Occupy Wall Street

UrbanMasque said:
NickKmet said:
Anyone who wants to argue with the idea that the Republican party has become anything more than a loudspeaker and political machine in the interests of big business at the expense of everyone else is an idiot.

Man, 2 sigs in one week. Maybe this week isnt that bad after all.

stupid 250 character limit. :x

lol, nobody said you can't edit it a bit. :p
 
Hey Urban, I'm not ignoring your response to my question. I pretty much agreed with you spot on. I just had to ask because when people say things about getting ahead they often mean *anyone* regardless of circumstance or they make generalizations that make it appear they mean that so just wanted to better understand what you meant. Thanks :)
 
UrbanMasque said:
Its very very daft to look at the block of workers protecting their rights to a safe work environment and livable wages as what has gotten us into this problem. Attacking the unions is nothing more than a ploy by the right to dismantle a large democratic voting block, and also preserve their (whatever it is) industry's bottom line.

Fox News has you, eyebrows. So sad.

Without unions in this country - the US will rapidly free fall into a third world. FACT. Then who will the right blame next I wonder - whoever is standing in the way of their bottom line.

(sometimes I wish I could create an alternative universes and let people live in the realistic world they create for themselves by touting talking points)

Uh, yeah, no. I don't watch fox, ever. You always fall back on that one point, and never give me anything beyond that one insult. You watch to much MSNBC. HA. Frankly urbs, I like you as a person and respect you, but you never extend that to me. :cry:

All you speak of is the history. I've worked union before. I did NOT get a liveable wage, benefits, worksman's comp. I got a 6.50/hr minus union dues, and a nickle raise a year. Full time was for the old timers only. My only use was to pay union dues to support the older generation. Fuck that. Also, not all union voters are democratic, but all union money is (30 plus million in Wisconsin alone was it to stop Walker there). The head of a major union is retiring with a 500k/year pension. Sounds like a fat cat to me. I grew up in a union household. I know unions. I get it.

I think I need to clarify some things however; I do not take issue with small unions. Small unions are great, fantastic. It's the big unions, much like big government and big business, that are a major problems.

Also, urbs, you should consider reading a book called Race and Economics by Walter E. Williams, it details very well how these unions you so gladly support came about to screw a black man out of a job. It's a statistical and historical fact. Even the language used in the first Davis-Bacon Act used such nice N words we all know so well.

So urbs, tell me, lets focus on education: What is the downfall of the american education system? since the foundation of the department of Education in 1979, grades have stagnated. There's only a 9% increase in students, a 26% increase in teachers, and a 400% increase in administration (bureaucrats). So why the failure? We've throw billions at all schools for 30 years, nothing. Parenting is bad, but it can't just be a bad home life. What is it to you?

TO wicked: just saw you're question: most people don't pay taxes outside of sales tax. How can you pay income tax if you're unemployed? Taxes on govt. benefits? The poor aren't overtaxed, they just aren't motivated enough. We need some Sgt. Hartman around here for them poors. I don't have a solution for poverty, there will always be poor. What I can tell you is that most "poor" have a car, a house/apartment, TV, appliances, and all the basics a person needs (food included). yes there is proof behind that, look it up. Hell I'm considered poor by the US govt!

Being in poverty is a state of mind more than anything.
 
Eyebrowsbv31 said:
Being in poverty is a state of mind more than anything.

Did I read that correctly? You said poverty is a state of mind yes?

Loved the condescending, sarcastic response to me about perfection, sexiness and all that jazz btw :p.
 
Lethean said:
Eyebrowsbv31 said:
Being in poverty is a state of mind more than anything.

Did I read that correctly? You said poverty is a state of mind yes?

Loved the condescending, sarcastic response to me about perfection, sexiness and all that jazz btw :p.

I was being honest. :wink:

and yes it is. if you think you'll always be poor, downtrodden, etc., you will be.
 
I agree to an extent with that. I don't feel as though it's that mentality that put people in a state of poverty in the first place - It could be poor decisions, poor work ethic, impoverished areas, war, etc etc...For some though, to give up and accept it is like saying they won't try and get out of it.

And I blame Urban. He put the idea of sarcasm in my head. I'll blame the black man. Sorry Urban :(
 
A lot of times poverty is a state of mind.....Something that a lot of poor kids grow up in.

A lot of poor families put much more emphasis on the family setting than the average middle or upper class family. Usually if a poor kid wants to get out and make a name for himself - and a decent living for that matter -he needs to get away from his poor family and the social customs he grew up around. People can get out of poverty, but it is usually at the cost of alienating yourself from your family.
 
Poverty, a state of mind.

