Here's the thing, all you people with two jobs and sixty hour work weeks and no nice things -- you ARE the 99%, no matter what you say.

dontspamjay · 7 months

Can we please stop boasting or complaining about our personal backgrounds.

OWS should be about companies that are too big to fail. They got bailed out of this mess and it was because of their connections with government. If you don't have a government connection that will enact policy meant to benefit you, then you are part of the 99%.

It doesn't matter if you have student loan debt or are independently wealthy. If the government isn't writing policy to help you attain or preserve wealth, then you are the 99%.

EDIT: If the protesters were organized and had this as their message (without the lame signs about their problems) they would get more support.

verbose_gent · 7 months

But, I'm going to be rich one day.

IPGDVFT · 7 months

Okay, without taking sides, I'm gonna try and clear up this whole "You are still the 99%" 'debate' that has been going on for a few weeks.

The phrases within the movement of "we the 99%, ..." are lumping people into a movement based upon their socioeconomic status. There are people within the 99% that don't agree with the messages of the OWS movement (or haven't heard a compelling reason as to why they should support it), so they decided to make their voices heard. Instead of debating about what their issues are with the movement we continue to see posts and comments similar to this one. To sum it up:

Person 1: I'm not part of the 99% (movement)

Person A: But by definition you are part of the 99% of America.

BomanTheBear · 7 months

I have an amazing, high-paying job with awesome benefits at the age of 24.

And I support these protests wholeheartedly. I've been at my city's occupy movement every minute I can be.

STGItsMe · 7 months

I think the point is that while statistically they're part of the 99%, they don't support the movement.

Its like the libertarians Smallest Political Quiz. Just because they say you're with them doesn't mean you actually are.

Heapofcrap45 · 7 months

I'm just saying that our American culture is unique and abrasive in a way. We don't accept for the most part that people have been dealt a bad lot in life. We like to say well I have this, this, this, and this because of all of this hard work that I did. But they don't take into account many times the things that were endowed on them at birth. I am referring to parental status; quality of school; social group of friends at a young age; and even teachers that they had as children. I think my point is we need a little more empathy towards people who haven't "made it" in our eyes. Not so much disdain for them.

stilesja · 7 months

I make 100k and my wife makes 70k. By all accounts we do pretty well for ourselves. My wife has 80k in student loans, I have zero. I don't come from wealth, I've just been lucky and made some smart decisions. I am the first person in my family to ever go to college and I loved computers. I got in during the .com bubble and survived it. Our only major debts are now the student loan and mortgage, plus the nearly $2500 per month in child care expenses which allows us to both work (our largest expense by far).

We are still the 99% I know that if the people who don't have it as good I do, were doing better then I would better too. And my tax rate is certainly higher than my CEO.

lillebusy · 7 months

The stoic hard workers are indeed the 99%, but they don't support the protests.

Explain the issues clearly and persuasively and maybe you will get some recruits.

Insults will not and cannot help the protest movement, so stop doing it.

7 months

[deleted]

siouxsie_sioux · 7 months

I have a friend who is unsure where he lands on this issue because he's convinced that if rich people suffer he will be out of a job (he's a carpenter). I told him that the rich people he's talking about are also getting screwed over (in our hometown there are no billionaires, if you make 200K you are fucking loaded). He is blinded by the fact that he's grateful to have work at all. He is afraid that if anything upsets the apple cart then he'll be the first one kicked off. I think this might explain some people not getting on board with the OWS thing. They are afraid that if the richest people are denied what they want then they will take it out on everyone else.

BennJordan · 7 months

I'm in no way arguing that things aren't messed up in this country politically and fiscally. But in my meek opinion, a group of upper-middle class white kids claiming to be the ambassador for people in poverty and working class families is embarrassing.

surfnsound · 7 months

I may be in the 99%, but that doesn't give you the right to assume you speak for me.

rafuzo2 · 7 months

People who are denying they are in the 99% aren't refuting the statistics; they're saying something very simple, that apparently you're unable to grasp:

YOU DON'T REPRESENT US. WE DIDN'T ASK YOU TO SPEAK FOR US. WE DON'T WANT TO BE INVOLVED WITH YOU.

Because of statements like the one you make here. You've unilaterally declared that, in effect, if we're not all sipping on daiquiris in caymans, or rearranging furniture in our penthouse apartments, we're just "getting by", or "surviving". Because you've decided on what the bar is for happiness, you've alienated most of the people you claim to represent. In reality, the only people you represent are those who feel they are owed something by their fellow man, whether it's health care, a nice car or something to eat. And that's why, proportionally speaking, these protests don't rise above just a few hundred people camped out in comfortable parks. And while the truly downtrodden starve and die just a few blocks down the road, you're posting about it on reddit and facebook and whatever.

