Manto is an idiot

No surprises here, but in the interests of gaining as many Google hits as possible for this story, here it is.

Open letter to anyone who wishes to sell me insurance

To whom it may concern

Over the last year or so, I have received more phone calls from people of your ilk than I care to count. In the interests of saving both of us some time, allow me to make a few things clear:

1. Yes, I know and understand that your phone calls are recorded for quality assurance purposes, as well as my protection. I also know that this really means that the calls are being recorded so that your manager can listen to them later to make sure you’re not spending company resources on personal calls. If any query were to arise, I’m fairly certain the recording of the conversation will have been “lost”.

2. I’m well aware that your employer is an authorised financial services provider. While that’s an impressive sounding title, I’m sure they are not authorised to harass their clients by incessantly trying to sell them snake oil. But I know that’s not your fault, you’re just doing your job - like the Nazi soldiers who led the Jews to their demise in the gas chambers of Auschwitz.

3. I already have enough insurance.

4. I know that you’re not trying to sell me a replacement to any pre-existing policies I may have, but rather an additional coverage in the event of my death/illness/maiming/alien abduction or other unfortunate event.

5. I still have enough insurance.

6. I know that the nominal fee of X is a small price to pay for the peace of mind that comes from the knowledge that my loved ones will be taken care of in the event of my death/illness/maiming/alien abduction or other unfortunate event. This is why I am already paying said amount to another service provider – for that exact peace of mind.

7. I still have enough insurance.

I hope that once you have perused the above points, you will realise there is no point in phoning me. Unless you have some wildly different product that I may not already have bought - but the odds of that are quasistatic.

Feel free to just cross me off your list, and don’t bother picking up the phone. Just find yourself a real job, and stop being a soulless, corporate talking head.

Yours sincerely (and hopefully)

Love,
Owen

Overpopulation

I don't buy it. Not one bit. The idea that there are more people living on Earth than can be sustained by Earth's resources is ridiculous.

If you have a glass that can hold 200ml of water, how do you fit 300ml of water into it? You don't.

If you fill it up to the top, it will overflow... The glass' capacity can simply not be exceeded. Any additional water you try to pour in will simply end up on the table, or the floor.

The Earth has a finite amount of chemical resources that can be used to support human life. Once those resources are spent, additional human lives will not be possible: pregnant woemn who do not have sufficient nutrition will be unable to carry their children to term... There will simply not be enough chemical matter from which to construct a new human body.

There CANNOT be more people alive in the world than Earth's resources can sustain. It's simple physics!

This is a separate issue from that of quality of life for those in poverty-stricken areas. There is no excuse for some people to live in the lap of luxury while others live on the brink of starvation. But that doesn't diminish the fact that no human being can live beyond the brink for longer than a few days.

Overpopulation is a myth.