# \#OccupyWallStreet **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 19, 2011, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/occupywallstreet/596851 "2011-09-19T18:27:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 72
**Author:** ![Mr.Svinlesha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/22d042/32.png) [@Mr.Svinlesha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Svinlesha)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2011, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/occupywallstreet/596851/1421 "2011-10-29T14:13:49Z")
**Scylla:** > [@](#): > > _One thing that I think sucks is that the parks are really the property of everybody, but the occupy crowd is kind of hogging them so no one else can use them. I think the whole point of parks and public property is that you aren’t supposed to live there and take them for yourself or for any one purpose._ That’s actually not true; if it were, the occupiers would have been kicked out long ago. The Constitution guarantees Americans the right of peaceful assembly to protests for a redress of grievances, and public spaces are exactly where these protests are supposed to take place. But then again, you don’t think people should have the right to assemble peacefully any longer. > [@](#): > > \*nother thing that sucks is that the claim to be speaking for me. I’m not a 1% er. I found a website that I can’t link to from my iPhone, but you can find easily enough called the 53%. > > These are the 53% of the American public that actually hold jobs and pay income taxes, which, I am guessing, would be a rarity for an occupy person (if you have the time to spend several weeks or months living in a park, it’s hard to also be gainfully employed.). This website takes umbrage at the idea that occupy crowd speaks for 99% of the country.\* I’m surprised you’ve just found that site, which has been around for a couple of weeks or more. It was founded by Red State’s Erick Erickson, who kicked things off by posting: > [@](#): > > **I work 3 jobs./I have a house I can’t sell./My family insurance costs are outrageous./But I don’t blame Wall Street./Suck it up you whiners./I am the 53% subsidizing you so you can hang out on Wall Street and complain.** According to [Nation of Change](http://www.nationofchange.org/erick-erickson-founder-we-are-53-site-whines-about-his-brand-new-house-and-well-paid-cnn-gig-13183): > [@](#): > > **The three jobs Erickson wants you to believe he scraps by on include occasional paid opinion blogging at [RedState.com](http://RedState.com), a lucrative television contract with CNN, and a radio gig that paid the previous host $165,183 a year (Herman Cain’s financial disclosures show he was paid this amount before Erickson took over his spot). The house Erickson can’t sell? Bibb County, Georgia records reveal that Erickson just bought a new $374,900 house in February of this year, and owns another that, according to an estimate by the website Zillow, might be worth slightly less than the amount he paid for it in 2001. And its likely that Erickson’s CNN job alone provides him with a personal driver and covered travel expenses when he needs to appear on the show…** Yeah, so he’s real working class. Then there’s[this](http://blogs-images.forbes.com/erikkain/files/2011/10/tumblr_lsxixaVLgX1r4cpo6o1_500.jpg), just one (admittedly egregious) example culled from the site: > [@](#): > > \*\*My father came to NY from Croatia in 1971, with KNOWLEDGE in his head, LOVE in his heart & the clothes on his back. > > He built up a small construction business and put me & my 4 siblings through Catholic school and college, while my mother raised us and put home-cooked meals on the table. > > Business has been steadily declining and my family (still fervently abiding by the regulations, TAXES & fees of the gov’t) now lives paycheck-to-(hopefully!) paycheck. > > We found out he has thyroid cancer – had a 10-hour surgery this past summer. > > He was back to work FULL-TIME (12 hrs/day, 6 days/wk) within a month, even though the doctors said to take it easy (he works manual labor). > > The cancer still grows. > > THAT is the American dream. > > WE are the 53%.\*\* This poor lady deserves a gold medal in the Missing-the-Point Olympics. While its admirable that her father has worked so hard, and tragic that he has been victimized by this terrible illness, he also, actually, deserved better. In fact, many of the stories from the “We are the 53%” tumblr site are more heartbreaking than those from the “We are the 99%” site. > [@](#): > > _Finally, it’s going to get cold. It is my thesis that liberal pussies lack staying power when things get tough (if they had self discipline, the ability to defer gratitude, and staying power, they would, by definition, have something better to do than live in a park.). So, when it gets cold they’ll give up._ This is below you. And then finally, we come to this: > [@](#): > > \*I have an interesting core belief. I say interesting because it’s demonstrably not true. I believe it and act as if it is true because it’s incredibly useful to do