We hadn’t seen much coverage of the protestors on Wall street, at least not on the national news. Well, until they started to get arrested. That could be because they are polite, completely non-violent and don’t seem to have any leaders or major media message. They do have a name though “The 99%.”
They are definitely building numbers, new groups seem to join them every day. Last week it was Airline pilots, and Subway workers. This week will come more trade unions, the “Rebuild the dream movement” and several other national groups. The list of upcoming events is impressive. Makes me want to show up as well, just to get a sense of what’s going on. Something is happening here, and it’s starting to feel big, steam roller big.
Although they have been portrayed as being a “purposeless rabble” there is a singular purpose, expressing dissatisfaction with big corporations, the wealthiest individuals, their institutions and the erosion of opportunities and support of everyone else. They have a lot of sympathy, on both sides of the “two party system” and all across the political spectrum. We can see the proof as these demonstrations spread to other cities and towns. What started in New York, now is happening in Chicago, Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco and about 40 other cities across the entire continent.
Taking a look at the various websites that are suddenly springing up, the 99% have sparked organizations in at least 44 states. There are groups coming together in 12 European countries as well. Maybe it was the recent explosion of the Arab Spring that leads me to believe that what we are watching is the same kind of phenomena, but happening here and in Europe. Were the Wisconsin protests just a precursor to something larger? Were the London “riots?” Maybe it’s that these are all just regular people, young and old who are expressing their dissatisfaction with their declining opportunities.
Bloomberg has his hands full, it’s tough to crack down on peaceful protesters. I’m sure he’s under a lot of pressure though from Wall Street and Washington. However, although there have been “700 arrests” the police and other agencies have yet to get a violent move from any of the protestors. Even when pepper sprayed, tackled or billy clubbed, the protestors just aren’t fighting back. They’re not going home either. They really don’t have to, they’re making their point just by being there and drawing attention to their cause. They don’t need weapons, they have votes.
And yet for the last three weeks there has been almost no media coverage, but now the 99% is getting attention there as well. Not all of it is good. On today’s ‘Fox news and friends’ the legal news analyst Peter Johnson said:
“Clearly, I would think these folks are deluded in a lot of ways and probably provide the best argument for national service for 18-year-olds that we have ever seen.”
Other FOX show commentators characterized the protestors as “the sludge of every left wing cause”, “Lunatics of the left wing” as well as comments like “ The protesters….are just looking to go down there and dirty up the streets.”
Spoken like the true tools of the mighty you are, boys and girls. Or maybe you’re just tools.
Is that really what’s going on here? Were those pilots in need of some time in National Service as well? Young men and women from all over the country sleeping out in the rain and cold, with numbers that grow every day, and an organization that’s spread to over 35 states, in a month? That sounds more like a “Tea party” phenomena to me, except without the big money backers and special training camps.
However, if we really want to know what’s going on, we shouldn’t bother waiting for the mainstream news, just go online and read it there. It’s in YouTube videos and websites, Twitter feeds and FaceBook pages. That’s where the information is and where the support is coming from. Just ask the NYPD lieutenant with the handy can of pepper-spray, he’s had his 15 seconds. I wonder if he feels supported?
With the kind of encouragement that’s flowing in for the Occupy Wall Street protests I seriously doubt that area will be clear anytime soon. The first week it was pizzas to be delivered to the protestors being ordered from all over the country, Europe as well. Now apparently supplies are coming in daily. The interesting thing is that these seem to be mostly individual contributions. However, some small businesses are hearing the call, and some larger corporations as well. So far there hasn’t been a shortage of food at all, in fact they are considering donating all the extra food coming in daily to a shelter.
So, who are these people? Just a bunch of kids with nothing else to do? If you go to the WeAreThe99percent web site you’ll see quite a few older people, veterans, single mothers, and beleaguered fathers holding up statements for pictures. The statements tell their stories. But, I think the identity statement on the top of the first of 34 pages of personal statements says it best:
We are the 99 percent. We are getting kicked out of our homes. We are forced to choose between groceries and rent. We are denied quality medical care. We are suffering from environmental pollution. We are working long hours for little pay and no rights, if we’re working at all. We are getting nothing while the other 1 percent is getting everything. We are the 99 percent.
