As I am sure you are aware, there is a movement of sorts
going on across the U.S.A. Occupy Wall
Street/Occupy (local area name). This movement has generated a fair amount
of nationwide controversy for several reasons (that I’m not going to go over
here).
I'm more interested in addressing the controversy on the
personal level, in the places people like to post their opinions of things that
they should shut the fuck up about (at least until they educate themselves). Places
such as that hotbed of "I wish I could say shut the fuck up because no one
cares, but clearly, they do", Facebook.
Anti-OWS Military
Macros
One of the things I am frequently seeing on the old FB is
military macros concerning OWS. One said something like "They're too busy
fighting for your freedom to Occupy Wall Street".
These just make me think "Oh, for Christ's fucking
sake".
Where to start with this idea?
How about, hey, if they are
fighting for our freedom, then maybe you should SHUT THE FUCK UP about OWS. Why? Go visit a library. Ah, hell,
never mind. Here you go.
Congress shall make no
law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise
thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of
the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress
of grievances.
The above text contains several items. One of which is
commonly referred to as the right to assemble, freedom of assembly, or freedom
of association. See, here's the thing. People who post shit like these military
macros seem to think they're making some kind of point (other than "I'm a
dumb shit"). What they fail to understand is that if those soldiers are fighting for our freedom, then it is the RIGHT and RESPONSIBILITY of the
populace to make use of those
freedoms. Otherwise, the military personnel are fighting for NOTHING.
So in this case, guess who is being more respectful of the
sacrifices made by the brave men and women of our military between you macro
posters and the Occupiers? That's right – the Occupiers. They're engaging the
rights we have, in an attempt to bring about a change (hopefully for the
better). You're sitting on your ass posting pictures you didn't even bother to
create. At worst, you're trying to score poli-points in an argument or shut
down a discussion. At best, you're naïve and short-sighted and you need to sit
and think about things.
The military is not something I could do (I don't play well
with authority and I refuse to fight someone on someone else's terms), but I've
many friends in the service, one (who I guess you would call the godfather of
my children – I don't know a more secular term) of whom is currently in harm's
way. Whether or not you joined to fight, or you joined to escape poverty while
thinking "I'll never actually have
to fight", the fact that when the shit breaks, you don't run for the hills
earns you mucho points in my book. Your reasons for joining don't matter; your
courage in the face of danger, dismemberment, and death does.
But let's be honest. Our soldiers are not fighting for our freedoms. Period. They're fighting because
they've been sent to fight (justly or unjustly is a different conversation).
But fighting for our freedoms? No. Sorry. Our freedoms haven't been under
external threat since World War II at most recent (and that's only if you
believe the Axis was a credible threat to the American landmass). If the military
was actually engaging threats to our freedoms, they'd be here, in the
continental United States engaged in (bizarre) warfare with politicians,
lobbyists, and corporate representatives (woo! Shadowrun!) That's due to the fact that the only genuine threats to our freedoms in at
least 60 years have all been internal. And if you'll recall,
a couple of times, the military was used to actively fight against those trying to use their rights.
So we can acknowledge and respect that these are brave men and women doing hard jobs.
But can we please stop pretending like they're idealized Dungeons and Dragons Paladins? Because that just is not the case.
"I'm Not in the
99%"
Another thing that is popular on the net is the counter
pictures – individuals (who seem to be afraid to show their faces) holding up
"handwritten" notes talking about how (for whatever reasons) they aren't
the 99%. This is a basic mathematics failure on their parts. Why? Because these
are never written by someone who is in the top 1% of wealth holders or income
earners. If you are not in that 1%, you are, by default, in the 99% (100-1=99).
Basic math – learn it (that's a whole different story about education today.) In one of the more popular recent ones, the
individual mentioned that most of his college was paid for via scholarships
(and he included some income numbers that were. . . interesting, to say the
least). I can't help but think that if you really want to take the approach
that you're doing it yourself, maybe you shouldn't mention your education being
90-some-odd percent covered by scholarships. Because that's not doing it
yourself. Yes, in many cases, a person has to work their ass off to get a
scholarship. But that's still not your
money. You didn't earn it, you don’t' have to pay it back. That's a handout. Just as much as "We'll
feed you, but you have to stay and listen to the sermon" is a handout. If
you were not part of the 99%, guess what? You would NOT NEED scholarships to
get an education. So I can't help but wonder what these people are learning in
college, since it doesn't seem to be math, or critical thinking skills.
Now, sure, maybe you don't agree with the OWS folks (though
how can you say so when they don’t have a singular, coherent message or
platform? That's right, you CAN'T). And whatever, you don't have to agree. What
you should do is learn to articulate your reasons instead of parroting whatever
stupid talking points you heard on talk radio. Actually think about why you
disagree and try to explain that in a (relatively) reasonable manner. Maybe
then you won't seem like a cartoon. You do yourself a disservice by not
thinking through your reasons.
