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Forum Post: Misconception by the 99%

Posted 12 years ago on Jan. 6, 2012, 11:08 a.m. EST by jbob (74)
This content is user submitted and not an official statement

i think that is the misconception you guys have, you think that anyone that opposes or questions the thoughts of the occupy movement are spoiled little brats, rich people, etc. you guys cant accept that people want to do things for themselves and that when they do make it (get a job) they don't want their money going towards people that are going to abuse the system, by filing for unemployment or welfare when they are able to actually find a job.

i think that is the biggest complaint with the people that oppose the movement. they want to keep as much of the money that they make as possible because they will have worked for and put in hard work to get to where they are. you have to remember the one percent isnt just greedy wall street billionaires.

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89 Comments


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[-] 17 points by JoeThePatriot (153) 12 years ago

"i think that is the misconception you guys have, you think that anyone that opposes or questions the thoughts of the occupy movement are spoiled little brats, rich people, etc" !!!

That is your misconception that I hear propagated over and over from the right. You apparently drank that Kool Aid and are now spewing it yourself. You should be ashamed of your blatant ignorance and distortion of reality. You try to portray the movement as petty class warfare when in reality it is about the rich corporations and super wealthy not paying their fair share of taxes

[-] -1 points by jbob (74) 12 years ago

You say that I drank the kool aid? I've had my views before this whole occupy movement.. If anyone drank the kool aid it would be the occupy supporters. Their cult like chants, the total ignorance of even knowing what you are protesting. I still don't even know what your libs are protesting. Higher taxes for the rich? The legalization of drugs for a reason that I don't know? Or repealing SOPA which, by listening to what you people are saying would be a positive for this country.

[-] 2 points by shadz66 (19985) 12 years ago

Oi "bjob", you inbred reactionary retard : On the matter of "MisCONception" and the "Astro Turf" (cf. False Grass Roots) Tea Party, please see the following very important and revealing documentary film : "The Billionaires' Tea Party" ; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GO_WC0FINmA !!!

fiat lux ...

[-] 1 points by jbob (74) 12 years ago

while that was a very interesting view by a foreigner, i would like to let you know that i am not a tea party patriot. again i have had my views that i have now for a very long time. ive been seeing what is going on in this country, i watch the news not just fox news, and i have come up with my own opinion.

i didnt wait for a group of people to come together (ie OWS, tea party) to start voicing my concerns and making sure i was educated on where this country is going. though since these groups have formed it has strengthened my beliefs.

and to say again from my original post "you guys cant accept that people want to do things for themselves and that when they do make it (get a job) they don't want their money going towards people that are going to abuse the system"

this applies to me and i think a lot of other people that oppose the OWS movement.

i am glad this is a personal attack on me, it shows that i am being noticed and hopefully some of you 99ers will take my words into consideration.

[-] 1 points by shadz66 (19985) 12 years ago

You're a dreadlocked sophomore so WTF do you think you know about "a very long time" ?!!! + WhyTF are you watching FUX SNEWzzz AT ALL ANYWAY ?!! ++ The ONLY thing I notice and note about you is the extent to which your empty head is jammed so far up your (x) such that your vision doesn't even reach as far as your own rectum ! fiat lux ...

[-] 1 points by jbob (74) 12 years ago

way to go for my looks haha. isnt that one of the things you guys hate, when people make fun or notice your looks (ie hippies).

and i say i watch fox news and all the other news organizations(MSNBC CNN) you cant come up with an educated opinion unless you look at other views beside yours. i reccomend you should stop listening to the liberal media and watch fox news and come up with your own opinion. you cant say you dont agree with something if the only time you see anything they say is slanted by the liberal media.

and when i say "a very long time" i mean realatively, obviously. i have had my views long before the tea party started (2009). i guess i was just one of the smart kids that didnt play a whole lot of video games in high school and middle school, i would have rather watched presidential debates and states of the union.

i didnt need a group to get a lot of attention on the news for me to look into politics and where this country is going.

[-] 1 points by shadz66 (19985) 12 years ago

I like the idea of your dreads ... it's the rest of your BS that gets me ~{:-)

Re. "Liberal Media" ! In The U$A ?!! What a F**kin' Joke !!!

If you've got the time and gumption, then watch : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8oHl3ooeZo , "Noam Chomsky - The Myth of the Liberal Media" & if gently insulting you has meant that I got to post this link then it was worth while ... tho' it'd be more so, IF you watched it ;-)

You might assume, imagine and wish that your opinions are unique and your own but alas you echo so strongly the hard-hearted & soft-brained, anti-intellect of sooo many of your compatriots ;-(

Watch the two videos that I've posted in our exchange here ... and Open Your Mind, mate.

pax, amor et lux ...

