We are the 99%

• Cucurbita wrote on 2011-10-05 06:44
  Will eventually reach 1%.
• Chillax wrote on 2011-10-05 07:05
  The Occupy Wall Street movement would have more meaning if the the goals of the protesters weren't so fragmented. Just clogging up a space and saying, "We want change" solves nothing. It would be better if a draft of a bill highlighting the demands was drawn up and passed around on the Internet for people to say "yea" or "nay" like some protesters have been trying to organize.
• Yoorah wrote on 2011-10-05 08:27

  Quote from Lilith;608888:

  Well, I hope you certainly don't consider me to be one of those spoiled kids. What in the world is a DSLR camera? o.o Never even heard of that, and I'm not an owner of a smartphone*chuckles*Just a regular phone for me, which I'm lucky to still have. I hardly doubt you are meaning to include me in the spoiled category and I don't even have a post on that tumblr, but it could be the case that some of those students posting on there only have access to certain things due to living in a dorm/friends.
  
  I know that's the case with me at least, I only have access to the internet and whatnot because I'm paying to live on campus. I was kicked out of my house before this semester, but I'm fortunate to have a place to stay once my semester ends. That being said....I really don't think either you or Dempsie should be flinging insults and judgments about one another. Communist? Illogical? Come on guys, you can discuss things rationally.

  
  
  A DSLR camera is an expensive camera. :P I'm just pointing out that those people with the expensive toys are not actually poor. They just want attention. Some of the protesters might actually be in distress, but considering this was "organized" basically from a fad generated by a Canadian trends magazine or whatever, it's safe to say that most people are just doing it for the lulz.
  
  And once again, the communist comment was not an insult. It was an accurate description; communists used the very same (flawed) reasoning to convince people that their ideals were the right ones.
  
  

  Quote from Chillax;608915:

  The Occupy Wall Street movement would have more meaning if the the goals of the protesters weren't so fragmented. Just clogging up a space and saying, "We want change" solves nothing. It would be better if a draft of a bill highlighting the demands was drawn up and passed around on the Internet for people to say "yea" or "nay" like some protesters have been trying to organize.

  
  Indeed. Very few people are even paying attention to them because they have no unified message. Some of them are angry at gas prices, some of them are angry about healthcare, etc. They only get attention when they do stupid things, like blocking off the Brooklyn bridge over the weekend, leading to 700 arrests. lolol
• Cynic wrote on 2011-10-05 08:38
  My Mom and I have been a bit over the 99% for awhile now. But it's not as if anyone cares enough to help, so I'm not too sure why spreading awareness is a priority, unless it's one of those moral "omgah yer not alone!" things, which also does nothing.
• Hiccup wrote on 2011-10-05 09:35
  Not 99% but my family is not rolling in cash. We've got it comfortable though, and were even helping out a family friend by having him live with us (despite him making stupid decisions which lead to it but...)
• Ithiliel wrote on 2011-10-05 10:29

  Quote from Yoorah;608971:

  A DSLR camera is an expensive camera. :P I'm just pointing out that those people with the expensive toys are not actually poor. They just want attention. Some of the protesters might actually be in distress, but considering this was "organized" basically from a fad generated by a Canadian trends magazine or whatever, it's safe to say that most people are just doing it for the lulz.
  
  And once again, the communist comment was not an insult. It was an accurate description; communists used the very same (flawed) reasoning to convince people that their ideals were the right ones.
  

  
  
  I agree with you that the people with the expensive toys really shouldn't be complaining about how poor they are. I know some of the things I owned can be classified as expensive toys so I wasn't trying to complain about anything other than the education system, really. Seeing as how integrated I am with the education system, I kinda feel like I have to right to complain about it. But I honestly didn't know a thing about the magazine, or even the movement.
• Adelynn wrote on 2011-10-05 18:14
  I'm poor enough where the government gives me all but 20K of my 4-year tuition for free.
  My brother doesn't have his own room.
• Claudia wrote on 2011-10-06 00:33
  Some of these are sad and depressing, and I feel sympathetic.
  Some more than others.
  
  I think it's less about the emotional feel that we need to focus on, and more about the business aspect.
  Sure, you can feel unsympathetic to these people because they have fancy cameras to portray their stories of woe, but do you feel like it's right for people who work on Wall Street to spend big $$$ on a night of "fun" while a lot of people in the world are spending little $$$ on food?
  
  
  Yeah, i'm in the 99%, by the way. I'm grateful my parents still have their jobs, though they both came pretty close.
• Yoorah wrote on 2011-10-06 02:09

  Quote from Lilith;609034:

  I agree with you that the people with the expensive toys really shouldn't be complaining about how poor they are. I know some of the things I owned can be classified as expensive toys so I wasn't trying to complain about anything other than the education system, really. Seeing as how integrated I am with the education system, I kinda feel like I have to right to complain about it. But I honestly didn't know a thing about the magazine, or even the movement.