I only accidentally saw this post when I was logging in; thanks for reminding me why I unsubb'ed from r/politics in the first place.

mkmasterson · 7 months

"life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" is not in any legal document in the United States. Im ready to get downvoted to oblivion but I just wanted to make this fact clear.

shaftian · 7 months

When historians write about the early 21st century, it will be the time when investment bankers saw the light go from green to yellow and they are flooring it before it turns red.

Nate1492 · 7 months

Problem is, the '99%' don't actually represent what everyone not in the 1% actually want or think.

What you are insinuating is that we should be able to work less, get more, and have a better life because we deserve it.

Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness also doesn't mean you demand other people give you their money.

People that support the '99%' need to realize just how good the bottom 10% actually have it ANYWHERE in the western world. Take a trip to South America, Central America, Africa, Asia, most of Eastern Europe...

At least in the US you have a chance of a reasonable life.

And please, don't even pull that "mere survival" crap. You want mere survival? Go check out what barely surviving actually is, take a trip to a country where being impoverished means you simply die.

Look at humans throughout history. We've got it pretty good in the US, no matter what you want to paint. Could we improve the US? HELL YEAH. No one is suggesting the US is perfect, it is far from perfect. But it certainly isn't the 7th level of hell that it is being made out to be.

I just think it's a shame that the "99%" has to bully opinions on people. This entire post just stinks of bullying an opinion on someone. You can damn well be sure that 99% of the population doesn't agree with the protests and claiming as such is disingenuous of the rights of the people that you are implying are inalienable.

I'll probably get downvoted for speaking my mind, but I hardly care. I'm not part of the top 1% earners, but I for damn sure don't agree that we need sweeping and vast wealth distribution. I for damn sure don't agree that the US lower class is terrible. I'm not blind, I can form my own opinion by comparing other countries. I know how good the US has it IN COMPARISON to other countries AND the history of the human race.

TL:DR The US ain't perfect, but it sure as heck beats 90% of the world and 99% of the history of the human race.

(Ain't and heck are not really good words, but F it).

chucko326 · 7 months

What if you graduated from college, got one job, and are able to comfortably live within your means without acquiring debt or blaming other people for your station in life?

skintigh · 7 months

I make good money, live below my means, not in debt. Ergo, I should be calling people childish names like "socialist" and "communist" right?

Wrong. I am capable of thinking about other people, and feeling for them. It's called having empathy and a heart.

I am also capable at looking at what has happened to the country in terms of upward mobility and income inequality http://www.businessinsider.com/what-wall-street-protesters-are-so-angry-about-2011-10?op=1

But somehow it seems the majority of conservative Americans are incapable of either empathy or reading economic indicators and would rather call names.

scamper_22 · 7 months

yeah, we're small subsection of that 99% that knows:

basic math and knows that there is not enough money to take from rich people to somehow make your life better. There are too few rich people. Spread that throughout 300 million Americans or 7 billion people world wide in the case of global corporations... and it doesn't work out to very much.
If you want food, there has to be farm workers working for food. The more you pay them, the higher the cost of food. This is the same for every other good/service you want. You want healthcare, but don't think about the amount of money it costs to pay doctors and nurses and pharmacists and researchers... you want education... but don't think about the cost of college professors, unions...

Yes, the system is freaking broken. No argument from me. But the top 1% is a distraction. While the OWS folks are out there ranting about free stuff and hating on the rich, the rest of us who keep society going have to be the responsible ones. The engineers, the farmers, the warehouse workers, the nurses, doctors, restaurant folks...

I have 0 interest in more government.
I have 0 interest in giving more power to public sector unions, bureacuracy... I have 0 interest in people who think we should all get more welfare... but none of these folks would work on our farms producing the food we eat. I have 0 interest in people who have never run anything... even a small pizza store (bureaucracies don't count) who think they have any answers on how the world should run. I have 0 interest in big government, big bailout, big finance, big unions...

Yes the system in broken. Yes, there are ways we can try to fix it. No, pretty much everything the OWS are proposing is going to make things worse... not better.

So please... I'll gladly join a general 'this system is broken' movement. When the tea party and the OWS march next to each other... I'll join. Both see the system as broken.

Am_I_Normal · 7 months

You're still in the 99%

You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.