[-] 1 points by jbob (74) 12 years ago

i have my own opinions. there is nothing that i have seen in this movement that makes me question my ideas. i just want you guys to see the opposing views, and to know who opposes you (not just millionaires) maybe there are some college kids out there too.

[-] 1 points by shadz66 (19985) 12 years ago

Please get your thumb outta yer bum ; your brains outta 'Neutral' & stop pissing in the wind !!!

[-] 1 points by jbob (74) 12 years ago

im really disappointed in my self that i took the time to have a conversation with you. i will make sure i dont do it agian. that last comment was dumb and you know it.

[-] 1 points by shadz66 (19985) 12 years ago

LOL !!! & I thought we were getting along sooo well !! Perhaps sometimes, 'Dumb likes Dumber' ? ~{:-p) & there's None as blind as those who will Not see ! Ho-hummm ...

[-] 7 points by buphiloman (840) 12 years ago

Progressive Tax Tables, with the largest rates being paid by those in the 1% will not harm "most people". In fact they will not harm anyone, since, if you are in the 1% you can easily, comfortably, afford a 40% annual tax rate.

[-] 2 points by shadz66 (19985) 12 years ago

As "U B philo human" and as you may well be interested in "The Manufacture of Consent", re. the "Astro Turf" (cf. False Grass Roots) Tea Party, please see the following very important and revealing documentary film : "The Billionaires' Tea Party" ; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GO_WC0FINmA !!

fiat lux ...

[-] 2 points by shadz66 (19985) 12 years ago

buphilo :

a) I admire your patience with this idiot Walton kid.

b) In his pathological hatred of 'others' and inability to empathise with their various situations, predicaments and circumstances, 'bjob' is some sort of Wealth Worshipping Randian Cartoon !

c) He hates the idea that some of his yet to be paid 'taxes' may be used to help the needy and less fortunate or able, whist 'seemingly' having Nothing Whatsoever to say on the matter of a U$A, Military Expenditure which is Larger Than ALL The Rest Of The World Combined !!

d) Anyone disbelieving of that statistic is encouraged to look that up for themselves !!!

e) Be he "philo" human ? Emphatically, NOT ! ~{;-(

ad iudicium et fiat lux ...

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[-] 0 points by hchc (3297) from Tampa, FL 12 years ago

If you dont close the loopholes, it doesnt matter.

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[+] -4 points by jbob (74) 12 years ago

who are you to say what is comfortable? someone works their ass off to make 400k a year thye should be able to keep most of it. they shouldnt have to give 160k to our government to pay for joe schmo that doesnt seem to have enough money for food but can find 20 bucks for a case of beer and cigarettes. and dont even say this doesnt happen, i see it every time i walk into my local convenience store.

[-] 5 points by buphiloman (840) 12 years ago

No one who makes 400,000 a year is in the 1%. The average one-percenter, according to the Washington Post, has wealth valued at about 14.3 Million, (though not all of it liquid). And the minimum per annum cash income is 516,000 USD http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/post/who-are-the-1-percenters/2011/10/06/gIQAn4JDQL_blog.html.

I think someone with 14.3 million in assets can comfortably afford a 40% (5.6 million) progressive tax. If it is a hardship to live on a paltry 8.7 million in accumulated wealth...then it is one I would like to volunteer to undertake.

[-] 0 points by justhefacts (1275) 12 years ago

Do you know how they arrive at an "average"? Apparently not.

[-] 0 points by justhefacts (1275) 12 years ago

http://www.financialsamurai.com/2011/04/12/how-much-money-do-the-top-income-earners-make-percent/

$380,354-AGI threshold for top 1% Top 10%? AGI threshold-$113, 799

Pick on the top tenth to top half of the 1% all you wish to, but leave the rest of them alone.

[-] 0 points by jbob (74) 12 years ago

take a look at this. maybe you will see that you are an idiot and should probably stop protesting because you obviously dont know what you are talking about.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/10/30/nyregion/where-the-one-percent-fit-in-the-hierarchy-of-income.html

the top .1% doesnt even make as much as what you are saying.

first off wealth does not equal income or even actual money. say bill gates has 40 billion dollars, he cant go to the bank and withdraw 40 billion dollars. so you are implying that the government should tax a person on money they dont have.

and the minimum cash income that you are referring to is household income, so yeah, there are a lot of people in the top 1% that make 400k.

