I posted this picture on facebook today, and captioned it with the words "This speaks volumes." One of my friends replied "It does?" And that was enough for me to start writing a massive response. (Which I'll post at the end just for shits and giggles.) I decided not to go with the long winded reply and respond with a quick summary of what I wanted to say. Unfortunately this has left me with the need to unleash the rant you read now.
Occupy Everywhere!! People gather around all of the major cities in a large scale protest that 1% of Americas wealthiest people are controlling everything that effects 99% of the rest of us. Make you voice heard by occupying the land around their buildings and let them know who we are!
Bullshit! That is what I have to say about the Occupy Everywhere campaign. It is just straight up bullshit! Here is my take on everything I have seen over the "Occupy Everywhere" campaign and the people that I have seen involved with it.
So far I have seen a lot of younger people involved. People that are anywhere from 22 - 28 years old are the majority of the people that are camping out for weeks at a time, asking people to bring them more blankets, water, and condoms.
Some of you might remember previous rants that I have written about the "Snowflake" generation. These are the kids that are the "Precious Snowflakes" that can do no wrong no matter how horrific they are being. They have grown up and there are certain things they are accustomed to:
1) When you play sports you will get a trophy even if you come in last place.
2) Failure is not an option... mostly because they are not allowed to fail no matter how bad they do.
3) Fairness is required. Everyone is allowed everything they want, that is fair.
4) You express yourself no matter how disrespectful it is to others, because no one wants to stifle your creativity.
5) You are a precious snowflake and you are unique, special and perfect, don't let anyone tell you otherwise, if your feelings are hurt they are in the wrong.
This is a generation who has had to put less effort into everything they do because of Political Correctness. Parents, teachers, people everywhere have been trying to spare their feelings, keep them from feeling left out of anything, and flushing everything that establishes a strong work ethic down the toilet.
This is a generation who has never had to fight to get what they want because they couldn't have something. No child left behind, has ensured that many children although not competent enough to write a 5 page paper with clear, well constructed, sentences are graduating from school.
These kids are getting out of college under the expectation that they will have a job waiting for them, and it will be one that will cater to their strengths and pay them well. (I can't tell you how many people have started working for the company I am at and have tried to spend their days downloading music, watching Netflix, and chatting on Facebook while putting in the minimum effort to the job they were hired to perform.) I can tell you that many people would be stunned to find how much porn people store on company computers (the place I work at now has less that others... but that's not to say that I haven't found a lot of it).
So here we are with a generation of people that are crowding around financial buildings for weeks at a time complaining over the fact that the people who work in these buildings are making money hand over fist while we are losing money left and right. The idea is not the worst idea, but the motive is entirely wrong! If they were gathering to protest how Wall Street trades against futures that are not predictable; and how to generate more money for themselves over inflate the estimation which costs people everything they have invested, then they would have something there. This movement would make sense.
That is not what this is about however. This is about how 1% of the people who have money are the richest people in the country. The 99% of the people are not rich, and that is "not fair". These people are also the same people who get out of college, can't find a job in the specialized field that they have chosen, and decide "There are no jobs, I will get government assistance until I can find a job that meets my talents." These are the same people who will not take a minimum wage job because they feel that with a college degree in the history of basket weaving with a minor in vampire romance novels for tweens makes them better than the title of lead fry cook at the *insert fast food restaurant name here* for $7.25 and hour.
Yeah the job isn't glamorous, you won't get to be a millionaire by working there, but hell its a job until you find something else. Yes it sucks, yes the hours are long, and no the pay is not great, but at the end of the week when you get paid you can bank what you have and be proud that you EARNED the money you have.
