Originally Posted by punkgrrrlie10

Very rarely do CEOs have all the ligaments in their legs torn out at one point and rarely do people run into them so hard that the black out. At most they get that nasty paper cut.

Originally Posted by *FARTINMOWLER*

They (professional atheletes) perform magical feats for your entertainment and you pay a huge sum as a form of insurance that if injured they won't have to suffer. Ceo's? have nothing to do with the american dream.

Originally Posted by AChimp

I think the distinction between the two comes from the fact that the "evil CEO" has a real job, whereas athletes get paid to run around and play catch.

Originally Posted by AChimp

I think the distinction between the two comes from the fact that the "evil CEO" has a real job, whereas athletes get paid to run around and play catch.

Originally Posted by Dr. Boogie

I apologize. To even the score, I'll make a few vague generalizations of my own:

Americans do not "forgive" corporate raiders more readily than pro athletes. Just because you (ArtificialBrandon) are hearing all about Kobe's rape trial instead of Martha Stewart's legal troubles does not mean that Americans have forgiven the aforementioned embezzlers.

They also consider said rich white man to be greedy.

Originally Posted by ArtificialBrandon

You had to go and nitpick, didn't you? You agreed with my goddamn statements but you nitpicked anyway. First Boogie gets his panties in a bunch over "we" and now you're here requiring a scientific poll of all americans.

I FIGURED, for the purposes of an INFORMAL discussion, that I could get away with a broad term like "Americans" because not only does it imply "the majority of" or "in general," but most of us could probably name at least a handful of people in our own lives who grumble about pro athletes.

BUT TELL YOU WHAT. Next time I even THINK of hitting the "Post New Topic" button, I'll present a years worth of research in specific language and excruciating detail, JUST SO I WON'T UPSET YOUR DELICATE SENSIBILITES, MMK?

Originally Posted by punkgrrrlie10

So who are these "americans" you speak of that think they are greedy? Again a generalization probably on a sampling of people that you have been exposed to rather than a diverse sampling of people that represent the spectrum.

Originally Posted by ArtificialBrandon

Yes, yes, I know. I'm just saying--Americans can seem to forgive corrupt embezzlers more readily than corrupt athletes.

Originally Posted by Dr. Boogie

Dude, what the hell? Athletes get their fair share of relaxed laws. Not as much of course; they're pulling down pro athlete money, not billionaire embezzler money.

Originally Posted by Dr. Boogie

And who's this "we" that aren't calling corporate robber barons greedy?

Originally Posted by ArtificialBrandon

If you stop and think about it, professional athletes, even moreso than our precious CEOs, have truly made it into wealth through their own talents and efforts. But we scorn them. We call them greedy. Meanwhile, we cut tremendous amounts of slack to the corporate robber-barons who delude, suck money out of, and generally ass rape the majority of the country.