A percentage envelopes all those that fall within. You could be upper middle class and be very wealthy in the top 10% and still be of the 99%.

DavidVanPatten · 7 months

You do realize that 99% isn't just some arbitrary term designed to segregate financiers from everyone else? If you make $250k+ then you are a top 1% earner.

When I started up my career in finance I was working 70+ hour weeks. I was too busy to rearrange furniture in my non existent penthouse but as a categorical fact, I was in the top 1%

realmfer · 7 months

I'm statistically in the 99%, but I also lead a happy life. Is that not possible unless you are part of the 1%? In fact I feel like I earn too much money for what little work I do.

workpuppy · 7 months

There is nothing that irritates me more than someone telling me what I believe in. I largely agree with OWS, and the parts where I don't, it's mostly just method, rather than ideology.

However, when you start this "You're one of us no matter what you think" shit, it gets my back up and makes me less inclined to support you.

iamnotatroll · 7 months

Why stop there? Hell, if you have to have two working adults full time making 75k a piece, you are the 99 percent. If you have to lift a finger to earn money you are the 99 percent? Where does it stop?

DefinitelyRelephant · 7 months

life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness

Life is easy enough.

Liberty as interpreted by the Supreme Court.

And the pursuit of happiness, bro. I'm not sure where or when you got that confused with the guarantee of happiness.

You can pursue and pursue and pursue that shit until you work yourself into an early grave. But that's all.

Welcome to America.

Don't like it?

Do something about it.

I'll give you some free advice: The 1% don't give a fuck about you. They never will. So think about that the next time you're wasting your time in some futile protest.

You ask me, nothing's going to change until a lot of very fat rich old white fuckers get dragged out of their offices bleeding and screaming.

lowrads · 7 months

I've met that description most of my life, but there is still something different between me and you, something you've overlooked.

Most of the time, when I am making a client happy, or a contractor happy, or even just trying to piss off the fewest people that day, I'm not thinking about the money. I care about what I do. What gets me through from the beginning of the job to the end is knowing that the final outcome is satisfactory. The money just lets me do more of what I did yesterday, today. It's not just a hindrance that gets tacked on at the end, but it legitimately forces me to make decisions, and to measure whether or not what I do is immediately sustainable.

I care about what I do, because what I do is interesting to me. I'm never bored by the world. Every part of it holds something interesting. I have never discovered any use for drawing any categorical distinction between things that are profane and things that are sacred. Everything and every process in the world is at least as much one as the other. I don't even understand things better by making them simple, because I am myself a product of complexity. I have no use for reductionism except as a calculating tool.

A lot of people I know don't care about anything. Consequently, they barely care about themselves. Even when I was working for other people, which is not fundamentally different than having a hundred bosses, I was driven to pursue a goal that only I could see. Going to two hundred random job interviews only puts you in the process to be meet a trivial or irritating aspect of someone else's goals. Open yourself to the world, to the people around you and you will find your own goals. At that point, the difficulties of mere existence can only slow you down. It's not easy to look at other people, to think of their abilities and their problems, and then ask "What can I do?" but it can be practiced.

We may be the 1%, but we wouldn't be if you'd join us. Are you planning to make a world where that is even possible?

monstereddit · 7 months

Why does sipping daiquiris in the Cayman islands or re-arranging furniture in your penthouse indicate a broken system? To me, it indicates a goal to achieve...This is genuinely not sarcasm, I need help on this one.

SubjectionBase · 7 months

Why do you guys always drift from the argument :) I mean, to be fair, only the top 400 people have more than the rest of the earths population. That's 0.01%..and you understand the concept money is power? They can control information and manipulate markets. That is not fair when people across the earth is starving, even if you adhere to 'the strongest survive' philosophy. You're right about beeing lucky to be able to buy smartphones and materialistic stuff if you compare to a war and famine-ridden country, but you are far from lucky if the board is beeing tilted against you from birth. We need to act before we are willingly turned into slaves because of the notion that 'You are lucky as long as you don't starve.' That is a basic human right we have been conditioned to forget :) Sry for typo, not native language.

