...And no, Phil, I wouldn't ever laugh at sincere misery. I honestly don't think you understand or accept what this is all about. But, again, I don't want to argue with you...
I'm honestly not trying to argue, pro, just lemme type this out before it slips my mind (long day; I fucking hate freshmen). you said
sincere misery. there have already been a few people who have been seized upon as mascots of a sort, symbols of what the protesters have been feeling. several of them who've told their stories on (youtube) video (most prominently the "they took my parents' house!" crying kid, dunno if you've seen that one or not) have later had their stories debunked or even admitted they were full of shit.
and please don't mistake my horrendous sense of humor for an inability to identify with people in bad financial shape. hell, we're living with my wife's
parents right now. my parents didn't have a lot of money when I was growing up, but my dad still threw himself into looking out for even needier people for over twenty years (to the tune of about twelve grand a year). I don't say that to take credit for anything he did, because I can't and wouldn't - sadly this apple fell pretty far from the tree and promptly rolled into a storm drain - but that's where I learned everything I know about poverty in America. I've seen it in a lot of other places too.
I
know how hard a lot of people have it. I also know that a
lot of the protesters we're discussing aren't those people. it's
easy to complain about an unfair living wage when your parents are putting you through college and you only need your on-campus job for beer and pizza money. it's
easy to make films about the exploitation of the common working man when those films are pulling down millions of dollars for you.
the people who are suffering the most in this economy are probably not at those protests, because they can't afford to be. the people who are suffering the most in this economy are too busy busting their asses to keep themselves and their families fed, clothed, and under a roof to have much time or energy to make the kind of noise these protesters are making. they don't want a handout. they don't want a revolution. they just want things to break their way, and they're gonna keep doing what they're doing until that happens. for at least an appreciable portion of the people 'occupying' wall street, these protests are as much about politics and ego as they are about justice or fairness.