so. > > This core belief is that I and only I are responsible for everything that happens to me. If I get sick, it’s my fault. If I got hit by a meteor while walking the dog, my fault. > > I say it’s useful because the corollary for this kind of personal responsibility is empowerment. If I’m responsible for everything about myself and everything that happens to me than that implies I can do something about it. > > It’s proven to be a useful philosophy. \* This is utterly incoherent. Are you for real? Are you insane? I don’t even believe you swallow this bullshit yourself. You don’t have to be personally responsible for things that happen to you in order to feel empowered. In fact, some of the most profound feelings of empowerment derive from people working together in face of adversity that’s no one’s fault. If a tornado hits my community I don’t need to feel like it was _my fault_ in order play an important role in rebuilding. What is interesting about this point is that if actually buy it, you’ll never have a reason to protest the government over anything, ever – since it’s always your own fault. But it’s good to know that if drink myself into a near stupor, hop into my car, and plow into yours at the next intersection, you’ll blame yourself instead of me, and act accordingly. I suppose that means you’ll pay my medical expenses and repair my car as well? After all, you have only yourself to blame for the accident. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tao_s_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2011, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/occupywallstreet/596851/1422 "2011-10-29T14:27:16Z")
> [@Scylla](#): > > I’m sorry. I can’t read your post. Each time I try I just get bored waiting for you to actually say something. By the time I’m finished I feel certain that you’ve asked a question or made a statement or something, but I can’t really say what it was. > > Can you restate for clarity? Too busy supporting bigotry against gays to figure it out? ---
**Author:** ![Scylla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Scylla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scylla)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2011, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/occupywallstreet/596851/1423 "2011-10-29T14:58:38Z")
> [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](#): > > Too busy supporting bigotry against gays to figure it out? You caught me. I hate those gays. We all hate those gays. We thought we could hide it but you caught us. We would have gotten away with it, too, if it weren’t for you meddling kids. Bricker? Shodan? Mightas well come clean. He’s discovered our plans for the Gaypocolypse. You and gonzo, man ---
**Author:** ![gravitycrash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@gravitycrash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gravitycrash)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2011, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/occupywallstreet/596851/1424 "2011-10-29T15:20:26Z")
What the hell? Occupy Wall Street people are comparing this to Valley fucking Forge. Goddamn if there are more obnoxious, self important assholes on this planet except for maybe Sarah Palin and Al Gore, I would like to see it. This probably deserves a pitting by itself but I have to go to work today, unlike these fucks in New York. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2011, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/occupywallstreet/596851/1425 "2011-10-29T15:32:01Z")
> [@gravitycrash](#): > > Goddamn if there are more obnoxious, self important assholes on this planet except for maybe Sarah Palin and Al Gore, I would like to see it. Well, you’ve certainly come to the right place. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tao_s_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2011, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/occupywallstreet/596851/1426 "2011-10-29T15:54:01Z")
> [@Scylla](#): > > You caught me. I hate those gays. We all hate those gays. We thought we could hide it but you caught us. We would have gotten away with it, too, if it weren’t for you meddling kids. > Bricker? Shodan? Mightas well come clean. He’s discovered our plans for the Gaypocolypse. > You and gonzo, man [http://gop.com/2008Platform/Values.htm#6](http://gop.com/2008Platform/Values.htm#6) > [@](#): > > we call for a constitutional amendment that fully protects marriage as a union of a man and a woman So unless you don’t vote Republican, you’re voting for bigotry. You bigot voting piece of shit. That’s just for starters btw. I’ll drag out the Americans and Iraqis you helped murder when pulled the lever for Bush later. Also all the people your vote helped torture. Or the trillion dollars you voted to be pulled out of very person’s pocket for that war of lies. Face it Republicans are either evil or stupid. Which are you? ---