[-] 3 points by buphiloman (840) 12 years ago

Yes what a hardship to have only 516,000 a year for my family to get by on.

[-] 0 points by slammersworldisback (-217) 12 years ago

that is really none of your business, what someone else earns.....what YOU earn is your only business....

[-] 1 points by buphiloman (840) 12 years ago

Uhhh....wrong. If someone robs, cheats, and exploits me and my fellow humans, so that they can earn more, then it is my business how they earn their money, and how much they earn.

Or would you rather go back to the era of Auschwitz where people's belongings, cash, art, and dental fillings are removed by the train full, as they are sent to gas chambers?

Would you have told Roosevelt "It's none of your business how Adolf Hitler finances his war machine?"

[-] 0 points by slammersworldisback (-217) 12 years ago

that is a Non sequitur.... the comparison between the income of someone who earns more than you, and the tyrannical regime of a oppressive ideology....bear no resemblance or similarity...sorry, sell your hyperbole to another drone...

[-] 1 points by buphiloman (840) 12 years ago

Wall Street (the .001%) = a tyrannical regime w/an oppressive ideology.

[-] 0 points by slammersworldisback (-217) 12 years ago

ugh....you are an idiot, with a ridiculous ideology.....

I think we're done here....

[-] 1 points by buphiloman (840) 12 years ago

wow, what a powerful and convincing argument.

[-] 0 points by slammersworldisback (-217) 12 years ago

sort of like comparing high income earning to tyrannical socialist regimes...

you're a fucking fool....

[-] 1 points by buphiloman (840) 12 years ago

Modern Crony Capitalism = wage slavery = a tyrannical and oppressive regime.

Or do you think the hundreds of millions of human beings, including the underaged, presently working in sweatshops in the third world to earn less than subsistence level incomes, is somehow magically a non-oppressed population?

[-] 0 points by slammersworldisback (-217) 12 years ago

the third world isn't my concern.....I don't live there, I cannot control the governance of other countries, nor do I care to try.....just like in THIS country...if they are so overwrought with difficulty they should seek more freedom....

But, you, and OWS in general does not seek liberty, or freedom, you seek a libertine society where you can fuck who, when, where, and how you desire, waste your time, get high, lay around and pretend to be deep thinkers, and have all your needs are taken care of.........by whom, you don't really care....but for now, your sights are on "the rich" because they are the easiest target for your nonsense.....

I say blame you parents for the shit job they did preparing you for the real world....

[-] 1 points by buphiloman (840) 12 years ago

Wow, what a ridiculous generalization. I am no libertine. I am a practicing Roman Catholic, happy husband of one wife, with three children to feed, and a white-collar job in academia. I go to work everyday, and I don't drink or use recreational drugs. Neither, btw, do most of the people I have met in the movement.

My parents raised me just fine, I'd say.

[-] 0 points by slammersworldisback (-217) 12 years ago

You might want to look into the edicts of your religious practice....envy and covetousness are sins, and YOU are not the judge of another man, only god is.......or did you miss that lesson in catechism?

[-] -2 points by smartcapitalist (143) 12 years ago

Don't be a drama queen. Wall St isnt robbing anyone. Do you always talk in hyperboles?

[-] 2 points by buphiloman (840) 12 years ago

LMFAO. Gambling with other people's money, without their consent, is robbery. You obviously don't have a 401k. Because if you did, you'd likely not need anyone to point to you that the 1% have pillaged your retirement.

[-] -2 points by smartcapitalist (143) 12 years ago

Gambling? People invest their money in funds or put it in banks to earn interest.

[-] -1 points by smartcapitalist (143) 12 years ago

Again let me reiterate, people who invest in funds do so hoping for high returns. Else they could just put their money in a fixed deposit account. High returns mean high risks. That's the job of these traders. Also the average guy does not invest in these risky funds, the clients of trading firms or funds are basically institutional investors, high net worth individuals, and even retail banks. Now if depositors want they can ask their banks to limit exposure to risky trades and many countries do that.

Always remember the adage, no risk no gain.

[-] 1 points by shadz66 (19985) 12 years ago

Does MF-Global, AIG, Bernie Madoff, Enron, Lehman Bros. or the various machinations of JP Morgan or Goldman Sachs ring any bells ?!

I think that you really need to watch : http://documentarystorm.com/inside-job/ !!

ad iudicium ...

