Education / Schools, Videos

Lawyer Asks Teacher What He Makes And Had To Listen To Some Dumb Poem

Viral video making the rounds defends the honor of teachers by implying lawyers are worthless. Screw that.

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This video — which is actually about 12 years old — started making the rounds over the last couple of days. It’s probably wound its way onto your Facebook feed if you’re still reading Facebook and have any friends who are teachers. It’s usually accompanied with a headline like “A Lawyer Asked This Teacher What He Makes – BIG Mistake,” hoping to entice the lawyer-hating populace into clicking on some tale of a teacher putting some elitist lawyer in his place.

With poetry.

Well that should learn ’em.

Seriously though, kudos to teachers for what they do, but this video reeks of such smug self-satisfaction and unnecessary anti-elitist tripe. Not to channel my inner Col. Jessup, but before you bash lawyers this guy needs to step back and realize he wants us on that wall.

Nay, he needs us on that wall….

The video is from the first season of Def Poetry Jam, and features teacher-cum-poet Taylor Mali recounting a dinner party where some lawyer made fun of teachers. Was this guy a dick? Probably. But why call out the fact that he was a lawyer as opposed to just being a dick? Because Mali can then exploit the same manner of small-minded professional prejudices that devalue teachers to get cheap yuks devaluing dirty, shyster lawyers. Ugh.

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Great. Teachers make a difference. Make no mistake about what follows, I endorse the crux of Mali’s defense of the value of educators. But let’s take up the explicit challenge he leaves us with — what do lawyers make?

How are you enjoying that whole “civilized society” thing you live in?

Well, you’re f**king welcome!

That’s what we make.

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You want murderers off the streets? If you’re comfortable with arbitrary armed vigilante squads roaming the streets meting out ill-considered retribution, well then enjoy Somalia. Or Florida. Otherwise we’re both sides of the coin of criminal justice. And as troubled as it may be, it’s better than Judge Dredd. At least the Stallone version.

Someone poisoned your water? Tried to profit off your misery? Cheated you out of your business? Do you have a way to get these resolved without lawyers? We’d absolutely love to hear it.

Lawyers desegregated the South. Lawyers are winning marriage equality. If you haven’t seen a lot of child labor around, don’t bother thanking us — we got you.

We make every goddamned plotline on Law and Order. That’s what we make.

Not every lawyer is enriching the fabric of society. See Donald Sterling. Neither is every teacher. But, if someone thinks either profession isn’t overall “making” something, well screw them.

Teachers and lawyers are valuable to society. That’s what separates us from poets.[1]

A Lawyer Asked This Teacher What He Makes. BIG Mistake. [Twisted Sifter]


[1] Except Qui Tam, of course. That guy’s cool.
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