**Author:** ![Scylla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Scylla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scylla)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2011, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/occupywallstreet/596851/1427 "2011-10-29T16:11:18Z")
> [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](#): > > [http://gop.com/2008Platform/Values.htm#6](http://gop.com/2008Platform/Values.htm#6) > > So unless you don’t vote Republican, you’re voting for bigotry. You bigot voting piece of shit. > > That’s just for starters btw. I’ll drag out the Americans and Iraqis you helped murder when pulled the lever for Bush later. Also all the people your vote helped torture. Or the trillion dollars you voted to be pulled out of very person’s pocket for that war of lies. > > Face it Republicans are either evil or stupid. Which are you? I’m evil. What umm, race, political group, sexual preference, or social club do you belong to? That way I know that we need to include them in the coming gaypocolypse. ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2011, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/occupywallstreet/596851/1428 "2011-10-29T16:16:47Z")
> [@Scylla](#): > > I’m evil. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. You might just be confused and mean. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2011, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/occupywallstreet/596851/1429 "2011-10-29T16:19:06Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#): > > I think you counted wrong. The top 10 unemployment states are: > > 42 GEORGIA > 43 NORTH CAROLINA > 43 RHODE ISLAND > 45 FLORIDA > 45 MISSISSIPPI > 47 SOUTH CAROLINA > 48 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA > 48 MICHIGAN > 50 CALIFORNIA > 51 NEVADA > > Putting aside the fact that DC isn’t actually a state, I count three red states on that list…Georgia, Mississippi, and South Carolina. Also, is North Carolina a “blue state”? It voted for Obama in 2008, but that was an aberration. Before that, it hadn’t voted for a Democrat for president since 1976 when Carter carried the South. > > Also, if we’re saying blue states are states that voted for Obama in 2008, 13 of the 25 states with the lowest unemployment are blue states, 12 are red states. of the 25 with the highest, 15 of those states are blue states, 10 are red states. That certainly seems a more even distribution. > > So, I think the data there is ambiguous and can be interpreted different ways depending on what you want to prove. Yeah, I don’t think the whole “red state/blue state” thing makes sense when some of those states are going to flip back and forth every 4 years. Better to look at which party dominates the state legislatures, but I’m not going to do that homework assignment. Also, **Scylla** talked about states that “get” the most welfare, not ones that give it. The more liberal states are going to have the more liberal welfare policies, so it’s no wonder they “give” more welfare than conservative states. The claim was specious and the cite did not validate it. ---
**Author:** ![FuriousGeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecae2f/32.png) [@FuriousGeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FuriousGeorge)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2011, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/occupywallstreet/596851/1430 "2011-10-29T16:32:38Z")
Well sorry to say it folks, the OWS movement has officially jumped he shark. [Michael Moore has joined.](http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2011/10/28/ac-michael-moore-occcupy-oakland.cnn?hpt=hp_t2) ---
**Author:** ![Scylla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Scylla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scylla)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2011, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/occupywallstreet/596851/1431 "2011-10-29T16:40:37Z")
> [@Lobohan](#): > > Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. You might just be confused and mean. But I can aspire. ---
**Author:** ![Scylla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Scylla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scylla)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2011, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/occupywallstreet/596851/1432 "2011-10-29T16:43:25Z")
Svin: Just spent about 20 minutes writing a reply to you than the power went out and it’s gone to the hamsters. I’m on an iPhone now. I’ll try again later. Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2011, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/occupywallstreet/596851/1433 "2011-10-29T17:14:49Z")
> [@FuriousGeorge](#): > > Well sorry to say it folks, the OWS movement has officially jumped he shark. [Michael Moore has joined.](http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2011/10/28/ac-michael-moore-occcupy-oakland.cnn?hpt=hp_t2) Like, about three weeks ago? ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2011, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/occupywallstreet/596851/1434 "2011-10-29T17:14:55Z")