Popular-Uprising- · 7 months

I may be in the 99% demographically, but I am not aligned with the OWS movement in any way.

sixgears2 · 7 months

Am I the only one who is actually content with waking up in the morning, working hard, and going home? I don't make much money, but I enjoy working, I enjoy paying my family's bills, and I enjoy the satisfaction that comes with going home at the end of the day and knowing that even if I didn't make enough to buy a private island I at least did right by my family. I don't need vast amounts of money to be happy. In fact, I'm not even sure I'd want that much money since all it does is corrupt and drag down otherwise good men (which is exactly what we're seeing these days). I don't want someone being forced to hand me money simply because we live in an imperfect system or someone thinks they "earn too much," nor do I want to be painted as a member of a group who does want that. I'm content, and I feel genuinely sorry for those of you who seem to have fallen into the trap of forever wanting more. That's a long, hard road to walk and I think you'll find that when you reach the end there's nothing there. Contentment and happiness have nothing to do with how much you have or will have in the future, it has to do with your ability to do the best you can with what you're given in an imperfect world.

Most of you sound like entitled little brats whining about how hard you have to work and how unfair everything is. Time to wake up. Nothing in this world is fair. Never has been, never will be. No amount of moaning or protesting or crying is going to change that no matter how much you want it to. You can spend your days pining for a utopian tomorrow that will never come or you can come to grips with the fact that there's honor and satisfaction to be had in hard work regardless of whether or not it'll ever get you into society's upper echelon. I'm sure that statement is going to be downvoted by all the self-righteous, statistics-spewing rebels out there, but I don't care. Life is life. Work hard, get as far as you can with what you've been given, take advantage of the opportunities you do have, and be content with what you've got along the way. Rich man or peasant, owner or laborer, when I look back at my life all I want to see is that I happily did what I had to for my family and myself and that I worked with dignity in a harsh system that wanted to break me and couldn't. The rich can keep their money, I'll hang on to my pride.

As for the argument about only being one catastrophe away from ruin, I can't deny that sucks. But the world's an unpredictable place and looking for certainty in an environment that is more or less completely uncertain won't accomplish anything other than mental damage. It sounds like most of you are looking for some sort of all-encompassing insurance policy that just simply can't exist in this world. You never know what lies ahead, so all you can do is the best you can with the time you've got and hope, pray, and trust that you'll be okay. It's a scary world out there for most people (myself included), but that's the nature of existence and always has been. No amount of tax shifting or wealth redistribution is going to change the chaotic, dangerous jumble that we call life. I can appreciate and even admire the notion that everyone should be protected from financial calamity, but it isn't feasible. I've got my faith, I've got my family, and outside of that all I can do is hang on for the ride and hope I don't hit a tree. Wanting anything more is simply unreasonable.

I say stop bitching and cowboy up. Happiness and contentment are choices, not destinations. If you can't accept that... well, it's going to be a long life.

SovereignGFC · 7 months

There is a tendency among people: the more successful you are, the more you attribute that success solely or mostly to your personal virtues and work ethic while ignoring the impact of connections, education, (parents') money and dumb luck.

Therefore, it's easy to rationalize that "If people were more like me, they'd do well." Yes, if they had your parents, your education, your luck, your skills and your connections, they would be--they'd be you.

sobebop · 7 months

I am most def 99%. I recently worked 2 FT jobs; 80 hr weeks for 6 months, allowing my family of 5 to get even. I developed hypertension, my BP was well above 140, working both jobs. It was literally killing me. I am back down to 40 hr weeks; BP is below 130 again. Not sure if it was worth it. We are better financially, and I didn't die. Winning?

boomHeadSh0t · 7 months

What if I have:
- One job
- 45 hour work week
- No debt
- Very average salary splitting my apartment with a friend

What % am I? My life is pretty alright tbh

wearethelost · 7 months

Reuse paper towels? Everyone knows you get free napkins at taco bell.

someguynamedg · 7 months

Its very sad that the American Dream has turned into "I work my ass off just to feed and clothe myself".

aequitas_veritas · 7 months

I'm happy with my life.

qrichi · 7 months

I dont think sipping daiquiris at the Cayman islands and rearranging furniture in penthouse apartment is a convincing argument...sounds more like the 1%.... that's all stuff we dont really need. Other than that, agree. BROKEN SYSTEM

mara_jade · 7 months

I support OWS. I earned my bachelor's degree from a state school in 2008 and after three years have climbed the ladder into upper management. However, if I lost my job who knows how long it would take me to find another one. With student loan payments, rent, and extensive medical bills I would not be able to stay afloat. I think everyone should support OWS simply because I think people should have empathy for their fellow man. Everyone should be able to live comfortably, be employed, and be able to support their families. Just because I am lucky enough to be employed doesn't mean I'm better than anyone else.

[deleted] · 7 months

You're still in the 99%, because you're not sipping daiquiris in the Cayman islands or re-arranging furniture in your penthouse apartment

This is the standard by which we judge oppression now? You all make me sick.