  
  There's no debate that the American education system needs reform. Just like with healthcare spending, the US gov spends a ton of taxpayer $$$ on education--far more than they should be, but the money gets wasted somehow and the results end up being poor. How this happens, I don't quite understand. Throwing money at the problem probably made it harder to solve the problem through efficiency.
  
  

  Quote from Adelynn;609149:

  I'm poor enough where the government gives me all but 20K of my 4-year tuition for free.
  My brother doesn't have his own room.

  
  It's okay to be "poor" when you're young. :P Work hard and you'll work your way up.
  
  

  Quote from Claudia;609358:

  Some of these are sad and depressing, and I feel sympathetic.
  Some more than others.
  
  I think it's less about the emotional feel that we need to focus on, and more about the business aspect.
  Sure, you can feel unsympathetic to these people because they have fancy cameras to portray their stories of woe, but do you feel like it's right for people who work on Wall Street to spend big $$$ on a night of "fun" while a lot of people in the world are spending little $$$ on food?
  
  
  Yeah, i'm in the 99%, by the way. I'm grateful my parents still have their jobs, though they both came pretty close.

  
  There's a lot of smart people working hard right now, trying to figure out how things can be made better from the business aspect.
  
  The problem is that individuals will always look at their own needs, rather than at the bigger picture. Remember the auto worker unions going on strike just before the collapse of GM and Chrysler (Ford came close, too)? They refused cuts in pay/benefits, even though they were making over $30/hr or whatever crazy amounts.. working on an assembly line. <_< Then the government had to bail out the car makers (with your $) 'cause they ran out of cash.
  
  That was then. Now look at Greece and their debt problem. The country's on a head-on collision course with a default on their debts, that could send the whole EU into an economic crisis, which would then affect the rest of the world--you'd probably have a repeat of the 2008 recession, possibly harder. And mind you, this is different from the US debt problem, in that the US has plenty of time to gradually fix things. The crash in Greece could happen within a year. Meanwhile, Greeks are out in the street, protesting against cuts in spending required to help get the country (and the rest of the world) off this dangerous course.
  
  The US has problems right now because the country wasn't ready to deal with global competition. But that's a whole other topic. xd
• Dempsie wrote on 2011-10-06 02:51

  Quote from Yoorah;608852:

  Attacking me because your logic is flawed. lol fail.
  
  I understand your argument, that both cleaners and lawyers are needed and that therefore both should be paid the same.
  LOL!
  
  I pointed out that you sounded like a communist because this is exactly how it was in the USSR, where I was born. And long story short: There was much fail to be had there, too.
  
  I already explained why lawyers are paid more than cleaners. It's perfectly logical. Think about it some more.
  
  
  
  Ah, my apologies; I have missed your post. xP
  
  Yeah, I know what you mean. Some people are just unlucky and they can't do anything to make their lives better. This is true, but it largely applies more to less wealthy countries--not to countries like the US and Canada. While the recession may have made things much more difficult in the US (compared to Canada, where I live), we're still the lands of opportunity compared to many places around the world. Look at all the illegal immigrants sneaking into the US, yet managing to not only make their ends meet and enjoy better quality of life than in their home countries, but also send their kids to college, and so on.
  
  Indeed, it was your mistake to assume that I'm one of those spoiled kids who was given a head start advantage by their parents. While my parents both hold engineering degrees, they have been unable to find decent work in Canada and have had to take up low-paying jobs. I've worked part time jobs to save money for my university education and help my parents with our living expenses. Life's not luxurious and you have to have proper expectations, but at the same time it wasn't bad, either. After all, Canada and the US are in fact countries built by immigrants who often arrive with next to little, and are able to prosper and build the nations through hard work.
  
  The people who are spoiled kids are those participating in those 99% protests, toting expensive DSLR cameras and smartphones while they complain about corporate greed, injustice and poverty.

  
  
  I'm not even going to justify any more of your posts with a response for a few reasons.
  
  1. You still don't understand my point, which was made abundantly clear every time you commented back in rebuttal to me. You also have yet to understand the point of the website, as a hint, it has nothing to do with feeling sorry for themselves or getting anyone to feel sorry for them; it barely has anything to do with them at all.
  
  2. You make baseless assumptions on the pretense you know these people and their situations, and regardless of that still make generalized comments. On top of these assumptions, you never fully address my entire posts and conveniently leave out a majority of what my post truly concerned.
  
