Anyone who has read a little of this blog can probably guess my stance on the “Occupy” movement. I don’t get it. And I don’t get why the media are acknowledging it. Or why the cops are wasting time on it. Let these fools sleep in tents in the park in November. Cops have better things to do.
The official website of this movement is calling for a revolution. They claim they are doing so by using the Arab Spring tactic. I take this to mean “Hey, it worked in Egypt.” Someone should tell them to watch the 5 o’clock news and see how Egypt is doing today. PS: Benchmarking what they do in the Middle East? Heh.
They’re not shy about stating that they believe the 1% (aka: rich folks) are greedy. Sigh. Just because someone is rich doesn’t mean they are greedy. I’ll never understand why people who are not rich are pissed off at those who are. Who cares? Did Bill Gates take from you to get where he is? No. In fact, you can take from Bill Gates to become rich if you’d like. Many a small biz started with a simple PC using a Windows operating system in someone’s home.
Here are some of their “demands” and my take on why they are hooey:
- Re-impose tariffs on imported goods. They believe this will help family farmers and domestic manufacturing. Ya know what? I’m kind of on board with that. I’d like more people to buy local. But what the heck does this have to do with Wall Street? Go occupy Washington DC.
- Guaranteed living wage income regardless of employment. Huh? Does this mean pay people even if they’re not employed? Yeah, put everyone on the dole. That’ll be great for productivity. And also, not much to do with Wall Street.
- Racial and Gender equal rights. Again, I’m on board. But I’m pretty sure we already have equal rights though. Are they talking about gay marriage? Because I’m unsure how Wall Street can fix that.
- Ending capital punishment. Whether for or against, you need to go occupy your state lawmakers.
- Ending war. Is someone fucking with me? I’d like the wars to end too, but what on the good Lord’s Earth does that have to do with Wall Street?
This info was taken from the Occupy website, but they do state clearly that they have no official list of demands. Maybe outlining your cause and having some leadership will get people to take the movement seriously. But that’s just me blathering. My real concern is this: Do these folks know what Wall Street is? It’s the street in NY where the NYSE is located and stocks are traded. So when people are pissed at Wall Street, I take that to mean they’re angry with publicly traded companies. However, I only see a few things on the site about publicly traded companies. So occupiers: If you don’t like big oil and you don’t like the big banks, then drive an electric or alt fuel car, and go to a credit union. But judging by all the consumer goods used to propel this movement, these folks can’t be that anti-big business. So if there is a company you don’t like, the best message to send is not to give them your money. PetSmart hasn’t seen a dime of my money in eight years, and I’ve spent $20 at Wal-Mart in the last decade. (And it still makes me feel dirty)
Look, I’m also pissed off that I’m not rich. But I’m not mad at rich people. I’m not mad at anyone. I wish there was someone to blame for my lack of career success, but there just isn’t. So just admit it; you’re jealous of rich people. You don’t like having to go to a shitty job everyday. You don’t like that work is an obligation. I get it. Same here! But that’s for me to fix; not Obama, not my employer, and certainly not a street in New York.