When the protest first began, I sat in my quaint Portland apartment with a couple friends playing the self-indulgent critic. As we discussed the impending shutdowns the protest would trigger in public transportation and other city mechanisms, we agreed that the true frustration with the idea was the vagueness of it all, as well as the fact that the "true" 99% can't afford to take a week off of work and drive their Toyota Priuses down to a protest to camp out . Working on NE 82nd St., the people that I see every day on the way to work range from hookers and pimps to blue collar workers, and also represent one of the most racially diverse crowds in the city of Portland. (Of course, I work in a schmancy corporate office as a temp/paper pusher, and come from all of the privileged background colored by white guilt and Catholic guilt that a young liberal must admit to.) My point is, most of the people in this neighborhood are completely unaffected by this protest, and they are perhaps the people who are most affected by this so-called cause.
Here you have crowds of self-righteous liberals waving the banner of "We are the 99%!" ...Now that the protest has spread, it is difficult to unravel what is meant by this, as it appears to mean different things to different people... Presumably, it is in reference to the fact that 1% of Americans own about 38% of the nation's wealth. To this outraged "99%," I have to point out that the US as a whole constitutes about 5% of the world population and holds about 27% of the world's net worth. Given, this is skewed by the highly affluent 1% of Americans to some degree, but my gut response to all of this 99% stuff is that, as citizens of this planet, Americans are the most materially privileged by leaps and bounds. I worry that the protest just makes us look like whiny rich kids on the world stage. 99% of the 5% are upset about their slice of the 27%... if that makes sense.**
It's not like I disagree that Wall Street has become fundamentally corrupted. I am not going to say, as some virulent critics have remarked, that the protesters hate capitalism and the free market system. On the contrary, Wall Street has made a mockery and a whore of capitalism through corruption and greed, insidiously draining our economy of any freedom by placing an absurd amount of power into the hands of a handful of WASP middle-aged men who control the financial systems of this country (consequently the planet) through ludicrous financial maneuverings, and who then use that profit to control the legislature which allegedly represents "the people." They then use this control to maneuver laws which will continue to support their rampant corruption and control of the economy, and the end result is an endless loop controlled by a small population that maneuvers way above our little heads. I can't disagree that 99% of Americans are completely flacid politically and economically in the shadow of these financial giants. I can't disagree that the mass political ambivalence of the American people for which we are so often criticized springs from the fact that we are completely powerless in the political arena without multi-million-dollar lobbies to represent us.***
Ahhh.... And this is the point in my reflection on this that I am swayed that, however self-righteous and somewhat short-sighted the Occupy Wall Street movement seemed to me at first, I think that a lot of good can spring from it. Given that the protesters do not seem to me an accurate sampling of the "99%," given that their cause is frustratingly vague and unfocused, and given that I am instinctively repelled by protestations without specific demands, our current system is so nauseatingly f-ed up that it is refreshing at least to see a passionate public push against it.
What it needs now is a little more knowledge, insight, and leadership to make specific demands for what needs to be changed on Wall Street and in Washington. It needs to go from a dull, ignorant roar to an articulate accusation. From a scream of outrage to an argument for a cause, losing none of the passion of the initial protest.
I stole this link from Zach, because I think it's a great article offering much better criticism and advice for the movement than I ever could. I don't pretend to be an expert on economics or politics, but the insight seems sound and timely to me. Ch-ch-ch-ch-check it out.
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/my-advice-to-the-occupy-wall-street-protesters-20111012
**I got my stats from Wikipedia... whatever, it's a well-cited page. Judge for yourself. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distribution_of_wealth
***This rant brought to you by my own observations and opinions. Don't get me started about how this financial corruption manifests in our food systems... I've been on this soapbox long enough for one day and I'm really just rambling at this point.
Great post, Danielle. I've also been struggling to decide where I fall in the ranks of this issue, and I think the reason is exactly what you've voiced - the movement needs a clear message and list of demands. This is a particularly difficult problem to organize against, but I can see how Occupy may attain critical mass and reach a tipping point of support.
ReplyDeleteYour *** paragraph was the best high level summary of our economic circle of doom that have read. It frames very well the problem the Occupy movement has with focusing the movement. For a good inside view of the corruption of wall street, read The Big Short by Michael Lewis - my current read. It is about the small group of people who made money 'shorting' mortgage bonds but in order to do this he tells the story of the money systems that brought us the biggest depression since The Depression.
ReplyDeleteDanielle! Glad to see you are blogging! I think this movement is fascinating. It's really refreshing for me to see people upset about something; a nice break from the complacency that marks most of our existences. For me, the movement represents the mounting frustration that people have in general about feeling puppeteer-ed and helpless in the face of the American oligarchical triumvirate (conspiracy theory jargon, eh?): politics, business, and media. It's nice to see that people are finally demanding accountability from said institutions. Will anything change? I dunno.
ReplyDeleteMy new business is Real Estate investment, so I've just recently become familiar with the system that so many are up in arms about. I understand the frustration. It's frustrating that not one single person has been indicted for the irresponsibility that wiped out the financial security of millions of people. It's frustrating that many of these people were completely divorced from the trading of the volatile securities that ruined the market. There is so much being made about blaming Wall Street for Unemployment and people losing their homes, but, in truth, my heart goes out to the people who bought their homes 30 yrs ago, expecting to retire on the equity of their investment, only to have their nest egg shattered by a bevy of greedy people looking to turn a quick dime. Interestingly enough, these tend to be the people you mentioned above, ones without the resources to "occupy."
Also, I kind of like amorphous nature of the movement. It's great seeing politicians and pundits squirm. They try to attach labels to it, cast it aside as a " far left fringe movement" etc. The truth is, the movement transcends politics. Libertarians are just as fired up as socialists, albeit for different reasons. When it comes down to it, both liberals and conservatives are fundamentally upset at the way business and gov't interact with one another. About fucking time.
Sorry for the long-winded comment...