Times-Union Letters-04-15-1999

Letters to the Editor 04-15-1999

- Megamurderers - Thanks - Waitress

Megamurderers

Editor, Times-Union:
As our nation wages an undeclared war on Yugoslavia, we need to be reminded of nine people who make Yugoslavian dictator Slobodan Milosevic look like an angel. These nine people bear ultimate responsibility for the non-war deaths of 124,736,000 million people, who were slaughtered under their regimes.

Megamurderers of the 20th Century:

Megamurderer Country Death Toll

1. Joseph Stalin USSR 42,672,000

2. Mao Tse-Tung China 37,828,000

3. Adolf Hitler Germany 20,946,000

4. Chiang Kai-shek China 10,214,000

5. Vladmir Illich Lenin USSR 4,017,000

6. Tojo Hideki Japan 3,990,000

7. Pol Pot Cambodia 2,397,000

8. Yahya Khan Pakistan 1,500,000

9. Josip Broz Tito Yugoslavia 1,172,000

All but one of these megamurderers, Yahya Khan, practiced the extreme brand of social engineering known as totalitarian or revolutionary socialism in one form or another. Five of them were Communists (Stalin, Tse-Tung, Lenin, Pol Pot and Tito) who were often praised in academic and media circles for their policies. One of these megamurderers, Adolf Hitler, was a National Socialist (Nazi) who escaped punishment by shooting himself in the mouth to avoid capture from advancing Soviet troops. One megamurderer, Yahya Khan, is virtually unknown in the United States, let alone for his murderous policies. Chiang Kai-shek founded one of Asia's leading democracies, the modern nation of Taiwan, after he was defeated by Mao Tse-Tung's Chinese Communists in 1949. Only one was punished by an international tribunal, Tojo Hideki was formally charged on April 29, 1946, and hanged on December 23, 1948. This only happened because his nation was on the losing side in World War II. In other words, the victors in a conflict put on trial and execute the defeated for war crimes. A somewhat shaky legal and moral basis for bringing justice to megamurderers.

Alex Houze, Leesburg

Thanks

Editor, Times-Union:
We would like to publicly thank Kosciusko County REMC for restoring power to the area north of Leesburg after the storm damage on Saturday night. They worked into the wee hours of the morning to replace electric poles and downed wires after the roof to our cattle barn was lifted off and deposited across the road and into the yard of the Bells, one piece of which went through a plate glass window into their living room.

We were so thankful there was no one home at the time. We take so much for granted when we flip a switch but we really can grumble when the power isn't there. So, thanks again to the hard working people at REMC who go out in all kinds of weather to make us all a little more comfortable. Many thanks!

Tom Farms & Melissa Bell family

Waitress

Editor, Times-Union:
I was in a local restaurant this week and I couldn't help overhearing a table in the same section complain of their waitress. The food was taking a little longer, so they were giving her a hard time as if it were her fault. They had complained to the manager and even did not tip her.

Let me start by saying that I wait tables and know exactly what she was going through. There was a wait of at least 45 minutes and this restaurant was packed to the gills. When a restaurant is full, you can't expect the food to come out as quickly. It's definitely going to take longer. If you want fast food, that is why there are fast food restaurants.

This server also had a full station of at least four tables and at least six to eight people at each table. She went from table to table to see what was needed and did an excellent job of accommodating them. Sometimes it's rough waiting on that many tables when everyone is demanding something. Or a table seems to think that they are the only ones there, causing extra trips to the table. Or they're mad because someone forgot their ID's, so they, who did not bring it, can't get served alcohol. It's not the server's fault that they have to card. They do not know the real age of each person. It's the law to check and make sure that a person is old enough to drink. Your server can get fined or even fired for not doing that part of the job.

Most servers only get $2.19 an hour. For whatever reason they are waiting tables for schooling or to support a family, etc. Some people think that a restaurant should pay their waiters and waitresses instead of having to tip them. If that should happen, people wouldn't care about what kind of service that they would give you. Because whether you left happy or not they'd still get paid. But working for 15 to 20 percent gratuity on a bill makes a server more concentrated on trying to make your table get what it needs because they depend on that money. Also, if they started paying servers a higher amount, food prices would be driven up in order to compensate that pay. It's already expensive enough to eat out.

Waiting tables can be a very hard job. It can be enjoyable or it can be so rough depending on your customers' attitudes. But if you can't give someone a little slack about a busy night, maybe you should try waiting on tables.

Stephanie Leek, Warsaw