It's a sign of a BROKEN SYSTEM

No, its not. The fact that some of us made responsible choices, saved and scrimped and succeeded is a sign of a working system. Theres a reason all the "I'm not the 99%" signs have a B.S., and all the "I AM the 99%" signs have a B.A.

RedRackum · 7 months

You're doing it wrong (or did it wrong) if you work 60 hours a week and are having trouble surviving.

pricklypete · 7 months

The richest people in the world don't have jobs. You show me someone with two or more jobs... and they are poor. Since when did having a job become the pinnacle of human existence? I remember something civil rights activist Dick Gregory said that changed my life: "If you wake up and go to a job, then you don't believe in God."

2league23 · 7 months

Part of the 99% and still not a fuck given.

Mullinator · 7 months

All I can say is this:

If the average American believes nothing is wrong with working 70 hours a week and only being able to support yourself, then the American Dream is dead.

Diffie-Hellman · 7 months

Um, I have a job, nice things, and worked 70 hours last week. Yeah, I'm part of the 99%. Guess what, so is the dude that just moved into a 4000 sq ft house. He works here as a contractor making 90k a year.

[deleted] · 7 months

This hypothetical person is quite a bit more of an adult than the people at OWS, who are definitely not working for every minute they are hanging out in the park. Besides that, it is not true that hard work won't pay off. It just probably won't pay off for everybody.

fortyonejb · 7 months

So, should I quit my job, go on welfare and let the state take care of me? If I'll never be rich, and only just get by, why should I bother when I can get the government to do it for me, and relax a hell of a lot more?

chicofaraby · 7 months

They act like not complaining about their crappy lives is a badge of honor. It's actually a symptom of mental illness.

seltaeb4 · 7 months

America has over the last 40 years mutated into the world's largest forced labor prison colony.

Do you know why you get no vacation, and no salary to speak of?

The 1% live in sheer terror that you'll get to travel anywhere in the Western world and realize how you've become their slave labor class.

It's a lot cheaper for them to distribute plastic U.S. flags and beat you to death with the myth that we are the freest people on the face of the Earth.

Fostering American jingoism is their cheapest but most lucrative investment. That's why we have to hear that piece of shit Lee Greenwood song morning, noon, and night.

If the Founding Fathers could see how we modern Americans allow ourselves to be treated, they'd have never wasted their blood, toil, sweat, and tears breaking away from Britain. They'd be ashamed of us.

The average citizen of the U.K. knows more freedom than the average American ever will. No true Americans would allow themselves to be treated like this. Sadly, despite the gifts and chances we've been given for self-improvement, we chosen to become a permanent servant class at the beck and call of our financial masters, whether they reside in Washington or command us from their home base on Wall Street.

We are the 99%. This sad state of affairs only changes when we stand up for ourselves.

Max_Weber · 7 months

First of all... I hear you on the health insurance. Just because YOU're healthy doesn't mean it shouldn't be nationally mandated. Anyone can have a medical emergency happen to them at any time.

But the point is that many people don't feel solidarity with the movement.

You can hardly blame these people for trying to get on with their lives. They're heavily invested into the system, and for most of us - with a family, a house, and children - can't afford to leave it behind on a whim like many young people can.

People keep telling me the situation is ripe for a revolution. That it will be a peaceful revolution, that it will be different this time. What evidence do you have that it will be different? It'll be the same. History repeats itself because no matter how much technology we gain, how much literacy and education we have, people stay the same.

In my mind, there's only two possible outcomes from a revolution against a government so entrenched as our own. Either we have a peaceful revolution and the government makes some token gestures to subvert just enough of the movement to have it disintegrate.

Or we have an armed revolution, bringing about an era of destruction and political instability, followed by rise of demagogues and dictators, and maybe in fifty years we'll be back on track. I imagine it'll be like early 20th century except more destructive.

That's probably a bit pessimistic but I don't think it's too unrealistic. Last time there were global uprisings, they had unintended consequences spanning the better part of the century.

I say no. In my opinion we can still fix the system. Everyone blames the government but the voter turnout in this country is still below 50% of eligible voters, and even for the presidential election, the best avenue for public input into government decision making, the turnout in 2008 was only 63%... it's pathetically low compared to other developed nations.

Bottom line: you may call me an apologist for the status quo... that criticism is fair. But why are people all of a sudden so eager to turn the current system upside down, which lets you participate, but you CHOSE not to because the times were good? Why, at the first sign of trouble, do you choose to abandon ship? We've had a bad economy for mere three years now. 2003's unemployment rate was the lowest in American history. Up to 2007 unemployment was still much lower than in the past.

