Forum Post: 99% IS NOT ENOUGH: Why we need to get to 100% in order to truly succeed

99% is great, but 100% is even better and is necessary for us to truly win. United we stand. Divided we fall. If we really want a successful movement, if we really want a successful revolution with good end result, then we must remember that the means inform the ends and we must therefore stay true to nonviolent principles.

In keeping with this we must love the 1%.

The 1% are LOST and that is what causes them to be greedy and heartless at times. They're not happy having over abundance. They're trapped by all that stuff. They define themselves by it.

The form of the word love I'm referring to is agape, universal love. We're talking about love of humanity, knowing that at the core of every being, however hidden, is a core of goodness. Once you see that, it becomes less about fighting and hating (which only hurts the hater really) and more about loving the lost so they find themselves and stop clumsily hurting the other 99% of the population.

That's not to say there aren't lost among the 99% too who find their identity in money and things or the hope of obtaining them. I'm critiquing that mindset no matter what the person's net worth is.

It's clear though that the financial winners in this current economy have a pretty big devotion to things and money for its own sake. Otherwise they wouldn't trade their values and sell their kids, grandkids, country and their fellow citizens down the river just to get from $4.8 billion net worth to $5.2 billion in net worth.

Obviously I'm leaving out the harm they cause to the environment and other countries and the citizens of the world. It's not just the CONSUMER that buys the pair of sketchers sneakers made by 6 year olds in China at a factory that pollutes the air and water. It's also the producer who makes the decision, raises the capital, arranges the marketing etc.

Everyone loves to blame the consumer, whether it's people who buy Nike or homebuyers who borrowed money from Bush's buddy Countrywide's Anthony Mozillo. Yes, consumers should educate themselves and make good choices. Completely agree and I'm not letting consumers off the hook.

But let's not forget the hundreds and hundreds of billions of dollars of marketing that goes on to perpetuate these brands and this business model. Absent a regulatory superwoman like Elizabeth Warren pushing for consistent disclosure,, it's not easy for consumer to see through the smokescreen. That doesn't let the consumer off the hook but it does put the PRODUCER on the hook. They've been given a pass for too long.

The head of Interface Carpet, world's largest supplier of carpet, has woken up to this and has been telling fellow top CEO's, they're going to be putting people like us in jail soon (people who make money by polluting environment and ruining economy).

He's right.

That said, we're going to have to follow Gandhi and King's example and engage in active nonviolent tactics. And we're going to have to do so with the right mindset: loving the 1% enough to set them right. That was King's prescription and that's how he and his supporters won civil rights for millions. It wasn't just the tactics. It was also the mindset. It works.

The saddest part about the concentration of wealth in this country is that it's most often just stored or used for junk. Granted, the junk of the 1% is bigger, fancier and more long lasting than ours, but the key is that the buzz they get from it quickly fades. So it becomes an addiction just like any other addiction. They're going after the dopamine buzz and it gets harder and harder to get it.

If they're lucky, they come to their wits end and discover family, art, life, love, whatever. But most don't, the poor saps. Their extravagant resources enslave them. It seems strange to say but we need compassion for the 1% too. We really do. For our own good and theirs. The reason they're plundering the world is that they're lost.

There's a move in the martial art Aikido where, when your opponent aggresses towards you, you take a slight step to the side. Then, instead of aggressing towards him, you move with him and "help him to the ground where he'll be safer." It's remarkable because you use his energy. You harness it. And you do it with the true motivation of helping him. I agree with others who say that all power flows from that mindset and approach.

Check out this short video -- gotta watch all three minutes to see what happens. Shows exactly why nonviolence is so powerful. If these people had gone with violence, they would have lost. Watch this. You won't believe your eyes. This was on college campus recently: http://occupywallst.org/forum/this-says-it-all-what-were-up-against-and-how-we-w/