I got out of college in 2000... I accepted a job for nearly 40k a year when I got out doing what I love to do in computers, and then the market crashed when the dot com bubble burst (future trading didn't work then, doesn't work now) and all the jobs dried up. The job I had I lost and there were people 10 - 15 years older than me with more experience fighting for the same jobs that I was trying to get. Instead of crying and saying "I want the government to give me money because I can't get a job doing what I want" I put my application in at places that I knew would hire me so I could still make my car payments while looking for something else. I went from earning a great salary to earning minimum wage. I took every opportunity I could to show off my talents and skills, and to get promoted and earn more, I took every job that I could find that would put more in my pocket at the end of the week and cover my bills. It took me 4 years of hard work before I got another network job, and then once I got it I did everything I could to become the most well known tech at that company. And when I moved on I did the same at the next job, and the next one and the one after that until I finally felt I was in a better position. I kept up with the people I used to work with and I still do to this day. We help each other out when we can and based on that we help each other become successful in a legitimate method. This is the ethic that I feel has died. There are so few people these days who understand that things are not just given to them. Fairness doesn't exist in the work force, there will always be rich people, there will always be poor people. Those that never give up and keep pushing to do what it takes to survive will be the ones who prevail in the end. Those that give up and sit around waiting for others to just give them things will rely on politicans to find new ways to give them money, and piss off people like me. Will they ever be successful? No. Will they ever do better in their lives? Not likely. Will their children grow up to be exactly like them? Mostly yes... then you find the one "odd duck" in the family that looks at the scenario and says "isn't this wrong?" And they move on... but those are the few and far between.
People need to wake up and realize that things are never going to be just given to them. Work is required to survive. If you want to be rich there are 2 ways to do it:
1) Honestly - Work hard and save every penny you have. Don't spend it on anything frivolous. I don't know anyone who has made it rich by spending their money on booze, weed, or videogames/movies (I am not rich now and may never be, but know what beer I like, and I don't worry about not having a movie to watch).
2) Dishonestly - Work hard and stab everyone in the back that poses to be a threat to your success. Lie, cheat, and steal your way to success. You'll be wealthy and everyone will know your name... just ask Bernie Madoff. Of course in the end you will most likely die alone or in jail... but you'll have made it to the top if only for a moment.
That's all I'll say for now... and as promised here is the rant that I abandoned earlier when on Facebook. It repeats some of what I said here, and adds some story to my thoughts on how the work ethic of our culture is nearly dead.
-Ryan
It does to me, honestly I look at the "Occupy Everywhere" idea as something that in theory could be a powerful way to show that Wall Street is screwing with everyone by not learning about why trading on "Futures" is the wrong idea and only leads to quick money gains, and massive money loss with extremely slow recovery.
Instead the majority of the people in the "Occupy Everywhere" campaign are people that are hanging out for weeks, doing very little.
Unfortunately I really find myself despising some of the current generation because there are so many that have the perspective "I won't work in a place that pays min wage, while looking for something else because it means I'll get less from my government benefits" (I personally know a few people doing this, no going to school, not working, collecting off the dole, and everytime they get close to expiration of their benefits they file for an extension and they argue until they get another 3 months of benefits... and it makes me sick. I've stopped talking to a few people I considered friends because they are doing this and they laugh about it.)
However generations before us, had a different idea of things. Work was work, money was money, no matter how little it was and how fast it vanished, people took any job they could find, no matter how menial just so they could buy food for their family and put clothes on their back. My great grandfather, although he died a penniless bum on the street was an ice-carrier. It paid nearly nothing, and he had to lug 30lb chunks of ice to peoples houses for the ice boxes.
Another friend his grandfather worked as an umbrella repairman in the 40's money was so tight he would go door to door and ask if anyone had any umbrellas that needed to be mended, he worked for pennies but it was a much stronger ethic, you never saw people organizing and sitting in the middle of the cities because some people made more money than others. Instead, people did what they could when they heard of a job that made more money they tried for it.
So to me, this isn't a cartoon about a man who saw war talking to a kid that has done nothing. Its just a strong statement reflecting how peoples ethics have changed. There have always been rich people, there have always been poor people... but the lack of drive to fight to get what you want has never been less than it is now.
