Forum Post: What happened
Posted 13 years ago on Nov. 9, 2011, 1:50 a.m. EST by Seriously
(0)
from Jersey City, NJ
This content is user submitted and not an official statement
So I came on to your site seeking answers, and somehow the Username Unrelenting got blocked from posting because I posted this:
So I do not consider myself to be a supporter of OWS. Rather I read the stories about your movement and ask myself numerous questions. So after trying to get a handle on why OWS acts in certain ways, I figured I would go directly to the source. Question 1; what is the income cutoff for being part of the 99%? I saw one news story that reported people earning $531,000 a year were part of the 99%. A different story led me to believe that it was closer to $375,000. In an article on MSNBC about the tents, one of your members was quoted as saying she is living paycheck to paycheck, but also that she lives in Manhattan. To people like me, this seems less like a case of financial equality and more a case of financial irresponsibility. This leads directly to Question 2; how can your movement ask for support if by all appearances your members are living above their means? Question 3; why are you not occupying Washington DC? Why not camp out in front of the White House? It seems like asking the 1% to voluntarily change is an act of futility. If they haven't changed their actions at this point, why would you camping in a park change it? Question 4; does your movement REALLY support the transformation of the United States into a Socialist Regime? Why should my money go towards people who didn't earn it? Question 5; if your movement is about a "redistribution of wealth", why does your movement want to exclude those who are less well off than yourselves? I am speaking of the homeless people that numerous news reports have quoted members of OWS and other sites as saying they do not want around because "it will enable others to disregard our movement" or "we want separation because they could be dangerous". If I could have CIVIL answers to these questions, I would appreciate it.
It looks as if the thread I started was deleted now, as it was updated 47 minutes ago and yet is not on the right side when you click on an individual post. However other, older posts still are, and derogatory posts are there. What was wrong with my questions?
Also, I have this as a follow up:
Point 1: I guess I just don't see how some making roughly 18 times the poverty line has in common with someone who is earning less than the poverty line. It seems like the reason your movement says 99% is because it is more catchy than truthful. How many people earning $500,000+ are really on your side?
Point 2: If the rent is too high, move. Why take to the street and complain that you can't live where you can't afford? Is it the wealthy's responsibility to pay for your rent?
Point 3: I have been perusing your forum, and there doesn't seem to be a logical reason for WHY you are occupying Wall Street as opposed to the White House. To the contrary, there seems to be A LOT of support for Obama.
Point 4: It seems like the general message is you think the wealthy (which is somehow people earning OVER $532,000?) have too much money. In the OWS commercial, there is a girl who states that the wealthy should be taxed to pay for her education. If that is not a step towards Socialism, I don't know what is.
Point 5: So why does your movement want to preclude the Homeless? They are less powerful than you.
I'll give it a try although I am not an official spokesman:
The 99%, I believe, is just a metaphor. I don't think enough people realize that. The 1% isn't about actual income, rather it represents the upper echelon that are corrupt, the ones who have used their money to influence politicians (you could say bribe) to pass or repeal laws that further enrich their bank accounts at the expense of society as a whole not to mention commit outright crimes (fraud) as in the case of Goldman Sachs selling junk paper disguised as AAA investments then betting against (shorting) those same investments.
I don't really have a good answer for that except to say the Zuccotti Park crowd aren't necessarily an accurate cross section of the 99%. I, for example, live in the Midwest and have been unemployed for an extended period of time.
3.Wall Street was a good starting point because it represents the big banks and investment community, what we view as the party largely responsible for the economic crisis we're now experiencing (with DC's help, of course). There is an Occupy DC movement although much smaller than NY. Right now OWS is just trying to grow support. Also. they are planning the first march to the White House this week.
No, OWS is not trying to turn the US into a socialist country, just trying to fix the broken system we have now.
It's my understanding that a lot of those news reports about OWS turning away the homeless are false. I get that information from people on this forum that have seen the Zuccotti Park setup first-hand. They tell me the homeless are being fed and sheltered.
Also, this forum probably isn't the most accurate representation of OWS simply because it's unmoderated so there are a lot of people on here that do not truly support the movement. I would suggest checking some of the other websites for a while before making a true assessment. A couple of the better ones to check are 'themultitude.org' and 'occupyr.com.' One last thing: OWS is party-neutral, neither pro-Republican or pro-Democrat. I hope this helps. P.S. When I posted this it didn't seem to format right, but I think it should still be clear. For example, I typed '4' and it showed up as '1.'
You do have a point. If they block something today then what's to stop them blocking something tomorrow. even thought I may not one hundred percent agree with ,Ron Lawl,but I don't think it's right to block his name. if the admins find his name a distraction then let take all names of the table.
The issue with the RP posts is that they were increasingly taking over the forum, every thread had at least one reply referring RP as 'Our man' or words to that effect.
Since this is not a platform for political campaign the RP postings were burdensome for many of us and I guess a great many people began to dislike the postings with the name indicating that the forum was at a consensus for removing it from the pages.
It would be nice to be able to discuss the issues in a manner that a new comer could easily understand what the movement is about in the most generic sense...because generic is what it would have to be, there are many differing groups that have joined to present their issues which may not be related to the issues of other groups.
I understand where your coming from. they talk alot but aren't saying much. it wouldn't be so bad if they blocked every presidential candidates names.
I realize I've probably missed reading a great many threads and most likely have miss even more replies, but I have to say that the ones I have read, I have not observed the intensity of other candidates names being presented. Matter of fact, I've read entire threads in which not one single candidate's name has been presented excepting of course the above mentioned one...either with the redirected spelling or by initials.
Yes, It wasn't as large of a problem until they messed with the spelling. Then you see all these post by pissed off libertarians and trolls.
Censorship. Something in their doesn't jive with OWS.
Please leave Canadian whore.
Ron Paul, not Ron Lawl.