It’s a very interesting and touching website, I have yet to find one of the statements on the 34 pages that I didn’t have sympathy for. I don’t think these people are lazy or quitters, so I think they will be around and it looks like they are bent on fighting back. It’s about time.
We’d better stay tuned.
Copyright Prentiss Gray 2011
Prentiss Gray is a writer and columnist and currently writes the Domesti-Tech Blog for Gannett. He can be reached through his website at www.prentissgray.com
Prentiss Gray
Prentiss Gray is a writer/columnist/blogger from New Jersey. After 27 years as a Information Systems consultant and the death of his wife of 21 years, he returned to his roots as a writer, creating the national column Adventures of the Lone Dad/ Daddy chronicles. He now Blogs for Gannet on domestic technology, and writes feature pieces and stories for general publication. He is a member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors and contributes to Bloomberg News, Daily Record, Gannett and the Tribune Syndicate.
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I wondered why the 99% were not getting more attention. Thanks, Prentiss, for the update on what may be going on. I always believed that it would take a peaceful, grass roots protest to get the attention we all need. Glad to hear that it is going on all over the world.
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There is a lot more attention now, and that’s bound to rise as this “movement” widens. It hasn’t gelled yet though, I believe they’re going to remain as all-inclusive as they can, for as long as they can. However, now that they are getting support from organizations like MoveOn and American Dream some unifying principles will begin to come to light.
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Gil Scott-Heron said, “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised”.
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I don’t understand what they want to accomplish? Do they want to divide up the wealth? More jobs? We are shamefully lacking in opportunity right now, and we have a severe problem with affordable healthcare. We also have an unsustainable national debt with a credit card that is about to max out. A revolution will not fix that. Banks loaned money to people who could not pay it back and expect the ones who can to reimburse them. We have a population suffering from a lack of ability to take responsibility for their actions. If Mom and Dad can’t save them then the goverment should! Sorry but 99% do not think this way. The group will wind up so splintered and lacking in direction that it will fall apart. The thought of a revolution will scare the crap out of about 90% of our population and it will be the death of any party that chooses to latch on to them.
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I think that’s a very common misunderstanding “Divide up the wealth.” I have yet to hear anyone say that besides ultra conservatives. These protestors have a lot of different things that they are unsatisfied with. Mostly they want a fair break, something they don’t feel they are getting right now. The median wage for people in the middle and lower income ranges has been going down for the past thirty years, and that’s not fair when the upper ranges have been steadily climbing. So maybe it’s time to stop talking about lowering minimum wage to create more jobs.
As for the people who took out mortgages that they can not now pay, we have to realize that at the time they took out the mortgages the lenders, for all intents and purposes, told them they could repay them. Lending standards were very low and the pressure to sell mortgages was very high. This oversell by banks and other lenders is one of the major cause of the housing collapse. So not only should most of these people not have gotten a loan in the first place, the financial community then ratcheted up the risk, lied about just how risky it all was, and eventually had a huge part in crashing the market. The financial groups got saved by TARP, who’s going to save the homeowners? They can’t even get jobs now to try and pay back the loans. They’re pissed and complaining about it, is that a conspiracy?
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If this is a revolution instigated by the ‘progressives’ it is a political ploy. The progressives lack the toughness to pull off a revolution and succeed unless the president rescinds or violates posse comitatus and uses the military against the civilian population. Without the military the liberal mobs will get their asses kicked in a big, big way. A real leader would not promote class warfare like Hitler, Lenin and Mao. These are routine dictator ploys and Obama is a sociopathic narcissist ideally suited to such delusion. But he is only the sock puppet face of the tyrants behind the scenes.
