Jeepluv77

I'm guessing -$20. At least. To have won $0 you would have had to "win" enough to break even. Judging by the warning to never play-ever and the double exclaimation points that didn't happen. That's why I love the crossword and bingo tickets. At least I get to have fun being a loser. As far as this mysterious peice of equipment in the back hurting, killing, and maiming EMS workers I'm not going to drive myself nuts trying to figure it out. I guarantee you that at some point every peice of equipment back there has injured someone.

Thank you, Dust. We still have no word on what happened, but he had some underlying medical conditions that they thought were minor. It's scary to think that something like this could happen to a medic/RN. He proctored at our school two days before he passed and was supposed to have been there last Wednesday and this Wednesday to teach dynamic cardio for my class again. Two hours before he was found he had been at the kitchen table drinking coffee and reading a paper. You would think that if anyone could spot the early warning signs of a problem it would be a medic. A lot of people turned out for the funeral yesterday and he's being buried today with full FD honor guard. He was really a great man and it's going to be tough being there on Wednesday without him. I didn't find out last Wednesday until 5 minutes before we left. We all thought he was just out sick.

As a Melungeon, I'm European(including several English, Irish, Spanish and Portuguese), Native American, and sub-Saharan African. So, just to be sure I'm clear here, would it be the white part paying(even though my family came over as indentured servants and got flogged right along with yours crotchity)? Or the Spanish/Portugese that arrived with the conquistidors? Or the African for selling members of other tribes? I think the Native American side is in the clear, but since crotchity already admitted Native Americans are owed and I'm part African too I guess I break even, huh? Btw, crotchity, you stated "I think reparations for all african americans in this countryt and for the country of Africa would be helpful." Africa is not a country, it's a continent. Just like North America is not a country but the USA and Canada are countries on the continent of North America. Just wanted to clarify that. Which brings up a valid point. I was ready a study that said white children on average know more about black history that most black children? For such a "proud" race, why is that? Don't tell me it isn't true. One night I was out with my neighbors. One family is black, one white. The white family's daughter looked up in the sky and said "That's the drinking gourd." The black girl looked at her friend like she was crazy and asked what she was talking about. The white girl says "You know. From the underground railroad." The black girl didn't know what that was either. Her family knew what the underground railroad was, but sat enthralled listening as a little white girl school them on the drinking gourd and how the slaves used it to escape to freedom. So again, why is it that white children know more about black history that black children? The very history that blacks want to be paid for, they don't even know about outside of the major names and events that get tossed around. Oh, and 40 acres and a mule come nowhere close to being worth $10million even by todays standards. How about we give you the thousand or so it was worth back then and you shut up? I say take Ruffems' deal and when we pay you all forms of black only organizations be dissolved, all federal protections removed, everything. Just keep in mind, when you put a bunch of white people on the streets for something they had nothing to do with you are going to create a bunch of racism where there was none to begin with. So when the money runs out and you're left with a bunch of people owning cars and houses they can't pay the taxes on, don't come looking at us. We won't owe you a thing, remember? I'm not saying all black families will be like that by any means. But lets face it, 80+% in the ghettos are going to blow every penny on "bling" and high end houses and cars. And that estimate is probably being generous. One more thing, what about the black homeless? Just because they don't have a household to live in do they not get money? Aren't you just a little concerned they'll spend it all on the alcohol and drugs that most likely got them there in the first place? If you can step outside your own money grubbing world for a few minutes, how about trying to come up with ideas that will further race relations for coming generations? A permanent solution instead of just making this generation happy and leaving the next in worse shape because you set race relations back 100+ years? But, no, it's all about you and what gratifies you. If you really gave a damn about your children being flogged(which I guarantee you've never seen so drop that) you would not set up future generations to be hated by the race you are hoping to alienate from you right as things are looking phenomially better. Yeah, there is still racism. On both sides. There always will be. Period. That's the way it is, just like there are still Germans that hate Jews and Israelis that hate Palistinians. But 50 years ago an interracial couple would have been run out of town. Now, they are treated like any other couple by the majority of society and that's only going to get better. Younger generations are getting more and more color-blind and if that was your ultimate goal, as it should be if you weren't a selfish bigot, you'd encourage that and leave this money crap alone.

Since crotchity is so eager to demand money for work he never did, I'm curious as to how much that dollar amount might be.

One of my proctors in school died last Tuesday, July 14th. His name was Dwayne Smith, Jr. aka DJ. He was a really great guy and left behind a wife and three children. To my knowledge there's no word on what happened except he went to take a nap and never woke up. He was in his 30s. Please say a prayer for his family and co-workers, that they get through this. It's hard for me as a student that barely knew him so I can't imagine what it's like for them. Thanks, everyone.

