Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Blaming the Poor


I had dinner with some family friends and they (the friends) kept asking "Why Occupy Wall Street Demonstrators Weren't working?"

I responded by saying that many demonstrators were unemployed people who have been looking for jobs for months and cannot find them or are recent college graduates who cannot find jobs.

I also said that I was a demonstrator and went on a weekend and that probably many people demonstrated when they could and then went home to jobs and work.

Then they said that the demonstrators were a public health threat.

And I said "how do you know?"

They said that they had seen demonstrators in the 1960s.

I said, "That was 40 plus years ago! Why don't you go and check it out at  your state capitol?"

I asked do you think the World War I Veterans who camped outside of Washington demonstrating for their promised-but-never-delivered-bonus were slackers?
They said, "No."

Then I said, why do you think things are different this time?

I said, I'll tell you why things are different in your eyes--it is because you two watch too much television and read poor-quality newspapers for your news.

You can imagine that did not go well.

However, I asked them this: "Why is it you are always blaming the poor? 

Why don't you blame the real culprits for destroying our country, including our health and employment, and our very future as a nation? 

Why don't you get angry at the greedy corporations and the elite for once since they are the culprits for much of what you despise?"

They ageed for once and then got up and left the table.

I think I make a better professor than a dinner partner.

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