V.G.I.
I’ve seen this picture shared more than once in the past week on Facebook but had not clicked on the thumbnail to read it until today. My news feed has been flooded with links to articles on Occupy Wall Street, and pictures of protesters, and friend’s respective opinions on the matter. My initial reaction was irritation at the accusatory nature of the message, and then amusement that the people sharing this picture were all older adults, close to the retirement age. People who in their early 20s probably did not face the same kind of economic challenges of today, like actually affording a college education, maintaining a low debt to income ratio, and finding a job with adequate pay, all while the unemployment rate rises to record heights, and the cost of living continues to climb. The messages intent, to me, to villanize people in debt or paint them as fiscally irresponsible is laughable, and irritating, when comparing their alternative lifestyle, i.e., their decision to live near poverty; “I refuse to take out student loans or use credit cards so I live in a shitty apartment and eat Top Ramen 7 days a week for dinner so I can pay for my education, and I’m perfectly happy because I’m debt free!” It’s funny this person (whose actual and superior existence I question) who boasts of their stellar performance as a student and their 3.8 GPA, I gander, in a way to validate their intelligence, almost demanding accolades, lacks clarity of who the 99% are, and what some of them have been protesting. One would think a college educated person knows how to fact check. One would also think that if someone harnessed enough energy to scribble this message, take a picture and post it to the internet, they’re also capable with much less time and energy devoted to click on any number of articles that show up when you google “99 percent” or “Occupy Wall Street” to do a little research on the issue before they threw down insults. The claim “I’m the 99 percent”, is actually an exaggeration if you look at the numbers, but we’re not questioning that exact percentage. And sure, there are plenty of people who like to blame the government and any other easy target for their shit decisions they are now feeling the repercussions of. But what’s not an exaggeration is the number of people who are responsible and struggling despite their efforts. I’m not saying living within your means these days is impossible, and it’s ideal, but what’s not debatable is there are people who were doing just that and they still got screwed by the man. These people are absolutely justified in blaming Wall Street and the government for directly causing the unfavorable position they have found themselves in and can’t get out of. And there’s no question that they are within their rights to ask the people they elected to act in their best interests, to do so. To discount that would be irresponsible.

I’ve seen this picture shared more than once in the past week on Facebook but had not clicked on the thumbnail to read it until today. My news feed has been flooded with links to articles on Occupy Wall Street, and pictures of protesters, and friend’s respective opinions on the matter.

My initial reaction was irritation at the accusatory nature of the message, and then amusement that the people sharing this picture were all older adults, close to the retirement age. People who in their early 20s probably did not face the same kind of economic challenges of today, like actually affording a college education, maintaining a low debt to income ratio, and finding a job with adequate pay, all while the unemployment rate rises to record heights, and the cost of living continues to climb.

The messages intent, to me, to villanize people in debt or paint them as fiscally irresponsible is laughable, and irritating, when comparing their alternative lifestyle, i.e., their decision to live near poverty; “I refuse to take out student loans or use credit cards so I live in a shitty apartment and eat Top Ramen 7 days a week for dinner so I can pay for my education, and I’m perfectly happy because I’m debt free!”

It’s funny this person (whose actual and superior existence I question) who boasts of their stellar performance as a student and their 3.8 GPA, I gander, in a way to validate their intelligence, almost demanding accolades, lacks clarity of who the 99% are, and what some of them have been protesting.

One would think a college educated person knows how to fact check. One would also think that if someone harnessed enough energy to scribble this message, take a picture and post it to the internet, they’re also capable with much less time and energy devoted to click on any number of articles that show up when you google “99 percent” or “Occupy Wall Street” to do a little research on the issue before they threw down insults.

The claim “I’m the 99 percent”, is actually an exaggeration if you look at the numbers, but we’re not questioning that exact percentage. And sure, there are plenty of people who like to blame the government and any other easy target for their shit decisions they are now feeling the repercussions of.

But what’s not an exaggeration is the number of people who are responsible and struggling despite their efforts.

I’m not saying living within your means these days is impossible, and it’s ideal, but what’s not debatable is there are people who were doing just that and they still got screwed by the man. These people are absolutely justified in blaming Wall Street and the government for directly causing the unfavorable position they have found themselves in and can’t get out of. And there’s no question that they are within their rights to ask the people they elected to act in their best interests, to do so. To discount that would be irresponsible.

Posted 4 months ago
Tagged: Occupy Wall Street, 99 percent, .