[-] 3 points by ZenDogTroll (13032) from South Burlington, VT 12 years ago

you have to remember the one percent isnt just greedy wall street billionaires.

you are a fool.

this movement is in large measure all about holding people accountable - this nation has incurred debt - debt due to war, debt due to the economic collapse - and some would have us refuse to pay that debt.

some would have us tank the economy even further with such nonsense.

Revenue will be raised to meet our common obligation.

And we will hold those accountable for promoting fiscal policy and economic theory that has proven itself a sham.

The movie Inside Job makes it quite clear: Conservatives set to implement financial deregulation as far back as the late 1970s, and part of that process included the appointment to the Supreme Court

  • Conservative Activist Judges

And it is clear - as that process began to bear fruit, Conservatives began screaming about Liberal Activist Judges, and thus distract the public from their process of Activism toward deregulation.

  • repeliKans are liars

  • repeliKans with their process of deregulation have fucked the American public.

  • repeliKans continue to lie about Global Warming

  • repeliKans will soon reap the harvest they have sown

The people are coming. You can't stop it. You can't avoid it. And in fact, you will benefit.

Unless of course, you get in the way. Then there's just no tellin'.

[-] -3 points by slammersworldisback (-217) 12 years ago

Idiot...stop posting this nonsense...no one is coming, you and your contemporaries in OWS can't even be bothered with an exhaustive job search..and you think you have what it takes to change a nation....get a fucking clue

You and your busted ideology are fucking over (not that you ever even got started)

[-] 2 points by shoozTroll (17632) 12 years ago

What part was nonsense?

There's actually more assumption in your response.

You should quit assuming.

[-] -2 points by slammersworldisback (-217) 12 years ago

this nonsense about "the people"....most of "the people" think you guys are fucking fool ne'er-do-wells, and lazy, shiftless bums...... even back in november the unfavorable view of OWS exceeded the favorable view, and the Tea Party Approval eclipsed the OWS approval by 5%.....in a poll by the democrat leaning Public Policy Polling: http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/main/2011/11/occupy-wall-street-favor-fading.html

.....you guys are done, and have been done for some time...time to move back into your parents basements again....

[-] 2 points by ThunderclapNewman (1083) from Nanty Glo, PA 12 years ago

So why then would you continue "coming here" and wasting your time if we don't have what it takes and are done? Someone so insightful as you surely must have far better ways of amusing yourself. How fortunate we at OWS are!

[-] 0 points by slammersworldisback (-217) 12 years ago

nah...this is fun for me, and I can work while I post.....I like blowing holes in your emotional arguments with actual facts

[-] 2 points by shoozTroll (17632) 12 years ago

I don't live where you do. You can stay in the basement if you like.

Do you always base your opinions on other peoples polls?

This is not, nor was it ever, the teabaggers, rendering such a poll meaningless.

I still run into people that never heard of it in the first place.

The so called "liberal media", really has endeavored to keep meaningful 'reporting' out of the rotation as much as possible.

All while smears from the so called "conservative press", have shed as much bad light on it as they can.

This is a classic ploy, used in what is called multi pronged marketing/PR to stifle ideas that might be harmful to those that employ it.

Let's take a look at the buzz words you used in your post.

Nonsense, fucking fool, ne'er do wells, lazy, shiftless bums.

Except for fucking, these are all among the terms used by the "conservative press", to describe the movement from the very start.

To what degree was it actually true?

When I visited Occupy Detroit in the fall, everyone I spoke with that was active in the movement, either had a job, or was in university.

How does that make them any of the descriptives that you used?

Granted, Detroit is small Occupy, and larger ones would attract some people that would fit those descriptions, but by and large they are false.

Why do continue repeat them?

[-] -1 points by slammersworldisback (-217) 12 years ago

I know people, in fact I am friends with people who participate and support it, and I would classify many of them with the same terms...they always have an excuse why things aren't better for them, and it never has a first person cause...there is alway something "out there" causing the problem..but a quick and simple inventory of the behaviors and actions of these people point to a much different outcome...they expect much and offer little.....when one of them needs assistance with something, it's NEVER their contemporaries that help (be it financially, or physical/skilled labor) it's me....I genuinely like them, they are fun people, but in reality their problems are easily traceable to their own life choices...just as all the whining rants I read here.........

When you blame others it's easy, all you have to do is stay immobile and wish, demand, or advocate for THEM to change....

When you take responsibility for your own life and mistakes, it's much harder, because YOU have to actually take action and do something to change your circumstances......

[-] 2 points by shoozTroll (17632) 12 years ago

I hope you didn't think that was a cogent, informative response.