Also, all things being equal, poor people tend to vote Democratic. That’s neither particularly new or shocking news. And, a large part of that is that Democrats tend to support things like social welfare programs more than Republicans do, and poor people need those programs more than people who aren’t poor. So, I don’t think it’s surprising that the states with the largest percentage of people on welfare are, for the most part, blue states. If I’m on food stamps, and one party is telling me they want to get rid of the program and the other one is telling me they want to keep it, I’ll vote for the guy who wants to keep it. And I don’t think that’s anything to be surprised about or ashamed of. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Svinlesha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/22d042/32.png) [@Mr.Svinlesha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Svinlesha)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2011, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/occupywallstreet/596851/1435 "2011-10-29T17:16:05Z")
**Scylla:** Bummer. I hate it when that happens. Am looking forward to reading your response, though. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2011, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/occupywallstreet/596851/1436 "2011-10-29T17:23:27Z")
I’m not a bigot. > [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](#): > > Face it Republicans are either evil or stupid. OK, I’m quickly developing a case of raging bigotry against posters named The Tao’s Revenge. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2011, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/occupywallstreet/596851/1437 "2011-10-29T17:45:51Z")
I wasn’t aware that the Counselor had taken any position at all about marriage equality. ---
**Author:** ![FuriousGeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecae2f/32.png) [@FuriousGeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FuriousGeorge)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2011, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/occupywallstreet/596851/1438 "2011-10-29T17:53:02Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Like, about three weeks ago? OK, maybe, dunno, just saw it on the front page of CNN. So it jumped the shark three weeks ago. Whatever. The more Michael Moore the better from my point of view. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2011, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/occupywallstreet/596851/1439 "2011-10-29T18:21:20Z")
I’m sure a lot of us OWSer types like and admire Mr Moore for his raw _chutzpah_. Personally, while I admire and approve of much of his work, I can’t stand the man. Thing is, he joined it, it didn’t join him. He has precisely the same power to speak for OWS as I do, which is to say, zero, zilch, zippo, nada damn thing. To the extent that he claims otherwise, he’s full of shit. Conversely, I kinda like Mike Huckleberry. He has a bubbling enthusiasm that’s cool. Its a pity such energy is devoted to the Forces of Darkness, but there it is. If it becomes necessary to send him to The Wall, I shall likely feel kinda bad about it. I’ll get over it. ---
**Author:** ![FuriousGeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecae2f/32.png) [@FuriousGeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FuriousGeorge)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2011, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/occupywallstreet/596851/1440 "2011-10-29T19:21:31Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > I’m sure a lot of us OWSer types like and admire Mr Moore for his raw _chutzpah_. Personally, while I admire and approve of much of his work, I can’t stand the man. Thing is, he joined it, it didn’t join him. He has precisely the same power to speak for OWS as I do, which is to say, zero, zilch, zippo, nada damn thing. To the extent that he claims otherwise, he’s full of shit. But isn’t that what happens? Someone conservative in the public eye says something stupid and the SDMB goes absolutely bullshit with activity because Sarah Palin or Rick Perry or Michelle Bachman or Rush Limbaugh or Glenn Beck says something completely ridiculous. You then have **Gonzo** or some other liberal poster or hell, even you **'luci** , come in to post about how evil and stupid the conservatives are as a whole complete with links to Daily Kos, HuffPo or ThinkProgress. Hell you have an entire thread devoted JUST to stupid things Republicans say. You can’t say have Sarah fucking Palin in the limelight and say she represents all conservatives when she pukes out some ridiculously poorly thougth out talking point and then have Michael Moore do the saqme thing and say “Oh he doesn’t represent me.” Cuz guess what, he does. He is on the front page of CNN speaking for he OWS movement. It’s not fair. You may not agree with it, but there it is. What’s good for the goose is good for the sauce. He’s your Glenn Beck. Alec Baldwin is your Sarah Palin. Enjoy. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/occupywallstreet/596851.md?page=71) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/occupywallstreet/596851.md?page=73)