Useless people in society
 

What's your definition of a useless individual in this society? Here's a few professions that i think are no use in case of violent confrontation or war:

Waiter
Web designer
Ticket collector
Taxman
Intellectuals in general are useless because they sit around too much just thinking, writing and talking bollocks
Teachers in their majority
Coppers
Many a musician
Me

I'm completely useless. I'm a parasite on society

Students are by definition a blank canvas, so i wouldn't call them uselss entirely. They can be, but that is because of their young age, so i'm partial to them than most.

You say many a musican, but musicans goes under the heading of art, and since art criticism is so debatable, who's to dictate who is a useless musican and who's a vital one. All art is important, even bad art, art is a form of expression and if we as humans don't express ourselves in some form, then yes we are useless.

In case of violent confrontation or war, that's what i said. Obviously there are artists who could switch to fighting mode if need be. The same as a waiter etc, it's just a sweeping generalization that comes from the practicality of a profession or vocation, that's all.

Anyone can learn to use a gun, doesn't take much to learn to use a gun, anybody who's life was threatened, even a pacifist would kill if it meant thier survival.

Ok, you' ve pretty much missed the point of the original question and kicked off in argumentative style already, so since this is the internet, i won't bother with a proper reply.

Lots of the professions in the world are motivated by the desire for futile goods and services, which our society endorses.

One day I might be a graphic designer, but I'm quite sure I wont be contributing a lot to the society. Although I don't think people like graphic designers are totally useless, like for instance when they're actually inventing something that the community benefits from, or making the world more aesthetic.
Mostly they're designing ads for nike of some shit like that.
Thus I'd rate my possible future profession as important as door to door vacuum cleaner sellers.

I'm confused now. If you get rid of the waiters who do you leave the tip for?

You just don't, if that's the reply that you weren't expecting.

[censor]

Now that I understand what you're asking...all job positions could be used in war. As intelligence or disinformation if nothing else. Can you imagine how a well-placed waiter dropping arsenic in the enemy commander's drink could help out? But he would obviously lose out on his tip, though. So I don't know.

Ironic replies need no applying. Enough of them on a daily basis.

Oh, I figured it out already. The waitress.

Yeah, but what if the waiter starts taking himself seriously? The cook always calls the shots, the same as the film director who always has the last word.

not a problem. I can fix that.

false sir, all false

waiters & WAITRESSES in particular are essential for entertaining the troops when they are on leave. you've never seen das boot?

web designers would work in the propaganda effort-- spewing information for civilians-- we all know that the internet was designed to survive in the case of nuclear attack.

ticket collector -- what kind are these? "tickets please"??

taxman - we all know war runs on taxes. no taxes = no war. maybe a good case to get rid of them in the first place.

intellectuals - let's kill them all now. actually, some of them could be put to good work in intelligence, dealing with translations, and what not. and more propaganda of course.

teachers - somebody has to instruct those motherfucking soldiers in proper communications and all sorts of death-supporting skills, such as embalming... but anyway, the troops need teachers. besides, if the war becomes protracted, someone has to train the next generation of little goons.

coppers - ?? cops? they prevent looting.

musicians - musicians are like whores-- they are needed to keep the troops happy.

you - who are the troops going to fight for if not for their queen???

Then the cook needs to study the old Hollywood system to keep them in line. And create as many jobs as possible that handles an order from when it's being made up to when it's seved and after. Have one waiter do the drink order. Another one do the food order. A different one bring the orders. Plus the busboy and the different waiter who handles the check. That'll keep the serious waiter in check.

Today i'm feeling flippant and belligerent (yeah, right), but here comes home worker with a cuppa tea in his brain. No smiley unless i quoted your long mini-operetta, so says the internet (gmku).

*&&%%$

I would say everyone is useful in the event of war.

Great.

You get me all worked up into a blood lust frenzy and now that I'm ready to go out war piggin' you start talking about tea.

I'm a philosophy student so I suppose an intellectual in training?

But also I have loads of backpacking experience and other semi-useful survival knowledge from boy scouts so I got the guerilla warfare edge down.

useless people in society are those only out for their own personal gain as an abuse of power.

that and oasis cover bands.

Anyone who works in Advertising or Marketing.

Middle management.
Journalists.
Writers.
The PA for the MD where I work.
'Team Leaders'
'Human Resources'
Golf club members
Anti-smokers.
Vegetarians (of the feral kind)
Feminists who aren't feminists.
etc.

I would have said advertising or marketing people, but those people could simply switch over to the vital wartime necessity known as Propaganda.

no one is useless, everyone means something to someone. I think people living on benefits because they are lazy are pretty close to being useless though.

I have to stop starting threads of this kind. The general response is exactly what makes me thing that some people should have their means of communication disabled.

Steady on, that sounds like Pol Pot talk.

Useless people, eh?

Well, let's get rid of YOU.

Then ME.

Then THEM.

and just leave it to the animals to fight out who should stay.

This post was brought to you by the letters: MEH.

Hmmm, yeah, meh.

sarramkrop - I am the ultimate MEH. So MEH me up, hot stuff.

Perhaps your dissatisfaction with this thread's responses stems from the fact that the topic you proposed is uninteresting.

Personally I think that, with the exception of your posts, this thread has been fairly amusing.

:fuckyou:

guston - Kennst du, was du darueber sprichst? Glaub' ich, dass du keine Ahnung von nichts hast, also es waere gut sein, wenn du deine Mund haltest, oder?

Irony!

You really offended me with that, you really did.

I always have to ask you what you mean because i don't get you. What do you mean?

First, I was making light of sitting around talking about how intellectuals sit around talking.

But also I wanted to make the point that the organizing leadership would need to consist of intellectuals as you can't just make an army. One needs to orgnaize and strategize it which are jobs of the intellect. It's complacent intellectuals that are the useless ones.

I'm a teacher and would therefore - by definition - be entirely useless in a military situation. Unless it meant organising gallery visits for the troops.

I think I would blossom in a military situation.