It wasn't, but thanks for toning down the invectives.

I'm glad you are happy with the status quo.

[-] -1 points by slammersworldisback (-217) 12 years ago

I don't think anything based on achievement would sway someone like you.....just blame and excuses...

[-] 2 points by shoozTroll (17632) 12 years ago

The first three words of your response, says all that is necessary.

It demonstrates the negativity in your thought process.

You never considered what I said in the body of my response.

You think, I'm against you.

I am not.

I wish you well, in your achievements.

Will you wish us well in ours?

[-] -1 points by slammersworldisback (-217) 12 years ago

No, I don't care if you're against me, you're not even a consideration....you are evidencing yourself as an achievement hater, you can call it what you like, or ally yourself with who you like, but the end result is the same....you are out to punish those who create more than you, and accomplish more than you...... What you should be doing is developing your own talents and abilities and raising yourself up, not wasting your time bringing others down to you level, so you can feel better about your lack of performance......

[-] 2 points by shoozTroll (17632) 12 years ago

What did I say that indicated to you that I'm an "achievement hater"?

Your first three words, are also telling.

If you didn't care? You wouldn't be here.

The body of your response is hyperbole, based on assumptions from limited experience.

You have no idea what I have accomplished, or where I've failed.

Will you consider a response to my salutation?

[-] 3 points by freewriterguy (882) 12 years ago

the fact is, that every level of society is setup to make small business, and often the 99% fail and i can prove it in writing just from my own personal experiences. why even if a man goes to work overtime to pay some of his bills, the government ups his tax rate, when he should be awarded for sacrificing his time away from his family in Pursuing happiness according to the constitution. Over regulation and lack of friendly small business development in our country has ruined many of has ruined our country, heres one that happened to me recently, I was awarded a contract for a federal job with stimulus money only to pass on it because the penalty for early withdraw from the ira account to finance the job was greater than the profit I would have made, this subsequently led to me laying off an employee. Just previouslyl to this, I layed off another worker even though I was awarded a large contract from a chemical plant. The funny thing about it was that I filled out alot of "small business" preferential papers, so that this corporation could get credit from the feds for awarding it to small business, but even though I was awarded it, I didnt get to do it. The banks said, I wasnt making enough money in my personal account, even though my sales averaged $200k a year in my business. I guess I was the first man to ever invest in his business, cause in 2009 when I got the contract us bank and wells fargo didnt want to. I did my part, i sold the work, i created the jobs, we bailed out the banks, and they didnt give us shit, and i can prove it in writing.
One more example, one of my first early contract awards for my small business was for $66,000 at a power plant, and the power plant said they could only give a deposit with a corporate credit card, so i called credit card reps and asked them if i could process a $33,000 payment for my first transaction, he said I could, so I thought my small business was on its way, signed the 4 year lease agreement for $40 a month, ran the corporate card, waited 2 weeks, noticed the transaction fee of aroujnd $1600 was subtracted from my account. when i called and asked when the money would be deposited, my merchant processor said the money wasnt going clear until the job was done! This is the reality of our nation, people suffer, and no one gives a shit! Another recent example was how when I had to pass on the stimilus contract award, I didnt have any work during that time and my business license was coming due. I didnt have the money to renew the stupid government license, so they doubled my license fee from 115 to 230 dollars in a year we were all trying to make do with less, EVEN THOUGH my state received 500,000,000 bailout money to save their ass! Shall I go on?

[-] 0 points by economicallydiscardedcitizen (761) 12 years ago

Writerguy, Please tell us what city and state your business is in?

[-] 1 points by freewriterguy (882) 12 years ago

salt lake city utah

[-] 0 points by economicallydiscardedcitizen (761) 12 years ago

Your story is HUGE in its indictment of Fed Govt.and banks. Have you thought of sending a couple of press releases to local and national newspapers? If you decide to do so, consider www.nyt.com,www.sfgate.com and www.latimes.com