These demonstrations are fueled by unknown persons and organizations right now and we move to uncharted ground. You can bet the filthy hand of George Soros who has publicly admitted his goal is to tear America down, is busy behind the scenes. The incompetence, corruption and class warfare are trademark signatures of a disgraceful presidency and Democratic party. Desperate that their pathetic excuse for a president cannot be reelected, a large civil uprising could enable the Obamanation to declare Marshall Law, postpone the election under the guise of also fixing the economy, and further erode the democratic republic that was America. This idea was ‘floated’ last week as a trial balloon.
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Uh Huh. It’s all a plot. It couldn’t be that these people are just tired of their country being so one sided, could it? That they are upset and unhappy Americans who are going to vote their consciences and make sure everyone knows that it’s safe to object?
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Nobody is responsible for their finances, lack of education or trades skills. The environmental fraud has swung so far to the left that it has killed millions of jobs. That is typical of new movements, the pendulum swings as far to the extreme as it possibly can before common sense catches up and demands moderation. In our case, way too late.
To think it is the governments job to take care of you is the folly of adolescents. Like the old saying, “the larger the government, the smaller the citizen.” That is way too heavy for the progressives to discern. Elect pathological liars and watch them squander the peoples money for generations including taking yours and your employers contributions for social security out of a trust fund over forty years and then they tell you, ‘we spent it’, and you can expect less. You would be demanding that someone go to jail if that was your bank and ytour savings account, which it was, only the bank was federal. That is how bright the voting public is, especially the Democratic base. In spite of generations of evidence of waste and mismanagement people are sniveling as if this is all news. To elect the scum that has been sent to Washington especially by Democrats, but not exclusively, and then expect them to behave honorably and prudently is incongruous.
If you think this failing Presidency would not stoop to the level of using crisis to further their own careers you are sadly mistaken and childish. These kids coming out of college and dedicated democrats are precisely the kind of fools Lenin talked about. All this bullshit is going to lead to is further government intrusion and control of lives. A real revolution would throw the bastards out, stop some of the ridiculous spending and demand people take responsibility for their own lives while also revising the tax code and destroying the corporate hold on Washington. That is not likely because the character of too many Americans has been systematically bred out at home and especially in the pathetic education community.
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I think you are assuming an awful lot there. I doubt from your knee-jerk reaction that you bothered to follow the link I put in the piece. Try it and see if these people are who you imagine they are. It’s simple quick and easy. These aren’t all democrats, but they are all Americans. Until you actually study who the people are and what brought this about, there isn’t much point arguing. One of the main themes of the protest is about too much corporate influence in government, from what I’ve read that’s something your not fond of either.
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LOL..I see the opposing zeitgeist at work here already!
Good piece!
The momentum is increasing; this is not an undirected movement that will peter out. Unions are now in on it, this may be their answer to the Wisconsin move to dismantle unions and kill collective bargaining and inspire other States to do the same. America is saying. “We’re not the Eloi, a passive brainwashed society that can be manipulated and intimidated into silence.” Finally, finally, a large amount of Americans have found their cahones and are letting the taken for granted, self serving powers that be that we are not a stupid rabble, a powerless mass to be ignored. Finally, finally, we’re saying but peaceably, “We’re not going to take it anymore.” Who and what will write the masthead for this movement is still open. I’m waiting to see what coalitions jell out of this while the Right Wing propaganda machines will continue to scream ..’Socialists, Communists, a class war against the successful and the rich.” There will be backlashes against this movement, but I doubt that it can be stopped or intimidated into silence at this time.
Finally, finally, Americans are finding a strong voice and making themselves noticed and heard. And a reluctant Media has now stepped in to benefit from a new dish for their feed.
A
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“We’re not the Eloi,” great reference! Yes media attention is growing, and that means Washington is listening as well.
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Congratulations on a good piece Prentiss – it has spurred response. I doubt anyone’s mind has been changed in regard to political allegiance, but light has been spread – and ignored no doubt. Unions are no different than corporations, they operate for the benefit of a few and have been led by gangsters in suits for 100 years. Meanwhile John Q. Public is being squeezed by both sides.
