MetaChat - Think you've got it bad in this recession?

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28 January 2009

Think you've got it bad in this recession? →[More:]
It could be worse, much worse. You could be one of these poor women.

My heart bleeds for them, it truly does.

post by: essexjan at: 11:36 | 25 comments

Yikes. I started laughing as I read, and then I wanted to throw up so I had to stop.

posted by typewriter 28 January | 11:44

It's amazing the way the NYTimes can take serious topics (the stress of work affecting romantic relatioships, support groups, fear in a bad economy) and make it sound so stpuid.

posted by ThePinkSuperhero 28 January | 11:46

Weird, I was just reading about this article on Salon.

posted by gaspode 28 January | 11:50

Revolution. Backs. Wall. First.

posted by dersins 28 January | 11:50

Well, second maybe, after the bankers themselves.

posted by dersins 28 January | 11:50

From the article: Another, though, seemed chagrined, after her boyfriend told her to “grow up” and stop “complaining about vacations and dinner” since he had to “fire 20 people by the end of the week.”

Hope for this banker, but probably not his girlfriend.

posted by typewriter 28 January | 11:53

It's true, the Times loves "condemn the rich!" stories.

Still, these women are gross.

posted by Miko 28 January | 11:57

Was this written in 1959? Christ, get a life of your own.

posted by octothorpe 28 January | 11:58

This article was physically painful to read.

The only thing worse than reading about people like this is being people like this.

Where is ImprovEverywhere when you need them?

posted by Lipstick Thespian 28 January | 12:02

I liked this in the Salon article: ". . . but I am not heartless. I realize that couples who are used to a certain lifestyle will inevitably encounter relationship problems when the money train gets derailed, and that even wildly overprivileged people are entitled to vent about their relatively insignificant hardships."

These recession-chic articles in the Times are really yucky. It really degrades the rest of the stuff they publish.

posted by crush-onastick 28 January | 12:08

That's a joke. It's got to be a joke. Somebody's poking a little fun. Right?

posted by ColdChef 28 January | 12:44

That's what I was thinking, CC. It's ridiculous to the point of self-parody. Suspiciously so.

posted by jonmc 28 January | 12:54

ColdChef, that's what I thought! I'm still wondering.

posted by taz 28 January | 12:54

*aghast*

posted by Specklet 28 January | 13:02

I totally stole this and put it on MetaFilter. Because this economy has made me cutthroat. And also, I literally forgot in four minutes where I had seen this posted. I am an idiot.

posted by ColdChef 28 January | 13:02

the repercussions could be acute for Wall Street wunderkinds who define their identities through their job titles and the size of their bonuses.

I had to stop reading after that. I gotta work, people, not laugh all day!

posted by lysdexic 28 January | 13:29

Damnit.

Where did I put the world's smallest violin?

Hey, has anyone seen my violin?

posted by jason's_planet 28 January | 13:41

I ate your violin.

Also, ugh, ladies, get a life.

posted by dabitch 28 January | 15:59

Revolution. Backs. Wall. First.

Well, second maybe, after the bankers themselves.

You could take the view that the men only got into these positions so they could obtain women like this.

posted by Eideteker 28 January | 16:21

or like the commander in Full Metal Jacket, you could take the position that the blame for the stae of the world is "a big shit sanwich and we're all gonna have to take a bite."

That would something approaching honesty.

posted by jonmc 28 January | 16:37

Step 1: Slip into a dress and heels. Step 2: Sip a cocktail and wait your turn to talk. Step 3: Pour your heart out. Repeat as needed.

They change clothes for each round?

“One of his best friends told me that my job is now to keep him calm and keep him from dying at the age of 35,” Ms. Davis said. “It’s not what I signed up for.”

The nerve of people suggesting that a marriage entails taking care of the other person. That part in the vows about sickness, health, richer, poorer, etc. wasn't literal.

Sorry, that's about as far as I could make it through the article.

posted by trinity8-director 28 January | 17:35

It really degrades the rest of the stuff they publish.

It's the Style section, fahpetesake.

The Times has a long history of publishing this type of article that has a sort of Janus-like appeal. On the one hand it's "about" a certain class of Times reader and thus likely to sell papers. On the other hand the Times reporter can barely conceal their mirth or contempt for the subject (i.e. the people). In the best cases, like this one, the people don't even realize they're being held up for ridicule.

posted by stilicho 28 January | 17:42

Yep, and they even did it to MeFites once. ;)

posted by Miko 28 January | 17:44

How could we forget? :-P

posted by ThePinkSuperhero 28 January | 19:31

All I can think of is the Tracy Ullman sketch where she plays the rich woman who cheated her best friend out of a million dollar lotto ticket years before. She meets up with the friend (who is dirt poor and miserable) years later and she wails mournfully to her "You don't know my pain! I can't my horse to canter!!!".

Wah, your boyfriend stopped golfing. *rolls eyes*

posted by evilcupcakes 28 January | 22:57

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