Best to you from your neighbor in Reno, NV

[-] 2 points by flip (7101) 12 years ago

no - you are wrong. there are a number of different types opposing ows. the rich and their upper class managers of course. then there are low level quisling types that are just scraping by and not partying with the boys in the hamptons - they are not drinking the expensive champagne so it is hard to be really annoyed with them. then there is another type that should know better - beaten down by the owners and managers but brainwashed by years of propaganda starting in kindergarten. they fight the wars and police the rest of us - watch over us in the jails and. they are the ones we must reach - here is malcolm - if he were alive today he would tell you this is not about race but about class - "There was two kind of slaves. There was the house negro and the field negro. The house negro, they lived in the house, with master. They dressed pretty good. They ate good, cause they ate his food, what he left. They lived in the attic or the basement, but still they lived near their master, and they loved their master, more than their master loved himself. They would give their life to save their masters house quicker than their master would. The house negro, if the master said "we got a good house here" the house negro say "yeah, we got a good house here". Whenever the master would said we, he'd say we. That's how you can tell a house negro. If the master's house caught on fire, the house negro would fight harder to put the blaze out than the master would. If the master got sick, the house negro would say "What's the matter, boss, we sick?" We sick! He identified himself with his master, more than the master identified with himself. And if you came to the house negro and said "Let's run away, Let's escape, Let's separate" the house negro would look at you and say "Man, you crazy. What you mean separate? Where is there a better house than this? Where can I wear better clothes than this? Where can I eat better food than this?" There was that house negro. In those days, he was called a house nigger. And that's what we call him today, because we still got some house niggers runnin around here. This modern house negro loves his master. He wants to live near him. He'll pay three times as much as the house is worth just to live near his master, and then brag about "I'm the only negro out here. I'm the only one on my job. I'm the only one in this school." "You're nothing but a house negro. And if someone come to you right now and say "Let's separate.", you say the same thing that the house negro said on the plantation. "What you mean separate? From America? This good white land? Where you gonna get a better job than you get here? I mean, this is what you say! "I di-I ain't left nothing in Africa" That's what you say. "Why, you left your mind in Africa". On that same plantation, there was the field negro. The field negro, those were the masses. There was always more negros in the field as there were negros in the house. There negro in the field caught hell. He ate leftovers. In the house, they ate high up on the hog. The negro in the field didn't get nothing but what was left in the insides of the hog. They call them chit'lins nowaday. In those days, they called them what they were, guts! That's what you were, a guteater. And some of you are still guteaters. The field negro was beaten, from morning til night. He lived in a shack, in a hut. He Related News

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wore cast-off clothes. He hated his master. I say, he hated his master. He was intelligent. That house negro loved his master. But that field negro, remember, they were in the majority, and they hated their master. When the house caught on fire, he didn't try to put it out, that field negro prayed for a wind. For a breeze. When the master got sick, the field negro prayed that he died. If someone come to the field negro and said "Let's separate, let's run." He didn't say "Where we going?" he said "Any place is better than here". We got field negros in America today. I'm a field negro. The masses are the field negros. When they see this mans house on fire, we don't hear these little negros talkin bout "Our Government is in trouble. They say thee Government is in trouble." Imagine a negro, "Our Government". I even heard one say "Our astronauts." They won't even let him near the plant, and "Our astronauts". "Our neighbors" That's a negro that's out of his mind. That's a negro that's out of his mind! Just cause the slave master in that day, used Tom, to keep the field negroes in check. The same ol slavemaster today has negros who are nothing but modern Uncle Toms. 20th century Uncle Toms to keep you and me in check. Keep us under control. Keep us passive and peaceful.

[-] 1 points by aries (463) from Nutley, NJ 12 years ago

good post

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[-] 1 points by nickhowdy (1104) 12 years ago

jbob is just a kid going to college, getting a handout from Momma and Dadda...He hasn't experienced what life is like yet so his opinion is not completely reality based.

jbob doesn't understand what Corporatocracy is or Globalism or what neo-liberalism has done to this country.

jbob doesn't understand what wage slavery is or why this is his fight also..

He just understands that he is going to school and is doing good, and doesn't know why you OWS folks just can't do what he is doing..

jbob should be a Congressman..He'd fit in well.

[-] 1 points by jbob (74) 12 years ago

you say im getting a hand out from momma and dadda (whatever a Dadda is) but you are implying that we take money from the rich and HAND it OUT. thats not the governments or your decision to make. getting a hand out from your parents until you get get on your feet is the correct way to do things, not get a hand out from people that worked hard to get their money.

[-] 1 points by Courtney (111) from New York, NY 12 years ago

I'd still rather have people abusing the welfare system, fed, and housed than eating out of garbage cans.

[-] 1 points by jbob (74) 12 years ago

that doesnt make any sense. you would rather have your tax dollars (if you pay any) to go towards someone that is too lazy to get their own job?

