Forum Post: A confused immigrant succeeding in the United States
Posted 11 years ago on May 27, 2012, 1:02 a.m. EST by ElSolTaino
(2)
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My parents moved to the United States from Puerto Rico with not much at all in their pockets. My mother is a housewife and my father is a carpenter that makes not much money at all. Along with my younger brother, they live in a house cramped with many other relatives. And they are very happy with what very little they have. One relative has cancer, one is mentally handicapped . . but in a house of 13, where food isn't always guarenteed, they dance every night. They laugh. And they are grateful for the opportunities in the United States of America.
My younger cousins both graduated high school - the first in the family, after me - and are attending Uni for free because of academic excellence.
My best friend from high school, Jarvis, was in a homeless shelter in a rough neighborhood since 7th grade. His mother was a prostitute addicted to crack who was killed, and his father, as far as he is concerned, doesn't even exist. But in 10th grade, he started buying shoes and selling them for higher prices. Just flipping shoes, he makes on average, $1500 a month. In his last year of school, he wore a diamond-studded rolex, worth $3200, every day. He got accepted to an Honors Business program in school for - you guessed right - free, due to academic and personal excellence.
I've been through enough shitty events in my life to be completely screwed in the head, like many of you OWS'ers love to self-diagnose. But I pulled through. I pulled through my sister's suicide, seeing people killed right in front of me multiple times, and poverty. I am now finishing my master's degree in Chemistry and have excellent career prospects, no matter which path I take.Why can't you all do the same?
I agree that American corporations have become too powerful. I believe that they should be practicing business in a more ethical ways, and that, as a whole, capitalism must be fixed not because it is broken, but because the Amercan consumer culture that Broken Capitalists begat BECAME capitalism. And, in turn, we live an unsustainable lifestyle that has become out of accordance with mother nature. And yes - the ultra rich should exist solely because they make ultra-contributions to society.
But don't blame the system because you chose a competitive career like acting, writing, or art. Don't blame the system after you are trying to go to school while on your own with two kids. Don't blame the system when you want healthcare and university education for free, while you are probably contributing NOTHING back to the system. Don't blame the system when you aren't willing to do HARD LABOR for your money, because many of you Americans aren't.
Of course I am not talking about ALL of you - to do that would be prejudgmental and that is unfair. But from what I have seen from personal interview and conversation, many of you are just simply . . . lazy. Many of you have fantasies of living bohemian lifestyles with no worry. I mean no offense, friends . . . I really don't. :-/ But in this democratic society, I can say what I feel, right? :-/
I've seen many members in my family not eat and feed the young, because they were too proud to take federal assistance. Has the modern American lost all pride?
I always thought I was liberal when I made friends from Germany, Denmark, Scandinavia, and many parts of Asia. But when I came to the United States, I realized the average American liberal is no better then the average American conservative. Hell, American liberals don't even follow true Liberalism.
I would support OWS. And I would bring MANY followers with me down to OWS. But it isn't about corporations with too much money influencing American politics. It isn't about making environmental regulations tighter to help replenish the Earth we live on. It isn't about ANYTHING legitimate. It's labeled as such, but it is not a real protest with real people.
Hmmm. A diamond-studded Rolex for $3200. Let me know where he bought it; that's a real steal. In fact, I don't know of any Rolex that sells for that low of a price.
What school favored your friend with such an outstanding scholarship?
Oh, yes, one other thing. You say that you immigrated from Puerto Rico. I wonder from where. My aunt lives in Puerto Rico, maybe not far from your birth place. Maybe you could share a bit about your life in Puerto Rico.
Well said, but in spite of whatever a good portion of what OWS is, I still do encourage you to get involved in this nation's politics in some way, and in your own way fight for those policies to make this a better America. Like you say not all of us are bums.
TitusMoans - I am from Arecibo or Florida, depending on which time period you are referring to. There was some changes in the municipalities and their areas.
OH - MY - AHhhHahahahaha - are you doing this for creative writing 101?
OH - send this one off to Miami CSI - too good to waste - David Caruso in background looking like he is dispeptic and having trouble holding up His Head.
Brouhaha - cameo by Don Johnson and Cheech Marin - AHhhHahahahaha
Ah, yes, I like the "...it is not my first language." He says that he's completing his master's in chemistry, but he can't communicate well in English. Must be a bilingual university.
Sounds like a TV script. Has all of the angles. The scene fades in - there is a man he is sweating looks tired worn out - in the background is a window looking out on the shoreline.................
You forgot the squalling brats and the limping dog.