  3. In an argument pertaining to value and belief, rarely does a person ever concede to being wrong and such.
  
  
  I'm all for debate; although, it needs to be rational and civil. None of which was had between us; claims were made, names were called, and no support was given. So, if you want to restructure your argument with support provided for your opinion, I am all for continuing this discussion with you. Until then, I will only respond to those who do as much; otherwise, there is no real debate to be had, it is just two people slinging dissenting opinions at one another.
  
  Also, if you feel the need to say my logic is fail and that is why I am no longer going to reply to you until you restructure your argument, then feel free to do so if that makes you feel as though you have 'won.'
• Claudia wrote on 2011-10-06 03:18
  I don't understand how intelligent discussions can turn nastier and ruder than stupid flaming drama.
  
  Why do we all have to yell at each other because we don't believe in the same things? I would honestly expect more out of you guys than acting like children going, "WELL, YOUR OPINION SUX, DON'T BOTHER REPLYING TO MINE".
  
  Not trying to be a backseat mod, but i'm just saying. We need to be a bit more civil because I feel somewhat insulted reading through threads like this with people just relentlessly attacking people who are making good observations.
• Kazuni wrote on 2011-10-06 03:36
  I'm currently in the 99%. My parents went to the best universities in China, but they're making $12/hour here in Canada because they wanted me to have a good education and be away from all the problems that are coming up in China.
  My dad does stocks to try and get extra income to boost up savings for my university fund, but the stock market hasn't been friendly lately. Aka, if I get into ivy league, I need to pay for it myself by getting part time jobs and loans, or pulling a miracle and getting a huge scholarship.
  
  I'm absolutely intending to get to the 1%. And yes, I will donate to charities (not charities like the red cross though), but I will not be supporting things like the ideas on this site that come up every single day. If I'm part of the 1%, I would have clawed my way up like any other person who can get there and stay there with their own ability. Yes, I was lucky to be born in an educated family, which wasn't too well off but was living well, and have the learning capacity I have, but I work for everything else.
  
  Plus, if I take an expensive undergraduate program then law school, then take even more time to get my PhD, it would be extremely unfair for me to get paid the same amount as the "most important part" of our society. Yes, they are the building blocks of our world, but did they spend 8~12 years on university like I'm going to? Are most of them even capable of doing that, even if they had the money and opportunity? No, I don't think so.
• Claudia wrote on 2011-10-06 03:42
  I mean, the biggest thing to me is reading the stories...grad students, college students, even kids my age who can't even afford to apply to college.
  I'm just scared that some day it's going to get that bad for me and my family, and then where are we?
  
  But that doesn't matter, because either way, we're the 99%, and probably will be forever.
  I wish we all didn't have to be in the 99%, hell, being in the 99% wouldn't be bad, if it didn't mean suffering and misery.
• Dejosa wrote on 2011-10-06 03:43
  [FONT="Century Gothic"]I'm definitely in the 99% and almost close to being homeless soon.
  I was probably in middle-class for a major part of my childhood, until many roadblocks hit.
  My father left me at the Age of 10 and doesn't want to support me anymore.
  My brother was murdered when I was at the age of 12, who was the replacement father.
  After that, my life went from a video-game a month to a video-game every 6 months to a year.
  Now, I'm graduated out of high school and I cannot afford to even go to Community College.
  My mother is sick and she's needs to be taken cared of, but I don't have any other family members to support her.
  I can't go to work, because the Government is still withholding my Disability Check and my well-being.
  (Why I get Disability? I'm diagnosed with Autism, ADHD, and Depression.)
  
  To be honest, I rather prefer moving out of the country and live in Canada, than the United States.
  Everything is too expensive and I can't adapt to the real-life lifestyles of this economy.
  There's too many greedy people and they're just taking advantages over us.
  Makes me feel so sad for the imbeciles that only has money on their minds and manipulates people for it.
  (Example: Monopolies. (like Walmart, Gas Stations, etc.))
  
  This land (called the United States) is resting on a broken promise.
  :sigh:[/FONT]
• Claudia wrote on 2011-10-06 03:47
  But I mean, what can we do?
  Like Yoorah said, capitalism is sort of collapsing on itself.
  I was doing my history homework the other day, and right now we're doing the Gilded Age...and it reminds me about how things are today.
  Business tycoons and mega moguls are living the high life, while everybody else in the factories are working long hours, minimum wage, barely scraping by, terrified that they're going to lose their job.
  
  That's the 1870's. And that's how it is now.
  I mean, it's not much better in a lot of other places, like Greece and the Eurozone in general is hurting, and all the other countries that were never rich.
  It's not as if we can all just up and move.
  
  I can't help but think it has to be the government. What else can we, as the '99%' do?