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Prentiss, i actually do agree with a lot of the complaints listed at the sight. I feel many of the banks CEO’s should be held criminaly liable for the failures they experienced. Idiots like myself could see 2 years ahead of the failures that this would certainly happen. For some rerason they had no incentive to get paid back the money they were so eager to lend out. Who ever created that scenario should have hell to pay. I also feel we have a major problem with heathcare, a crisis would not be exagerating. No matter what plan we come up with it won’t work simply because it costs too much as it is. Without getting fraud under control, excessive charges by hospitals and Dr’s undercontrol as well as streamlining the process it will only get worse. I am almost in favor of goverment run hospitals and clinics if thats what it takes. Healthcare has to be available to everyone rich or poor as far as I am concerned. I feel that should be one of the benefits of belonging to this club we call America.
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It seems the 99% theme is beginning to manifest itself in Washington DC. From what I read it is focused on the “corrupt corporate culture.” If it fails to address the “corrupt political” culture as well, then I suspect it is left wing oriented – more of this class warfare baiting inherent in Obama’s administration. If that is true it may bring about a knee jerk political response to pander to votes. Typically such responses make it harder to do business and that translates to less jobs.
If we are to have a revolution let it be at the polls. It is not big business that got us into our dire financial straits, it is the politicians who spend without restraint and who tried to socially engineer the housing market in cooperation with Wall Street. Without government complicity and pressure this entire mortgage fiasco would have never occurred. The corporate culture is also out of control and the administration has rightfully pointed out excessive salaries, bonus’ and perks.
Still, this is to deflect the uninformed public’s attention from the pols to the execs. The losers by virtue of corporate greed are mostly investors and retirement plans who invest in stocks. The student/young people component of the 99% is the typical knee jerk reaction of those easily led by false flag causes, and having very little or no real stake in corporate salaries. Those of us who do buy stock and invest need to go on a selling spree and send the message to corporations that we want dividends for our risk and we are tired of the featherbedding common in the corporate culture through stock options, inflated expense accounts and phony meeting aboard ships and at exotic sites where one corporation fetes another under the guise of business and which frequently include spouses. It is all a scam.
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Just in case someone wants a little factual data to this discussion, see the below chart ADJUSTED FOR INFLATION.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, “household median income” is defined as “the amount which divides the income distribution into two equal groups, half having income above that amount, and half having income below that amount.”
The U.S. Census Bureau currently publishes median household income data from 1975 until present day.
Year No. of Households Nominal $ Inflation Adjusted $
2009 117,538,000 $49,777 $49,777
2008 117,181,000 $50,303 $50,303
2007 116,783,000 $50,233 $52,163
2006 116,011,000 $48,201 $51,473
2005 114,384,000 $46,326 $51,093
2004 113,343,000 $44,334 $50,535
2003 112,000,000 $43,318 $50,711
2002 111,278,000 $42,409 $50,756
2001 109,297,000 $42,228 $51,356
2000 108,209,000 $41,990 $52,500
1999 106,434,000 $40,696 $52,587
1998 103,874,000 $38,885 $51,295
1997 102,528,000 $37,005 $49,497
1996 101,018,000 $35,492 $48,499
1995 99,627,000 $34,076 $47,803
1994 98,990,000 $32,264 $46,351
1993 97,107,000 $31,241 $45,839
1992 96,426,000 $30,636 $46,063
1991 95,669,000 $30,126 $46,445
1990 94,312,000 $29,943 $47,818
1989 93,347,000 $28,906 $48,463
1988 92,830,000 $27,225 $47,614
1987 91,124,000 $26,061 $47,251
1986 89,479,000 $24,897 $46,665
1985 88,458,000 $23,618 $45,069
1984 86,789,000 $22,415 $44,242
1983 85,407,000 $20,885 $42,910
1982 83,918,000 $20,171 $43,212
1981 83,527,000 $19,074 $43,328
1980 82,368,000 $17,710 $44,059
1979 80,776,000 $16,461 $45,498
1978 77,330,000 $15,064 $45,625
1977 76,030,000 $13,572 $43,925
1976 74,142,000 $12,686 $43,649
1975 72,867,000 $11,800 $42,936
– U.S. Median Household Income Chart – 1975 – 2009 –
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“median” meaning a number calculated from all incomes, what we’re talking about is a median of two groups, those making less than 100,000 and those making more. Like all averages the figures above are weighted by the astonishingly high earners.