Some of this stems from the idea, spoken or unspoken, that
so many have had drilled into their heads in this society – that you're not poor,
you're just a temporarily embarrassed rich person. This basic idea – that you
can have it all if you work hard enough so you're not poor, you're just not
there yet – is a fiction perpetuated in order to keep the poor from going
"Hey, wait just a god damned minute, I'm fucking poor! What is this
bullshit? Where's my gat?
You hear all the time about how people did it themselves, pulled
themselves up by the bootstraps (BOOTSTRAPS!!!!!!), and worked hard to get
where they are. What those narratives forget to mention is one simple thing –
you CANNOT do it yourself. Period. It is literally
impossible to do it yourself. Get a small business tax break? Not by yourself.
Tax incentives? Not by yourself. Inheritance? Definitely not by yourself. Use
roads to transport your goods or deliver your service? Not by yourself. Use
electricity in the course of conducting business? Not by yourself.
There's this thing called infrastructure (go ahead, look it up; I'll wait. . .) Without
infrastructure, you earn SHIT. Guess who pays for infrastructure? EVERYONE.
Yes, you 53%'s, everyone (personal income tax is NOT the end all, be all of
taxes you intellectually bankrupt jackasses). Without the infrastructure that
we ALL pay to maintain, you have no home business, no corporate business, nothing.
So stop acting like you've done it yourself. You damned well have NOT.
Something else these narratives neglect to mention – luck and
connections. It is well known, and well accepted that as much as hard work
plays a part in getting a head, so does luck. Joe and Bob can have the same
idea for a business, both can bust their asses trying to make it come through,
but if one is luckier than the other, bam, he succeeds.
But the basic idea is you are most likely not going to be
rich someday. And you really not to stop pretending like you are. This is why
so many people support tax breaks and cuts for the rich. They shouldn't support
them, but they do. Because they’ve convinced themselves that someday, they'll be the ones getting those breaks
and cuts.
Well, for 99% (hey, there's that number again!), it's not
going to happen. So stop fighting against your own best interests, because
you're screwing all of us.
"Why Don't You Do
Something That's Actually Helpful?"
This one is not anti-OWS specific – you see this one all the
time in arguments. "If they really want to help others, they should go
work in a soup kitchen/homeless shelter/whatever" or some other false
equivalency bullshit. This one bugs me for a couple of reasons.
In my experience, the people who say these things do not
themselves go volunteer in soup kitchens (or anything else), and of the very
few who do, they do it on special days (like Christmas or Thanksgiving – guess what,
they need volunteers all the time). There's a good chance you'll get a response
like "uhhh, I give to charity every year!" It's not the same. Quit
trying to convince yourself that writing a check is the same as donating your
time and presence. IT IS NOT.
But most often, they simply don't do anything. They just
think those OTHER GUYS should do something instead of engaging in (insert hated
cause here). To them, I can only say, fuck you very much. You're part of what's
wrong with America.
More importantly, these things (Occupying Wall Street and
volunteering in a shelter or kitchen) are NOT EQUAL. They do not aim at the
same goals. Volunteering in a soup kitchen, while a good thing, isn't going to
help change the national dialogue concerning wealth disparity in America. However,
changing that dialogue can contribute
ultimately to feeding more homeless. So changing
that dialogue is a damned important thing. And you know it. Stop trying to
score points. No one is keeping count.
Sometimes, depending on which side of the aisle the
complainer is on, they'll say things like "These are just people bitching
about First World problems". Like Patriarchy,
First World Problems has a place in some conversations. Unfortunately, its
use mostly just makes you seem like a pretentious cock drizzle. You might as
well say "If you're not curing AIDS in Africa, you shouldn't bother at
all". The people participating in these occupations are only just beginning
to shows signs of being able to initiate a change in their own yards. What do
you actually expect them to do about Third World problems? Oh, you don't have a
solution? You just want to bitch and sound progedgy? Well, okay. Fuck you too
then.
Yes, some of the Occupiers are asshats who are there for
stupid God damned reasons. That happens with every movement. Stop trying to
pretend like they are representative. And for the love of Elvis, stop trying to
score internet argument points. You don't unlock an achievement. Fuck.
For that matter, you don't know that some of them don't go help
by donating time and labor. I'm willing to bet that statistically, many of them
do. Because they've already demonstrated something you haven't – they are willing to get out and try to make a
change. But it's just so much easier being a computer chair revolutionary,
isn't it? (See, I'm doing it right now and barely expending any calories while
I do so).
-------
In case you're planning on arguing, I feel it only right to
tell you up front – shut the fuck up now. This isn't a discussion. I'm not
interesting in arguing with you because you're wrong. There, argument settled.
I'm not even going to read what you have to say because I've already heard it.
Please, just examine your thought processes sometimes. Try
to figure out if you reasoned yourself into your belief, or if you rationalized
yourself into it. You might be surprised at what you find out.
