Diafel
I am not telling people who don't TRULY have a problem that they, in fact, do! I have, however, warned people how easy it is for such a problem to go unnoticed and what the consequences can be! To the CONTRARY, and unlike your level response, there have been those who want to diminish what I have experienced, as if it never happened. As I recently suggested in a few posts back:
Quote:
Those arguing with me react like I have labeled something a problem when none exists, or that the deadbeats I have encountered all have valid reasons for not spending any money! After some debate, the defenders of the non-spenders changed their "position" and took on the posture of "So what? Freeloaders really aren't a problem"!
And what you wouldn't be aware of, Diafel, is that my rant began in Feb 2007 when a poster was upset because the owner of the bar threw a freeloading singer out. The Kj was particularly angry because the fellow was one of his favorite/best singers! And most people who posted in response were upset with the "dumb" owner!
And since that time, my detractors ignore my experience with freeloaders as if they couldn't cause a problem. There was even a poll to that effect.
And the responses go on, as if I am a liar, even after I revealed (the FACT) that there is a local company that has multiple shows and multiple KJ's that has been known to invite singers to make a purchase or forget about singing. More notably, I gave specific information regarding what I have experienced and explained how the freeloaders "get away with it". The responses I received include:
- that what I presented couldn't be, because during all the years of experience possessed by the responding poster, he never experienced what I had described
- I have been given an endless list of reasons why some people might not be drinking, although I never suggested the problem was specifically due to anyone not drinking alcohol!
- I was offered reasons why freeloaders might be a benefit to a show, in spite of my suggesting that I know the shows and I know the individuals and they provide no benefit
- I was told that there maybe tax reasons why a business doesn't care if it loses money due to freeloaders - an absurdity!
In short, as I have been saying for years, there no end to the reasons I have been provided that effectively justify the bad behavior of freeloaders. Stogie just recently acknowledged, in effect, that at one point he had not spent his fair share! Leopard suggested she couldn't afford to pay for dinner if she had to! So, I guess she would justify freeloading in order to have her turn at the mic? And now I learn that one of those who diminishes the problem described by me sees nothing wrong in sitting around a restaurant for hours, not spending money and accepting free food.
I grew up in a family where many people owned businesses; my grandparents owned a luncheonette (a type of eating establishment known to those from the NY area). I would never take for granted the effort it requires to make a business work and I surely wouldn't take advantage of someone elses business or hospitality! If I am given too much change, I return it. If I am undercharged, I make it known!
Sure, if I were invited in by the OWNER, as a personal guest of his/hers, I would accept the offer. But to plant myself, uninvited, in a chair that was placed in an establishment to earn money knowing that I INTENDED to spend little or nothing when I sat down, is unheard of in my world. To me, it's no different than stealing!
And to quote the bible, as has some have done ---- "Do unto others......"! In short:
Don't be self-centered as to fulfilling YOUR wants; think of others and their wants as well -- particularly the owner and fellow singers
And consider:
......singing at Karaoke is not a right; it's a privilege that should be paid for and everyone knows how much it is worth to them ---or --does everyone who sings think that doing so provides nothing of value to them?
......does anyone think that nobody should have to (indirectly) contribute to paying for karaoke? Because only if NO ONE should have to pay for it would ANYONE be justified in not doing so!
......does anyone believe that if they are an alcoholic... and the only place to sing is at a bar... and the bar sells absolutely nothing but alcohol but gives free coffee... that it's okay to sing all night at that bar and not spend a dime because management was too stupid to charge for the coffee and there was nothing else to purchase?
.....does anybody believe that they or someone else is such a good singer that they shouldn't have to be concerned about spending money at karaoke?
And I provided those points to consider simply because the responses that have been made to my posts indicate many people believe at least one, if not more than one, of the above propositions!