all of you.

You're great, every last one of you, and to never be able to contact you guys, or play with you guys would kill me. You've all made me laugh and smile so much that the thought of not being able to reach you all hurts more than you can imagine, and I want you to know how important you all are to me. I've tried other site, tried other games, but this community, this thing we have keeps bringing me back, and you all at least deserve a decent goodbye, if it comes to that.

I'm scared, honestly. I'm writing this out of fear, and that makes me sick, but it's the only way to guarantee that I get the chance to say it. If I get taken away, please see to it that my characters get removed from the game in a decent way, and know that if I can, I'll come back. I never want to stop roleplaying with you guys, I never want to leave, but if it can't be helped then I want you all to know that you mean the world to me.

You were the friends I didn't have in school. You're the people I enjoy being around. You're the ones who make me laugh, who I love seeing and being around, even if we're connected by nothing more than a bunch of electrons and copper wires.

If we don't meet again, when this is all said and done, I want you all to know that I treasured ever minute of this.

So, in case anyone's wondering where I've been lately or why I've been a little odd, here's the scoop: I've been seeing a therapist for the last few weeks. It's hit and miss mostly, or it drudges up a lot of stuff that I'd rather not drop on people I care about. Just understand that if I seem mopey or distant, or snippy, it's not anything any of you have done. I just keep finding myself on roads I've left untraveled for far too long, and this is the unavoidable result.

Since anything Political is bound to kick up a firestorm of some sort or another, I want to post this bit right here and right now: This post is politically charged. Don't read it if you don't want exposure to that sort of thing. Ok, nice big warning sign? Check. Anything you read beyond this point is your own fault.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO*hahayoureaditsucker:P*OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOBS~!



OK, so here's my political thing for the month; after reading an article about Gina Rineheart (an Australian CEO of a Mining Company she inherited from her rich daddy) and her ludicrous and insane idea to sterilize the "underclass", I've become all fired up and rage faced. Yes, she's Australian, so why should that bother me, an American? It bothers me because I know there are dozens of rich, snobbish jack asses just like her, all vying for control of my country, and my life, and lives of everyone I hold near and dear to my heart. People like here that spout off nonsensical bullshit about "Poor people needing to accept 2$ an hour wages" (another gem of hers), or that 47% bullshit Romney pulled in his latest electoral bid. I am sick and tired of these rich fuckers standing at the top of the economic pyramid, and trying to tell us that all of our money problems can be solved...if we accept less money for our work. What the hell would these bastards know about living on a shoestring budget? Struggling to make ends meet? How could someone who inherited their parents', or their grandparents' wealth and success know ANYTHING about dealing with crippling debt? Handling the depression poverty inflicts upon people? The answer is simple. They can't. They bounce from one vacation home to the other, sitting on their money-grubbing asses, and deign to tell us that we're not working hard enough, that we're spending our tiny incomes on frivolous things. It's a load of horseshit, and I'm fucking sick of it.

I worked at Walmart for over half the year of 2012, earning state minimum wage (in Indiana, that's 7.25 an hour) for most of that time. Know what my six month raise was? A whole 25 cents! My benefit's package? A 10% discount card. I broke my back 8 hours a night, spending another four hours on the road just going to and from work, for an employer that was basically telling me "Hey bro, I'd love to pay you less, but the Government says I can't." What could any of those Silver Spoon Sucking, arrogant, self absorbed "Captains of Industry" know about that? The Walton family, and their lackeys that run their stores, are some of the richest people America (The Waltons themselves are, in fact, the wealthiest), and they want me to believe that it would throw them into the poor house to pay their employees an extra two or three dollars an hour? Anyone who's ever worked in a Walmart can tell you: Minimum Wage isn't enough for the shit you have to put up with.

Now, to anyone who's reading this and thinking "But Grady, there are plenty of people who worked hard to get to where they are in life! Don't they deserve the fruit of their labors?" Yes. Absolutely. You build a business from the ground up, you absolutely deserve your just rewards. That said, when the CEO of Walmart rakes in 20.7 Million dollars, while the average Walmart Employee will be lucky to make $15,000 a year, are you honestly going to tell me that's right? While they sit around in their board rooms "Managing their assets" and "Keeping the company afloat", you have workers working themselves to death all day, every day for that precious minimum wage check. I've seen a man have a heart attack on the work floor. I know a man who had his foot run over by a manager driving a fork lift, and was then FIRED because he took time off to see a doctor and get the broken bones set properly. These leeches are surviving on our blood and sweat and pain, and they want to sit at the top of the pile and tell me I need to work harder? I need to work more?

I'm not an ambitious man. I want an apartment, I want an internet connection, and I want food in my fridge. That's all I've ever wanted out of life. I don't expect all of that to be handed to me, but it would be nice to be paid a decent god damned wage for the work I do! It would be nice to know that I'm not going to be fired for someone else's fuck ups! It would be nice to know that my job isn't going to be shipped overseas just to save some bloated motherfucker an extra million dollars.

Workers had to fight for minimum wage. Workers had to fight for the right to strike. Workers had to fight for the right to say no, to get overtime, to get medical benefits. Workers fought tooth and nail for the right to come together under unions, and many of them were maimed, crippled, or killed in the process. Today we have workers fighting tooth and nail to put people in power who want to TAKE those rights away. This isn't some liberal (Seriously, fuck those shady, snake-oil selling con artists) smear against the Republican party, this is the truth. The GoP does NOT want you to be able to negotiate a decent wage. The CEOs, the Mega-Corporations, the huge conglomerates don't want you to be able to protest against their regimes. How anyone can convince themselves that going back to the way things were before the massive strikes, before the formation of unions, before those on top were reminded that they're only there because we helped them get there...how can anyone convince themselves that going back to the days of child and sweatshop labor, where a worker could and would be replaced at the drop of a hat is a good thing? How can anyone convince themselves that looser regulations on a workplace could be a good thing? Those regulations are there to keep your benevolent overlords from cutting corners, from skimping on necessary repairs, from ignoring issues that need to be resolved before someone gets killed! Those regulations are there to keep the Masters from turning our planet into a toxic cesspool. They have to be there because without them, those money-grubbing parasites will do anything, destroy anything, for the sake of profit.

We are nothing to them. we're not even pieces on a chess board. we are Resources. They don't even try to hide it; Ever stopped in at the Human RESOURCES department? Anyone remember when it used to be Human Relations? I sure as fuck don't. We stopped being human beings to them decades ago. In their eyes, we are simply here to be used up, spent. We're coal. We're oil. We're here to be chucked into the furnace, consumed, and tossed aside; and we are expected to thank them for the privilege.

So here's the wrap up: The next time you're going out to vote, or even taking one of these bastards seriously, stop and ask yourself: Who are they working for? Who has their hands in this guy's pocket? Who's paying for his suit and tie, his add campaigns? Where did he get the money to do what he does? Where does he stand when it comes to your rights as a worker? Who's side is he on: The people who voted for him, or the ones who paid for him?