The Spirit Of Occupy

[enders_shadow]

The fact that "we are the 99%" was a rally cry is an interesting thing to examine. Not only does it, in itself, exclude some people from their efforts, but it's also wrong [in one sense, and right in a different sense].

Comments

[yes_justice]

I know about the 99%ers who believe (wrongly) that they will get a shot at the easy life, but who are these benevolent alphas?

[enders_shadow]

http://www.forbes.com/sites/stevenbertoni/2012/09/18/chuck-feeney-the-billionaire-who-is-trying-to-go-broke/

There were also, in the crowds at Zuccotti, now and again, people raised with a silver spoon who recognized how unfair the advantages they got were.

I don't know how much money Zizek makes, but he sure turns out a lot of books....

Michael Moore, for whatever he's worth, showed up now and again.

Depending on how you look at the top 1%, you don't even need to be a millionaire. One stat I recall hearing was that at around 600,000/year you were in the top 1%. So maybe folks like Immortal Technique might make that much--Noam Chomsky supported us verbally (though I don't recall him attending any encampments)

There were other here-and-there rich-folk who like OWS and supported it. But they were rare, it's true.

[paft]

There's a recent biography of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Traitor to His Class, that deals with this subject. He was, after all, a man born into a very wealthy family. The author seems to believe Roosevelt's experience with polio -- an almost freakish bolt from the blue which altered his life permanently and was due to nothing he had done "wrong" -- influenced his attitude towards people hit hard by the Depression.

[enders_shadow]

Surely if he wasn't rich there would be some charity willing to pay his medical bills...../snark

[paft]

And if there wasn't (switch immediately from dewey-eyed naivete to the keen-eyed realist boldly squaring his/her jaw in the face of others' misfortune) well, hey, its a sad reality of life that paralyzed people who can't afford to pay for assistance, will just eventually go hungry and die.

Triage dontchaknow.

[moonshaz]

That book sounds fascinating--just added it to my "To Read" list! :)