|
2002-03-02 - 10:49 a.m.
Earlier this week I received this e-mail twice.
*****************
CNN Headline News did a short news listing regarding Ford and GM's
contributions to the relief and recovery efforts in New York and
Washington.
The findings are as follows......
1. Ford- $1 million to American Red Cross matching employee
contributions of the same number plus 10 Excursions to NY Fire Dept. The
company also offered ER response team services and office space to
displaced government employees.
2. GM- $1 million to American Red Cross matching employee contributions
of the same number and a fleet of vans, suv's, and trucks.
3. Daimler Chrysler- $10 million to support of the children and
victims of the Sept. 11 attack.
4. Harley Davidson motorcycles- $1 million and 30 new motorcycles to
the New York Police Dept.
5. Volkswagen- Employees and management created a Sept 11 Foundation,
funded initial with $2 million, for the assistance of the children and
victims of the WTC.
6. Hyundai- $300,000 to the American Red Cross.
7. Audi- Nothing.
8. BMW- Nothing.
9. Daewoo- Nothing.
10. Fiat- Nothing.
11. Honda- Nothing despite boasting of second best sales month ever in
August 2001
12. Isuzu- Nothing.
13. Mitsubishi- Nothing.
14. Nissan- Nothing.
15. Porsche- Nothing. Press release with condolences via the Porsche
website.
16. Subaru- Nothing.
17. Suzuki- Nothing.
18. Toyota- Nothing despite claims of high sales in July and August
2001. Condolences posted on the website.
Whenever the time may be for you to purchase or lease a new vehicle,
keep
this information in mind. You might want to give more consideration to a
car manu! factured by an American-owned and / or American based company.
Apart from Hyundai and Volkswagen, the foreign car companies contributed
nothing at all to the citizens of the United States. It's OK for these
companies to take money out of this country, but it is apparently not
acceptable to return some in a time of crisis. I believe we should not
forget things like this.
Say thank you in a way that gets their attention. Pass it on.
************************
This e-mail increased my heart rate dramatically.
It is in my opinion that anybody that won't buy a car they like from a company that
didn't donate money is an idiot and a misinformed, society driven jackass to boot.
I am patriotic to a point. I am dedicated to my country like I would be dedicated to a
family member, you just kind of stick by things even if they do wrong. What happened on
9/11 was horrendous. It should have never happened and the thought of those lives lost
has broken my heart. But it happened and it happened in our country and it happened
because of the way our country is. Not that that is any justification. To expect
other countries to donate money to us is ludicrous. The sad part is that we expect other
countries to donate money because we “donate” money to them. It doesn’t matter if
countries ask us for money and we give it or if we just give it without being asked. It is a
choice whether to give and be charitable or not to, it isn’t a right or wrong action.
If someone is going to be charitable and donate money then great! But if they don’t it
shouldn’t be held above their heads. Especially if the situation they would be donating to
is none of their responsibility. The act of giving money in a charitable manner shouldn’t be
treated as reparations. Reparations are vastly different from charity. I know some
people feel very strongly about the fact that the U.S. gives money to other countries, that
the U.S. buys imported items and helps the economy in other countries, but that is just a
bunch of bullshit. In my opinion our government hands out money and digs their noses
into other peoples countries in order to assert control over that country. We have a great
way of appearing charitable when in fact we are only helping out in order to be abreast of
all situations and so that we can keep a finger on all foreign governments. We try to make
ourselves indispensable and the ironic part is that this practice is exactly what got us into
this whole 9/11 mess. We placed ourselves where we weren’t wanted, replete with our
facade of “helping out” and pissed off a group of people we should have stayed the hell
away from. It is our “charity” that got us in this mess, the same charity we now expect
from other countries who are probably sitting there saying, “Damn U.S., those pompous
bastards got what they deserved.” I’ve known people in this life who when asked
to do a favor and then complied, have hung that favor above my head until I have
reciprocated. I have also known people who have done something for me without being
asked and have hung that too over my head until I have done something for them. This is
what this whole car thing is akin to. A donation cannot be expected nor can the lack of
donation be punished. Expecting someone to return a favor doesn’t make what you did in
the first place charity, nor does it fit the description of a donation. To expect other
countries to give us money makes everything that we have done for other countries a
loan.
It is my opinion that this list shows not which companies showed compassion, to me this
shows the companies who are the biggest suck ups. The companies that will use tragedy
to sell more cars. And the people that actually think this list has and relevance are even
bigger suck ups who will only buy cars from the people that capitalize on tragedy to sell
more cars.
If you’ll excuse me, I need to go polish the Honda insignias on my cars.
|
| 