[-] 1 points by Courtney (111) from New York, NY 12 years ago

Currently, half of our federal tax dollars go towards pointless wars. If we had a system whereby this was not the case, which I am not optimistic we are going to have any time in the near future, and if we had a system wherein I was able to obtain a job that paid a decent living wage, I would have no problem with giving my tax dollars to people who are too lazy to get their own jobs.
Because I would see "laziness" as a possible but hard to detect subset of people who are inevitably going to be unable to work in any society--the disabled, mentally ill, and people who are just between jobs or whose fields of employment have been rendered useless by technological change. I think the people in a society who are able to work should provide for those people, and think that laziness is in fact an almost insignificant factor in most people's unemployment.
There is a higher risk of suicide in the unemployed--are you suggesting that these people are so averse to working that they just kill themselves?

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[-] 1 points by RedJazz43 (2757) 12 years ago

It doesn't sound like the person who started this thread is familiar with the most basic premises of OWS. Right on the home page of this web site, for example it very specifically says that we don't need Wall Street or politicians to build a better world. Some people complain that we make no demands, but one of the main reasons that we make no demands is that we have no expectations that this state is either willing or capable of meeting any demands that we might raise.

If there was ever a movement based on the assumption that people had the capacity to govern themselves it is OWS.

If there is any abuse to the system it is to the advantage of the super rich. How else, after all, can the increasing disparity between the super rich and everyone else be explained? That said, there very clearly is a lot of personal selfishness in America which is rather astonishing for a nation the vast majority of whose citizens claim to be Christian.

[-] 0 points by jbob (74) 12 years ago

it can be explained by hard work. whats stopping you to from going out and making a million dollars? im guessing its lack of good work ethic.

[-] 1 points by RedJazz43 (2757) 12 years ago

I've been in the work force for over 50 years. I've never earned more than $30 K a year and that very seldom. Is it really the case that the richest person is the person with the most personal initiative? Unless you are in the category of a Bill Gates do you then say you have only yourself to blame? Is making the most money the highest value in life? I don't think that was even a consideration for Bill Gates who was clearly driven by things other than money. Curiousity, I think, in particular. But supposing he had been curious about things for which there was less of a market? Would that have made him a less worthy person?

[-] 1 points by jbob (74) 12 years ago

im not saying you guys are any less of people. money does not define a person or who they are. just dont complain that you dont have something that someone else has.

[-] 1 points by RedJazz43 (2757) 12 years ago

While it may be true on this website, it is not true that there is much active complaining at any of the half dozen or so occupations or GAs which I have attended. People involved in active occupations are much too busy to complain about the particular wealth of particular individuals, though they do recognize, as do most economists, that the vast disparities of wealth today in the US are not good for social stability.

But most of the time people actively engaged in occupations are way too busy to raise those kinds of individual complaints. They are much too busy feeding the multitudes, or engaged in direct action, or building a community, or making plans for what a future democratic, peaceful, just and loving society will look like and how it will actually work.

[-] 0 points by XenuLives (1645) from Charlotte, NC 12 years ago

You didn't answer RedJazz's question...

[-] 1 points by jbob (74) 12 years ago

it does not make you less of a person working for 30k a year. it does make you less of a person to complain about what you dont have that someone else has. no one is entitled to anyone else's money.

[-] 1 points by paulg5 (673) 12 years ago

If I'm not mistaken to qualify as a 1%er you must have 20 million on hand and earn 2 million annually. Anyone with that kind of money really doesn't need to get their hands dirty. So I would rate them as multimillionaires regardless of where they got it from. They are afraid that the movement is about taking it away, which it isn't

[-] 1 points by jbob (74) 12 years ago

You are mistaken. 386,000 and up a year is the one percent. so shut up and stop trying to ruin my country. You are obviously not educated.

[-] 1 points by TheTrollSlayer (347) from Kingsport, TN 12 years ago

Your talking taxes right ? Explain this goo.gl/ZZImV This is how the government and corporations made the rules so they could. They get owed for being here at the end of the year, millions, not one penny for a bullet, not one dime for families of falling soldiers, nothing for streets and bridges, national security, education, the list goes on and they say as well it's because of handouts. These are the same ones who wrecked the economy and forced untold numbers of families to need assistance so it can benefit the elite. Educate yourself with whats been going on, unless you dont want to that is.

[-] 1 points by Joeboy32 (72) 12 years ago

I agree with the post here and would like to add that, it's an entire generation of Americans that have been conditioned to support the system because they've been raised to do so, from the time of their birth.

If you break it down, children are raised to have everything laid out for them from Kindergarden to 12th grade. Through that time frame, you don't take it upon yourself to learn anything on your own and you wait until it's time for school again to educated on some general skill that will not be sufficient enough for you to establish a career, but instead a position in general labor for a lousy wage.

