I've heard a lot of different opinions on the Occupy Wall Street protests, some surprising, some not. I've had mixed feelings about the movement myself (always in support, just questioning the realistic possibility of changing anything).
Off the bat, if you are anything less than "rich" (whatever your definition of that may be), and you're criticizing the protesters and this movement, why? It's one thing to be skeptical of their effectiveness, or to even think they're kind of silly. But to openly reject what they're doing is just backwards.
This Bill Maher quote always stuck with me, and I think it's relevant here: "The monied elite in America are dragging a bag filled with your future down the steps, and your reaction is 'Hold on there, that looks heavy! Let me give you a hand getting it into your trunk.'"
So here is my response to some of the criticism I've heard...
First, it's not about the literal 1%. It's about the subgroup within that category that has systematically stacked the deck in their favor. People like Karl Rove, the Koch bothers, Grover Norquist, Roger Ailes and Rupert Murdoch. People who will fight tooth and nail to let 45,000 people die each year because they can't afford healthcare, as long as the profits of insurance companies and hospitals are in good shape.
Second, it's not just about Wall Street. It is largely about Wall Street, since their greed is the proven cause of the recession and the horrible economic conditions that we're currently experiencing (although they're actually doing pretty well...did you see Bank of America's $6.2 Billion earnings in the last 3 months?). But it's more than that. It's the fact that our government has been bought and paid for by corporations and is policed by lobbyists to keep them in line. It's about the constant fight to cut teachers and cops rather than closing tax loopholes for millionaires.
Third, I'm with you in thinking that just sleeping in a park probably won't upend the trend of inequality in this country. But it can at least get people thinking and talking (and blogging), and I think that's where it all starts. Too many people are complacent with the way things are going. I think that people, especially on the left, feel so disengaged with the process and know that things are so corrupt that it's pointless to even worry about it. The problems are too big to fix.
But how can that be true when the cause of the problem is such a tiny group of people, and the victims are the other "99%" of the population? How have we allowed this to happen? Maybe we're finally saying enough is enough.
The Occupy Wall Street movement took up 9% of the overall media coverage last week. President Obama has talked about it. It's been brought up in presidential primary debates. Protests have sparked up all over the country and all over the world. If nothing else, it's starting a larger conversation.
Rachel Maddow had this great segment last night. It's just one small example of why people have valid reasons to be upset and actually try to do something about it (aside from just sitting at home complaining and writing blog posts...)
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