Yeah...you lose credibility for that fallacy. Especially since as someone who is dealing with poverty at the moment is confident that I will break out of it, but is having difficulty doing so because of how fucked up the city, and economic system, is here.
 
did you apply at whole foods? they had several openings at new york stores; ill gladly give you my name as a reference, having one at all goes al ong way.
 
Eyebrowsbv31 said:
Hell I'm considered poor by the US govt!
Those Bush tax cuts gotta burn your ass too then, huh. Like I said before, I'll have no problem voting other than Democrat once I become a multimillionaire. I'll throw politics out the window along with my soul.
But as it stands now, it's just bad math to do so.

Eyebrowsbv31 said:
Being in poverty is a state of mind more than anything.
That pretty much is a FOX News mantra, bro.
0/10, sorry, it's the best I can do.
 
Oh chris, you MSNBC foole.

:)

And no, the bush tax cuts lowered my taxes. Who would have thought! No it's the scale that the govt. uses to measure poverty which makes me poor. You want to keep people poor? Vote republican. You want to keep people poor and make them hate each other? Vote democrat. You want some real change? Move to Canada. You want some real change in America? Vote Libertarian. :wink:
 
Eyebrowsbv31 said:
did you apply at whole foods? they had several openings at new york stores; ill gladly give you my name as a reference, having one at all goes al ong way.

I did, no reply so far from them.
 
At least you know you can expect to hear from them if Eyebrows gives you a reference. His word goes a long way.
Professor-Frink-sarcasm-detector.gif
:)
People don't hate democrats, they hate government and partisan politics.

The Bush tax cuts lowered your taxes? Brother, can you spare a dime... to the American workforce?
 
Things being given to me. Oh, the irony.
Remembering a guy I sat next to in college, he was a mayor's son (hey, accidents happen). we became good friends. But the dude had a hard on for unions, too, because his daddy told him to. I can safely say the guy was a putz and his father was out of touch.

one good simpsons gif deserves another
It's Eyeybrows and his father at the DNC
2yu0m7n.gif


not posting the sarcasm detector gif? oh, that's real clever
 
Eyes - I don't disagree with what you're saying, but the basic fact is that if unions were to disappear - and we let the market decide wages based on supply and demand of "skilled" workers - we would be in serious trouble as a nation. The divide would plowed into the sand and a type of caste system would emerge IMO. Unless you are "old money", this caste system wouldn't benefit you.
I don't understand why the 1%, elites, the upper middle class folk - don't distribute more of their own wealth. Because history should show them that when the divide gets too large, it never ends in their favor.
Also, I give you S*** b/c I think you understand that I'm making a point and not specifically putting you down. Sowe.

Links - I'd like to know what Links thinks about a group like Teach for America and unionized teachers.

Lethean - I think good guidance is definitely the key to success, and even without that you still have a chance later on in life, but it gets REALLY difficult and discouraging when youre so far behind your peers because you lacked the foresight to think about your future (which is something that could happen to any teen/pre-teen regardless of socio-economic class).

I can honestly say that I think living in a truly Libertarian country would work out well for everyone IF, we all started out on the same level with the same amount of money/resources, with the same demographic breakdown (a perfect world). Just like Communism would work if people weren't inherently selfish, or capitalism would work properly is people weren't always looking for loopholes. But thats not the world we live in.

Some people have had an advantage over others. Should they be punished for that advantage? No, but If they had a hand in actively holding people back through discriminatory means - YES!, If the discrimination was systematic - then the system should do its best to level the playing field. At who's expense? The Tax payer. Why, because we are all in this together - everyone has access to the same services we all pay for - which is why its ridiculous to tell a population that the more you make the less of a percentage you will pay on your taxes.
 
EVERYBODY DANCE NOW!

running_man.gif


Here is the dome back with the bass
The jam is live in effect and I don't waste time
Off the mic with a dope rhyme jump to the rhythm
Jump jump to the rhythm jump
And I'm here to combine beats and lyrics
To make you shake your pants take a chance
Come on and dance guys grab a girl don't wait make the twirl
It's your world and I'm just a squirrel
Trying to get a nut to move your butt to the dance floor
So you what's up hands in the air come on say yeah
Everybody over here everybody over there
The crowd is live enough as I pursure this groove
Party people in the house move


bush_dancing_1253732288.gif

dog_cat_dancing.gif


Left to right (groove) work me all night
Come on let's sweat (sweat sweat) baby
Let the music take control (control control)
Let the rhythm move you
Sweat (sweat sweat) sweat
Let the music take your soul (soul soul)
Let the rhythm move you
Everybody dance now


calvin_dancing.gif


Pause take a breath and go for yours on my command
Now hit the dance floor it's gonna make you sweat till you bleed
Is that dope enough indeed I paid the price to control the dice
I'm more precise to the point I'm nice
Let the music take control of your heart and soul
Unfold your body is free and behold
Dance till you can't dance till you can't dance no more
Get on the floor and get ablow
Then come back and upside down easy now
Let me see you move left to right groove
Work me all night


tumblr_lj5qlnfR8q1qg4ayxo1_400.gif


EVERYBODY DANCE NOW!

