I have spoken to quite a few people on Twitter, the home of the angry, and must say that the outlook for the movement is quite bleak in my opinion.
Firstly, no-one actually seems to know what they want. Obviously, they have airy ideas..they want "A better, fairer world" ..oh, that's good, because everyone else I know wants a worse, shittier world. Or they want "equality". OK, sounds good, but what do they mean? We all live in the same kind of house? All have the same wage? All get the same car?..and speaking of that, who decides? If we're all equal, surely this is going to get quite complicated...and as this is a world movement and the population is now 7,000,000,000 ...that's gonna be one tricky referendum.
I have watched the footage and have seen many different placards, some that are a bit dopey, some that have made me roll my eyes and others that have made me wish I was holding a paper cup so I could crush it in a dramatic fashion.
Here are a few
I mean honestly, what a dumbass.
The irony of a bunch of people saying Capitalism isn't working, while sitting on their arse all day is pretty overwhelming.
My favourite was a placard saying "Tax the rich 20% and we won't need cuts" ... Yes, you're right. Here's another one, why don't I rob your house and I won't need to work. That would work too wouldn't it. The basic message is the same. Take by force or threat other people's property or assets, and you'll have property or assets.
There is a word for that though and that is called theft.
This is what it seems to boil down to. I will gloss over the fact that a lot of these equality fighters are carrying iPhones and are more middle class on average than the customers at your local Waitrose, as that point has been done to death. What bugs me is this passing the buck onto the someone else.
Think about their message. "We are the 99%" ..OK, so if you really are the 99%, you could put any corporation in the world out of business. You could sink anyone. In the same way, you could provide food and nurture for everyone in the world. You really could. Yes, you may have to give up your luxuries, you'd have to stop buying from these companies you claim to despise and you would have to get off your own arse and make things happen instead of asking the state to do it all for you, but as the 99% you could do it. Hell, you could even put up your own political candidates with that much support. 99% of the HoC could steam roll over any of those nasty wasty 1%.
Just imagine what 6,930,000,000 could actually do if they put their mind to it. Images of the Venus Project flash into my mind.
..but it won't happen.
Firstly, you do not represent the views of the 99%..you may belong to them, but that is not the same thing.
People have a choice with what they do, and they will choose based on their own morals.
Many people buy free range eggs (including myself) because they care about the chickens treatment, because of this people are starting to make this a standard..why? Capitalism. The egg companies want your money and if your demands aren't met by their product, you go else where and their business model fails.
That is your choice as the 0.0000000142857143%. You get that much choice and that much choice only, use it as you see fit. If enough of you agree and have a common goal to fix the problems you see, great, go solve them, but do not demand to have powers over everyone else.
Forcing the closure of shops or banks so that someone else cannot exercise their puny 0.0000000142857143% worth of choice is tyranny.
It all comes down to this.....
If you do not believe the people can be trusted to make up their own mind, then you do not believe in equality and you do not believe in democracy, you believe in dictatorship, but with your own brand stamped on it.
Go Home!