If I wrecked your car I'm sure you wouldn't want me to pay your great-great-grandson for it. 'Nough said there. Let me ask you this, crotchity. During the civil rights movements a lot of whites stood up and fought for black rights. Blacks wouldn't have gotten anything without that help. I'm not just talking sit ins at diners, I'm talking lawyers and newspaper editors that had the cajones to do it at the risk of their livelyhoods. Do they owe you, too? Or did they already pay their dues? What about the subsequent loss of income that caused a lot of white families to have to raise future generations with less than they would have had? My friend's mom was kicked out of college for supporting the civil rights movement. They never had a spare nickle because of that. Martin Luther King, Jr. would be ashamed at you. He wasn't about payback or using your race to sit on your heels and demand people pay you for work you never did. He just wanted his people to be looked at with the same respect whites got. Since it's obvious you aren't going to see the pointlessness of your arguements or how lazy you look demanding show me where your ancestors graves were and I'll bury the money with them. No problem. They earned it, even though my family worked right along side them. Maybe the African nations should pay their part, too, btw. Black people were sold into slavery by other Africans. It wasn't a bunch of white people running around in the jungle with guns and rounding them up. "Along the west coast of Africa, from the Cameroons in the south to Senegal in the north, Europeans built some sixty forts that served as trading posts. European sailors seeking riches brought rum, cloth, guns, and other goods to these posts and traded them for human beings. This human cargo was transported across the Atlantic Ocean and sold to New World slave owners, who bought slaves to work their crops." http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part1/1narr4.html -Notice it's PBS, not Wikipedia. I can find more for you if you'd like. That's the third paragraph. Keep reading on that page. Educate yourself before you start talking about who owes who. It was still wrong, but it wasn't all whitey.

Yet another plus to wearing my steel toes at all times. Really though, all of the "adults" involved in the fight should be brought up on child endangerment charges and anything else they can be charged with.

How exciting! Congrats on the little beauty!

I'm surprised this hasn't been raised yet, and forgive me if it has, but aren't you a medic crotchity? It's terrifying to think of a critical white patient in your care with your thirst for payback and your level of hatred towards whites. You really need to reign this in and get some help before you kill someone through negligence because you just don't care due to the color of their skin. Just like I wouldn't want a KKK member in the back of an ambulance with a black patient, I question whether you should be back there with a white patient. I don't think you would intentionally hurt them(but then I didn't think you would conduct yourself as you have these last 12 pages either) but I can see you slipping up and missing something because you don't give crap and just want them out of your way because of what their ancestors may have done 200 years ago.

I have to agree with dust. I seriously doubt anyone taking any of these tests were held back from education prior to the 1960s. As far as educational opportunities today, I lived in my Jeep, worked 55 hours a week at a minimum wage job just to be able to eat and pay for gas to move when the cops ran me out of another parking lot, and had horrible credit from the divorce that landed me in my Jeep. I got every dime of my college paid for without claiming the minority status that I could have. Oh, and I've consistently gotten the balance of my grants(grants, that don't have to be paid back) sent to me, which comes in real handy when you need clothes to put in job apps. So, yeah, if you are willing to fight for it the money is there. It requires swallowing some pride but it can be done. I'm tired of people saying they are poor and living in the ghetto so they can't get money for school. That only makes you more eligible. Add being a minority to that and you're set. So find another excuse. This is also for all the lowlifes that think they need to sell drugs or prostitute to make it.

We have 30 seconds from the time pre-ventilation is stopped until ventilations are started again in which to drop our tube as per testing requirements. They have told us it usually doesn't work that way in the real world but that manikins are too easy to take longer than that. That if we can't drop the tube on a manikin in less time than that then we are going to be in trouble when it comes to a real patient. Needless to say, most students are in a competition to see who can do it the fastest.

Let's hear it for the Honorable James David Manning. That's all I'm saying.

I also can't quite understand why they charge more for food that doesn't have all this crap on it. I should be an organic farmer... save money by not using pesticides and charge people more to buy it... I see double profits in my future.

It's okay, guys. I'm Melungeon so I'm extremely confused. We've got European, sub-Saharan African, and Native American lineage. I guess I'm supposed to feel superior because I'm oppressed and proud of it. Or maybe that's oppressed because I'm proud and superior? Or proud because I can be superior and oppressed at the same time? Or proud and superior because I'm oppressed?

Congrats!! I noticed you were a little more quiet lately. All that studying, huh? Hope you get a nice pay raise, too!

I'm actually surprised this kind of thing doesn't happen more often. Wonder how we ever had food to eat before pesticides.

I hope she's okay. I'll be praying for her. I'm glad things are looking up so soon and I hope she can go home soon.