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I have no argument with what you claim.
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http://www.povertytour.smileyandwest.com/ Take a look at this and then maybe you can have a conversation that reflects the facts.
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As usual your mouth is ahead of the facts Kaye. We all know it is tough times, we all know corporate officers are receiving extravagant bonus’ and perks. We all know your boy Obama is an inept man-boy out of his league and has now passed Jimmy Carter as the worst president in history, and we all know that you would still defend him because…. The question in this article is how best rectify the inequities, which needs to come from thoughtful consideration not blabbering knee jerk actions.
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David, What?
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Mr. Citrus, you are clearly not a supporter of our president. Completely your choice; however, he is our current leader and he should be supported. The easiest thing to do is sit back and criticize. I can only presume you disagreed with our last president, who traded the trust of the American public, for money?
Taking a stand takes some effort, which is why I respect the 99%.
True, all presidents are ‘puppets’ to a degree, but primarily because the people have allowed it. You can’t place a dead chicken in front a hound dog and expect the dog to restrain. Solution; don’t make the chicken available.
I believe and support their (99%) efforts to start scaling things back. Does it really cost 19 million dollars to re-pave a highway, or have the payoffs to each sub-contractor gotten out of hand? What about sports and entertainment; does a baseball player REALLY need 27 million dollars a year to survive? Seems he would be ok with a mere 12 million–wouldn’t he? While it’s not my call to say whom should earn what, the bottom line is that the owners of teams and stadiums have upped their shares so much, that a sports player’s prorated salary is now ludicrous. While it seems impossible to scale back the cost of a ticket to a ‘game’, if the general public were to make a stand, or simply cut the funding, the prices would drop. Period.
Should it REALLY cost 14K for knee surgery? No. It’s the trickle effect of big business. Too any people have the desire to be a Kardashian these days – offer nothing and earn everything. By diverting the public with riddles, the pilfering continues. The 99% are trying to reach the sleeping public who believe that things will be ok, or that we should actually trust the very ones who are pilfering the economic system. Bottom line, all these excessive ‘payoffs’ are killing the future stability of millions of Americans, and the money needs to be in the hands of people who are trying to feed and clothe their children.
It’s the same with Lobbyists and the political payoffs involved with the banking industry and global corporations. When a lobbyist spends his day focusing on the needs of the highest bidder, he doesn’t have any time to pay attention to, or listen to, a county’s stability; and frankly, the lobbyist doesn’t care as long as he gets his cut. And we all know, most ‘cuts’ aren’t reported.
Things need to be scaled back. Clearly, the system is broken and will not change unless the public becomes involved. We’ve been placing the dead chicken in the wrong place for (too) many years.
I support the 99%. I support my president, and I respect this well written article and hope it inspires many Americans to do some research and discover the truth.
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Thanks EkkoJohnny, by the way what’s that from (EkkoJohnny)
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Use care, as some could say it costs 19 million to pave a road because unions force an artificially high “prevailing wage” and an overabundance of “help.” The knee surgery costs so much because many go to the emergency room when a visit to CVS would suffice… and so on. I am amazed that the press hasn’t made the observation they made for the tea party:
“The 99% ers are mainly white, they must be racists…”
Of course I guess since there is no bias in the media, as I have been told repeatedly…
But I do agree in concept that our system is broken and needs a major overhaul. On that, I think we can all agree…
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