1237362987_borat_dancing_with_his_fellow_karakstanians.gif

1625228_o.gif

disco_stu2.gif


Disco Stu wants ta party wit U!
 
Some solid chatter here, which is nice to see, and a tough act to follow with the onslaught of .gif images, though. I'd almost swear I was lost in the world of YTMND or something. Before I chime in more about the OWST movement I've gotta do a bit of house-cleaning first regarding a very persistent little troll......


Eyebrowsbv31 said:
Nope. Nothing in saint louis. We have jobs.


Don't get a liberal arts degree. Problem solved.

Hi there, user Eyebrowsbv31. I doubt you have ever noticed but I've only ever bothered to respond directly to any of your posts once, and only once. And there is a reason for this: responding to the remarks of a meathead ideologue such as yourself generally seems to encourage you to spout more of your opinions about the world- the last thing anyone wants. But since you seem to pull your own chord I've shown below why I don't take anything you say seriously. Nobody should since you have a record for making an anti-intellectual ass of yourself. To wit:

- In one thread you disparaged people that smoked cannabis and in a separate thread revamped your position when you realized it was unpopular. What are you smoking?

-In another thread you slammed the idea of protesting the Iraq War while chiding that people in Libya needed to supported. You then mocked the Libyan uprising in another thread a few months later. Come clean: are you Gaddafi, or not?

-Though your libertarian angst abounds everywhere, in this thread you expressed gratitude for Obamacare because it allowed your mother, someone afflicted with lupus, the possibility of receiving health insurance. Answer me: was the history of cognitive dissonance covered in any of your college courses?

***

So there you go: contradiction, cowardice, and hypocrisy from the one known as Eyebrowsbv31. If your neurotic ramblings are head-ache inducing then I would also add they're easy to find since you have a fixation with destroying any kind of useful dialogue in my threads on GR. Please understand this: aside from your toady you are barely tolerated on GR. While It's been amusing watching your confidence grow on this forum over the years as you poked around for support and encouragement I'd rather see the days return when useful discussions took place here about games, art, and culture across the world. So there's my second ever response to you: the one that puts a bell around your neck.

Getting back to the topic at hand.

I'm out in New Haven now and thinking of heading to the movement in NYC sometime in the next few weeks. Like I remarked at the top there's some good chatter here about the Occupy movements across the U.S. but I don't think people here seem to understand how nebulous the movement really still is. The mainstream media still really doesn't know what to do with it, something not surprising since that would require actual journalism, but there is no doubting the global nature of this movement. Literally across hundreds of cities, hell, across hundreds of countries, people are rising up against institutional corruption, be they government or corporate in nature. And it's fascinating.

I think what's finally snapped is the 99%'s tolerance level for the stratification of wealth in the U.S. Being poor is not a state of mind but a reality, and I don't think people are content to sit back anymore and cheerfully conclude "I guess I have to work harder." The value of the minimum wage has suffered in the past 30 years. There are only five other countries with more unequal distribution of wealth than the United States. When you actually research the data on the matter it leads to conclusions that make you kind of sick. Instead of ralphing out of agony, though, people are getting up and taking to the streets about what they want to see changed.

I don't think this is entirely without precedent. There was a Civil Rights March in the U.S. when black people decided they were fed up with being looked at as subhuman. They rose up in non-violence and relentlessly pursued their goals- a fight still going on to this day. I think that's exactly what the people in Zuccotti Park are doing right now- whether they risk getting maced and beaten if it comes to it. Fighting for a level-playing field in this country. The bottom line is that millions are coming together against massive corporate and government wrongs present across the world that have been going on for way too long. I can support that kind of cause.

The Arab Spring was the inspiration for all of this, and I only imagine where the movement will go from here.
 
blobbohen said:
I think what's finally snapped is the 99%'s tolerance level for the stratification of wealth in the U.S. Being poor is not a state of mind but a reality, and I don't think people are content to sit back anymore and cheerfully conclude "I guess I have to work harder."

No, I don't think people are concluding that "they have to work harder" anymore. I believe they are concluding that "I deserve this and its mine" whether it is or isn't. I understand things aren't handed freely, and that working harder is the backbone of this country.

A lot of these people are out there, crying about the state of things in economy and government. Unhappy with the low wages they are being paid. The dose of reality is that most of these people were expecting the great opportunities to just be shoved upon them as soon as they left their doors. What a slap in the face to be told you have to work for it.
 

Members online

No members online now.

Forum statistics

Threads
16,686
Messages
270,775
Members
97,723
Latest member
mncraftmod
Top