I've always been interested in medicine and started reading medical encyclopedias at 12. It took me a long time and a lot of research to decide where to go with it. I'm one of those people that thrives on high speed and high stress, so EMT is just a natural fit. At first I thought I'd be perfectly happy working as a tech in an ER till I finish my paramedic and can get a paid job with the city. Our EMT-B's, EMT-I's(who run as medics), and inexperienced EMT-P's are all volunteer. So I'm going to do my two year stint as an EMT-I while I finish school and go straight to paid when I get out. Anywho, now that I've done three ambulance shifts it's like crack and being a hospital tech for two years is going to be trying but worth it. My ambulance shifts were the slowest on Earth(the call me the white cloud because calls grind to a halt when I show up) but the few we've gotten have made up for the hours of nothing going on. It's not for everyone though. Some of what you see would make other people hit the floor. You've got to have a strong stomach, even stronger backbone(to stand up for your patients), a lot of patience, and a different mindset than most.

We learn how to identify difficult airways, but not really any ways to get around it. I'm going to set up a day to go in with a proctor and get some extra training and practice.

I'll have to look into these other procedures. We haven't gone over any of them and I'm hoping to test National on August 7th. We've actually only had 30 minutes of training on difficult airway. Not counting the 30 minutes of lecture. As for the scoring, something about Malla...something score(used in the OR was mentioned for about 45 seconds in class but we were told not to worry about that as it didn't apply to us. I've started to notice I'm probably not getting as much training as I'd like to have. Hence stopping at EMT-I for now and completing my Paramedic through my city's training academy when I can be sponsered or find the funds.

Sure thing spenac. I'll get right on that.

We don't get to do rotations in the OR as EMT-I students here anymore for whatever reason. So goodness knows when I'll get my first live intubation. But I've been practicing the difficult airway scenarios so I can challenge the station for National Registry. Cricoid pressure has become my best friend. We were taught it for our EMT-B so, at least here, anyone on the medic or fire crew should be able to do it for you. Same for in the OR or ER. Next time if you are having trouble visualizing the cords ask some to help you out with cric pressure. From what I've been told the benefit of it on a live patient is even greater than on a dummy. And, no, you won't look silly or incompetent for asking. I wondered about that and was told you will actually gain more respect because you don't let your pride or insecurity compromise what you need to get done. Just a thought.

I'm shocked at how far all this has gone. Really. If people would stop pulling the race card every time something doesn't go their way racism could truly be over. But every time that card is pulled and people are expected to feel guilty about it only breeds needless resentment where there was none to begin with. We all have our stories. I'm willing to bet that not one person in EMS was born with a silver spoon in their mouth. I'm not on rescue yet, but I've met several black EMS members in both my clinical and field shifts, including supervisors. They have all been every bit as competent as any white member. How about living in the here and now instead of the past? How about instead of telling people that are living in the projects(regardless of race because not everyone in the projects is black or even a minority) to use that as motivation to change things for future generations rather than as a crutch? And, Crotchity, on another thread I mentioned that there were several members on this forum who's advice and input I value greatly. You were one of them. However, the way you've conducted yourself through all this makes me have to step back a bit. You are no doubt brilliant. But, seriously, you need to make peace with the anger and hostility you have. I know you'd make it a lot further in your career if you relied on your obvious brainpower rather than your race and what happened 200+ years ago. My family never owned slaves and, in fact, came here as indentured servants. I don't expect anything for that and I refuse to apologize for something that neither I nor any member of my family had any part in. Please, set a good example for future generations. You mentioned the civil rights movement of the 60's and how many people made great sacrifices. They did that for you. Appreciate that and take it a step further by inspiring the next generation just as the great men and women of that era inspired you instead of just feeding them excuses. No one gets a free ride. I've had to overcome an abusive childhood, an abusive marriage, living in my car to get out of that marriage, and major medical issues to get to where I am today. I'm in treatment right now for PTSD due to all this. But instead of letting it continue to hold me back like it has for longer than I care to think about I've decided to fight my ass of to get through it so my children won't have to. As with any type of abuse(and yes, racism is a type of abuse regardless of what race it's directed at) the cycle has to end somewhere. You make the choice of whether to continue it or to let it end with you.

Idiots being the operative word. There ought to be a law protecting the general public from lawsuits if one of these morons gets flattened by, say, an ambulance trying to transport a critical patient. If we can't pass that law, maybe we can pass one keeping them 100 feet away from any emergency vehicle at the very least. This would still give them good shots with their super zoom lenses. The paparazzi have gotten completely out of control to where they often pose a threat to public safety. I don't think retarded photographers standing in front of/behind moving vehicles is what our founding fathers had in mind when they guaranteed freedom of the press.

I'm so glad to hear he's okay! Don't you love you when friends nearly give you a coronary?