The truthful aspect of the OWS movement is that today's generation has been pressured to be unrealistically successful and the requirements are shallow as sh*t. You can't condition today's generation at all and the 1% and the global elite failed in doing so. In return, they make it impossible for you to really make something for yourself without the aid of loans. And the higher education system is set up and designed to create "debt slaves" for all young men and women. Or you can become a "life slave" to the arm forces out of false perception for benefit to the very 1% and global elite.

They say you have a "choice" but what good is having a choice when there are no "working" options to chose from.

[-] 1 points by JadedCitizen (4277) 12 years ago

First, there is no misconception that the 1% started class warfare on the 99% by wrangling the tax code to benefit them at the expense of the lower classes. I can dig up the direct quote of Warren Buffet, but I'm sure you already know it.

Second, I understand the opposition to paying higher taxes and wanting to keep as much as I possibly could of what I have earned. I used to think that way.

But I can't ignore what the tax policies of the last three decades have done to our country and how far down hill our society has gone.

Basically it boils down to this - if we aren't willing to pay enough taxes to make our society function properly, then it will not function properly.

Those who benefit the most from our society should pay a proportional amount to keep our society healthy and create the best conditions for everyone to be able to contribute. I would think everyone would be in favor of that, but I understand the 'my hard work, keep my dollars' argument is hard to get around.

So please try to understand where we are coming from by wanting a progressive tax.

[-] 0 points by XenuLives (1645) from Charlotte, NC 12 years ago

Isn't it beneficial for the 1% to pay more into sustaining the lower class? After all, the lower class are their customers, their clients. The consumers who are giving you money by buying at your stores, eating at your restaurants, and purchasing your services. Don't profits go DOWN if these people don't have the discretionary income to buy what you are selling?

Its common sense. You want as many paying customers as you can get. No one is going to buy overpriced shoes or Playstations if they don't have any $.

[-] 1 points by laney33 (1) 12 years ago

I don't believe that anyone who disagrees is spoiled or rich. I also don't believe that if your money goes elsewhere that it goes to someone abusing the system. The fire behind the movement to me is that compassion is the new currency. If there are people living on the street and single mothers or fathers working three jobs and barely making ends meet, and there's someone calling the shots who has way more money than they would ever need that refuses to care or help, then that is not compassionate. It needs to change.

[-] 1 points by nachosrulz (63) from Eureka, CA 12 years ago

blah were far from rich my town is a card bord box city n we all support ows

[-] 0 points by jbob (74) 12 years ago

congratulations. all i was saying is that there are some people that arent rich that are against the occupy movement. good comment though. even though it doesnt further any conversation.

[-] 1 points by epa1nter (4650) from Rutherford, NJ 12 years ago

There are many people who vote against their own interests, too. Doesn't mean a thing other than the fact that they don't understand where their best interests lie.

On the other hand there are some people who ARE rich that completely support the occupy movement. They understand that , despite their advantage, equity and fairness serve everyone's interests, not just one side or the others, better.

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[-] 0 points by slammersworldisback (-217) 12 years ago

The biggest misconception is the thinking that they represent anything NEAR the 99th percentile of wage earners....that is the most foolish and puerile notion to come out of this bunch of loser's gathering socially to encourage, advocate and support each other's underachievement.....

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[-] -1 points by jbob (74) 12 years ago

I got one good response. What about everyone else? Are you not responding because you know I'm right?

[-] -1 points by justhefacts (1275) 12 years ago

That's exactly why they don't. If they can't spin it themselves, they have to wait for someone else to spin it so they can get back to you later.

Keep trying!

[-] -1 points by headlesscross (67) 12 years ago

When you post the truth like you did,you won't get much response. If you do, it will be bullshit and venom no doubt.

[-] -1 points by jbob (74) 12 years ago

i just hope some 99%ers see this and think for a second.

[-] 2 points by shadz66 (19985) 12 years ago

Hey, 'wassup ma wigger' ; yer momma Never teach you Share ?!!

[-] -1 points by jbob (74) 12 years ago

share what? money i earned?

[-] -1 points by jbob (74) 12 years ago

am i wrong?

[-] 1 points by shadz66 (19985) 12 years ago

Yes. Everyday of your : self-absorbed ; self-congratulatory ; self-referential ; sad little life ;-(

[-] -1 points by headlesscross (67) 12 years ago

No,you are completely correct.