Oh, please excuse any errors in my English, for it is not my first language.
BEST post of the week! Thank you EST.
Arturo, I am not better than anybody else. Nobody on this planet is better than anybody else. I am just trying to say that it is easier to better YOURSELF if you put a lot of work and a little intelligence into it.
If most people are too busy with their own lives, then don't go to the protests. After all, most people are too busy probably bettering themselves to care much about how the lot of OWS'ers got knocked down in life and want other people to reach out and pull them up instead of pulling theirselves up.
Thank you, monetarist . .
You can reply to people directly by clicking the blue "reply" link below each post.
Maybe it is easier to better ourselves, but its not going to solve the problem that this website is concerned with, which is Wall Street corruption. If we don't solve that problem, our current crisis will just get worse and worse, turning the US into a third world country.
Going to protests perhaps is the life that other people live. You don't want to make choices about other people's personal lives for them do you?
I don't think most people here want other people to pull them up, there may be some like that, but there are people like that everywhere. I really don't hear a lot of people here asking for handouts though.
ElSolTaino-
According to the dogma of OWS, you do not exist. The American Dream is dead and NO ONE can succeed except those who have already obtained it. Therefore-they will either ignore you, or attempt write you off as a liar and a fraud. Or, as arturo already did: a boorish, ranting egotist.
I know hundreds of people like you. I grew up with and now live among thousands like you. What you describe isn't a fairy tale or rare statistic-it's everyday life and FACT to hundreds of millions of people. That's why none of those people will listen to OWS or join it. What OWS is telling them does not mesh with the reality they see and experience every single day.
So do you think that there are no problems with Wall Street or the American economy today?
No I don't think that. It's obvious. It's also obvious that people like ElSol have continued to succeed in life even WITH the problems on Wall Street and the American economy.
All the complaining and protesting and anger and "occupying" has educated the uninformed that there are problems that need to be dealt with. That's a good thing. But, as you said, if we don't solve those problems, our current crisis will get worse.
The question is, does OWS intend to exist for the sole purpose of screaming, marching, and occupying to get people's attention? Or does OWS intend to exist to ALSO come up with and offer the people solid, effective solutions to those issues?
I can only speak for my own intention, though I know a number of people here feel the same way. Which is that we need a Glass Steagall bankruptcy reorganization of the financial system, just like FDR did to get us out of the great depression, and an economic recovery program like the New Deal. These are the only effective solutions to today's economic problems.
So why don't you sit down with a group of qualified economic professionals and pound out the details of your idea so that the rest of us can examine it and see whether it's reasonable or not?
Well, the pounding has been done, and the case has been made. There is lots of information out there on this subject, particularly, Glass Steagall followed by a New Deal style recovery.
I have posted information on it here, and so have many others, you can read quite a bit about it just by looking up Glass Steagall at Google. However, remember that the powers that be oppose Glass Steagall because it would put their financial institutions through bankruptcy reorganization and they would loose a lot of the phony money that they think they have.
If you look at the top postings for Glass Steagall on Google, you will find that many are against it for this reason. If you go to the following two web pages, you can do a search on Glass Steagall and get a lot of positive information:
http://larouchepac.com/sitemap http://www.larouchepub.com/
I'll warn you though, while I appreciate the author of those two sites, many people here hate him and will ridicule you if you talk about him.
If you believe that those are the "only effective solutions" to our problems, then you need to go to work with the author to gain a following and build a coalition that promotes them to the American people.
You need to network with him and others on the most effective way to get THESE solutions out there and implement them as quickly and painlessly as possible. If OWS is not willing as an entity to help you do that, I must ask you why you remain here?
I do keep working at it, I post here regularly about it, and I work with a coalition of people that promotes it to the American people. I make substantial contributions every month, for close to ten years now, to a political group that supports Glass Steagall.
I suggest you learn more about it and get involved yourself.
hi
I'm Matt Holck
I'm Bob Dole! pt.2
Still pushing Viagra Bob?
Hi Matt, what's up?
Tokyo Rose or Berlin Betty?
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This just appears to be a boorish post by someone who wants to rant about how much better he thinks he is than other people. Most people are too busy with their own lives to care much about how great you think you are.
You might get more interest in your posts if you try to stick to the topic at hand.
Kudos to you. That's exactly what I have beeb trying to tell these guys all along, you can succeed handsomely in life provided you have put in the right effort at the right time.
Sadly, OWS has become a place where losers, for want of a better word, vent out their frustrations and held everyone else accountable for their plight. Your testimony here is a breath of fresh air.