See What I Mean By Entitlement?

I saw this Craig's List ad yesterday & have to share it:

trademark advice (Greenwich Village)
Date: 2011-02-15, 5:11PM EST
Reply to: gigs-8bfbj-2216427887@craigslist.org [Errors when replying to ads?]

I am starting a museum and need some trademark advice. if someone donate some help that would rock

thanks

* it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests
* Compensation: no pay

PostingID: 2216427887

You know I had to respond, right? Here's what I wrote:

This sounds an awful lot like an attempt to get free legal services. Guess what??? Lawyers cost MONEY & with good reason. Do YOU have to maintain licensing standards & pay dues to keep doing YOUR job?

If you want a freebie, I suggest looking this stuff up yourself or asking a friend instead of expecting random lawyers who see these ads to give a damn about you or your attempt to create a museum. We attorneys have our own problems & the last thing we care about is satisfying some lazy jerk with an entitlement complex.

If YOU wouldn't want to work for free, then don't ask others to do so.

That last sentence is a true life lesson: if you personally wouldn't do something for free, then don't ask someone else to give you a freebie. Especially a total stranger.

There are reasons why they don't have legal aid organizations for free legal advice in certain areas. Generally, lawyers aren't the most altruistic people. I include myself in that as well. We feel, for instance, that if you have enough money to have an estate then you have enough money to pay a lawyer to do a proper will & set up trust instruments.

Guess what? You do NOT need a free will if you have an estate that won't be swallowed up by debt when you die.

If I like you, I'll do a lot for you. But if I don't know you, I have no motivation to give you a freebie. Why don't I just demand YOU for one? I'd really like free computer help, an actor to work for free as my servant/admirer/significant other/security guard, etc. I'm sure I could offend you by asking for freebies & you didn't even have to maintain state licensing, incur six figure loan debt or abide by ethical rules to start & continue working in your trade.

Oh, and apparently many of the morons who post insulting ads on Craig's List delete their ads before I can give them the old tongue lashing or find my response absolutely hilarious. Someone needs to get some legal counsel badly with some of the ads I've seen or maybe some of these people realized "Hey, we can't get a college student to intern for us 40 hours a week!" I literally saw an ad for that today, no joke.

Attention unemployed lawyers: if you live in NYC, LA or someplace that has jobs in this section, go to the Craig's List creative/talent gigs sections as well as anything related to the entertainment industry. Once you see ads that show evidence of labor law violations (such as asking for photographs as a pre-condition to interviewing or having interns do things that are benefiting the business & not offering reimbursement for travel costs, using their own laptop, etc.), point it out to these folks & then mention you're a lawyer. You've just pointed out a serious problem they've got & how your services can remedy that.

If they are not grasping a clue (no one with any kind of in-house lawyer would ever post some of the ads I've seen in these sections), point out that they will eventually crash & burn with the obvious lack of legal counsel + the fact that any decent attorney costs a LOT of money.

You've got to be smart & think outside the box if you want to get anywhere in the legal field, or life for that matter. This is called "making your own future while having a little fun & performing a public service." Pointing out idiocy is an obligation we all have & I take that duty seriously as a professional attorney + all around loudmouth. Plus, if you can then why not?

Here's another instance of idiocy.

Personally, I side with this teacher. Since when did teaching become working for the CIA? She didn't name names or call out individual lazy students. And guess what? This woman works with high school students, so likely she knows what she's talking about.

My sister told me of one incident that happened at my nephew's school that she felt the teacher had no business having to apologize for. She even told the teacher as much & I was proud of her for not being another stereotypical self-indulgent, lazy, whiny parent who blames everyone but themselves for little Johnny's violent behavior or little Julie's materialism & whorish clothing.

The pathetic behavior of many breeders is a big reason I'm not the least bit motivated to have children. Good parents seem too few and far between but I'm happy to know quite a few who don't blame the media & teachers for everything wrong with their children. They know about something called PERSONAL ACCOUNTABILITY.

My husband could also tell you about some teenagers who are lazy & unmotivated. He tries to instill some common sense & not be a total jerk to them. He's managed to find some who give me hope for the future of this country.

If you ask me, teachers should be blogging about their experiences & could end up improving the education system where big money interests, school boards & people who've never spent time in a classroom have failed miserably. The 1st Amendment ramifications are also huge here since that will affect how future teachers get to do things. Me personally, if you wanted to further discourage me from being a teacher, stifling my 1st Amendment right to vent is certainly a way to do it. Bravo to this woman for speaking her mind & piss off clueless school district most likely staffed by overpaid administrators who continue to make the work of teachers even harder than it is already.