We don't need the 99% to care. If we just had 80% that gave a damn about the system, we can fix it tomorrow.

While I'm at it: the reason capitalism, despite its shortcomings, is compatible with democracy is because capitalism itself is an inherently democratic system. While I concede that total laissez-faire is a fantasy, I do know that we can bankrupt WalMart or BP TOMORROW if we wished, we're just too lazy, and we don't care. I understand lots of people care and are not lazy, but as a whole we are. Why don't we fix that?

The point is, the system allows the masses to express their power than ever before in history. We're just not taking advantage of that. Why not do that first, and if that doesn't work, THEN we can discuss a 'reboot'. That's all I'm saying.

My blueprint for restoring sanity in America:

Crush the evangelists and their handlers in the elections, abiding fully by the electoral laws and demonstrating the power of the silent majority. That should also get the rest of the Republic party in line.
Universal healthcare using Hillary Clinton's 2008 blueprint.
Reform finance. Break up investment banks and clearing houses.
Reform campaign funds.
End food and energy subsidies, cut up illegal monopolies like Monsanto and Exxon-Mobil.
End regressive taxation like sales tax, capital gains exemptions, etc. Institute VAT, luxury taxes, and actually enforce inheritance tax.
Regulate nonprofits, particularly religious organizations. Curb nonprofits' ability to meddle in politics.
Retool American manufacturing so it is diversified and competitive. We have the technology. Just need a small business friendly government.

I think those goals are all pretty realistic, and I think it will set us well on our way to a better society.

You know what? I consider myself pretty conservative, and I like the Republic party. They're a bunch of sniveling, self-serving, greedy cunts. The best thing about sniveling, self-serving, greedy cunts is that they have no principle, and they'll do whatever it takes to advance themselves, which makes them predictable. Show them the power of the majority and they'll bend over backwards to please you. But we have to stop being victims. Don't subvert the system, master it. It's our only inheritance from the baby boomers.

Don't get greedy. Fix one problem at a time. Exercise caution when dealing with complicated problems. For example, a drastic solution like "illegalize lobbying funds now!" will end up creating a black market for political funds - to the detriment of us all. Yes, I want bankers and politicians in jail as much as you do. But it will hurt us as much as it will hurt them. Look to the future, not to the past. Think about the best we can do with what we have now, forget vindication.

Fair_Bonez · 7 months

I treeplant during the summer. 10 hours a day 8 cents a tree. I plant up to 6000 trees in a day. This is carrying 60 pounds of seedlings and almost sprinting in 30+ degree heat in the middle of nowhere for 10 hours straight 6 days a week. I walk home after 3 months with about 15 grand, just enough to pay for school. Being Canadian I could ask for employment insurance, but I don't get enough hours.

Am I part of the 99%?

lia-mendez · 7 months

I would like to preface this comment by saying: I am an unemployed college graduate living with my parents.

"It's a sign of a BROKEN SYSTEM."

Yes! Is it!! And as the 99%, we have co-created this establishment by pouring our hard-earned money into those greedy corporations with reckless abandon.

The 1% did not achieve this level of dysfunction all by itself, and we cannot rely upon it to create the world we want.

Nor can we change a broken system by resenting its tendency to exclude us from its highest ranks.

ImTheManOkay · 7 months

Since when did the American dream entail that everybody gets a million bucks, pays off all their bills and lives a super comfortable life? Since when was it not the case that in this society, there are simply going to be people that fail?

I'm not saying there's nothing wrong with the system. Government intervention in business and business intervention in government are really fucking with this country. But you can't make everybody a winner. You sure as hell can make everybody a loser, though, and that's what I feel like a lot of OWS has become.

You're argument will never be a winning argument because it's UNBELIEVABLY negative. "You are a victim and you NEED to feel like a victim, just like me." Sure, they technically are part of the 99%, but they don't identify with the 99% in the way you want them to. You're never going to convince someone to start feeling like a victim, nor should you.

I don't mean to be negative myself, but OWS is losing me. I wasn't sure at first then started to come around because it was kind of this free form movement. People joined in for a lot of the same reasons, but a lot of different reasons as well. And not to be rude, but IMO, when people started making arguments like this I ran from the bandwagon. If you plan on winning people over by making them fearful and gaining public appeal based on emotion, i think it will be tough to be successful.

But who am I? I could be totally wrong. But OWS lost me for suuuure.

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