The Oswegonian

The Independent Student Newspaper of Oswego State

DATE

Dec. 24, 2024

Opinion

Wall Street hypocrisy

It started on Sept. 17th, 2011 with a group of protesters made up mostly of college students, anarchists and others. They called this uprising “Occupy Wall Street.” At the time it began there was no leadership and no stated goals. Signs ran the gambit from the demolition of capitalism to global warming. Since then the movement has gained momentum as protests are springing up in cities across the nation with names like “Occupy Boston,” “Occupy DC” and there is now an “Occupy Syracuse.”

It would be easy to dismiss however, now Move On.org, unions, such as the he American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, the National Endowment for the Arts and the Service Employees International Union, as well as politicians and celebrities, are endorsing these protests. At an Occupy Wall Street protest, actress Susan Sarandon offered this insight: “There’s a huge void between the rich and the poor in this country.” She also said that she would be back, right after her trip to Italy. However, there was nothing in her short speech offering to give some of her millions to redistribute the wealth and shorten the so-called “gap.” Michael Moore naturally had to give his opinion in an interview with Keith Olbermann, stating that bankers are “kleptomaniacs, out of control and suffering from some sort of sociopathic illness.” He then calls on Obama to give another speech and to call upon the Department of Justice to investigate the bankers and give them a perp walk.

Of course, you can’t leave out the pearls of wisdom from Roseanne Barr. In an interview with Russia Today, she gave this piece of advice: “I believe in a maximum wage of $100 million. And if they are unable to live on that amount of that amount then they should go to the reeducation camps and if that doesn’t help, then be beheaded.” I don’t think she was joking. This is coming from a woman who makes royalties on reruns of her syndicated TV shows, books and appearances. Is she giving up her wealth to help the struggling economy?

The hypocrisy of the left is never ending, George Soros, one of the wealthiest men in the world, is offering his support for the protests. Of course, it’s emotional not monetary. This is the same man who made his fortune on the backs of the poor after he would tank their economy and profit from it.

Adam Kokesh interviewed a student who is holding a sign stating, “Honk if you have student loans.” When he confronts her on the high cost of education that she is obviously against, she claims it is due to the privatization of the educational system, that it has become an industry and the government should take it over and make it free for all. I’ve got news for you; Obama took over the student loans right after he took over the auto industry. He is trying to allow his people to send mass robot calls to cell phones to those who are behind or not paying their student loans regardless if they can find a job, and harassed them until they pay. When Kokesh asks if she was protesting Obama, she said she was in favor of a second term. She said she wanted Obama to take charge. When he confronted her with the facts, such as the cost of education had increased under Obama, that he has increased the bailouts for the corporations they are protesting, and that he is the most pro-war president, it is like watching a robot short circuit; you could see the smoke coming out of her ears. The facts and logical reasoning is causing major cognitive dissonance as she stutters and finally shuts down and refuses to talk.

Another protester advocates the government exerting force on its citizens if it can maximize social justice. He expresses that if you can’t encourage voluntary cooperation then the government should use force to induce it. When Kokesh confronts him with the fact that it is wrong and unacceptable to exert any force upon any individual and to use peace and persuasion, he implodes. These protesters are calling themselves and the movement a revolution. Remember revolutions do not end well, especially if orchestrated by a government. There are plenty of examples throughout history. Don’t forget Chairman Mao, the champion of the left who killed 70 million of his own people. Don’t forget Joseph Stalin or V.I. Lenin either. But don’t forget that it was high rates of unemployment, increased prices in food, goods and high taxes which led to the raise of Hitler.

The protests that are erupting all across the nation are fueled by the Obama administration as well as Obama a former “community organizer.” This is a prime example of the phrase “useful idiots.” Those who are attending these protests are nothing more than tools for the Obama campaign and liberal agenda. Remember, if you don’t learn from history you are destined to repeat it.

5 COMMENTS

  1. Unbiased journalism. You’re doing it wrong.

    However, I do believe you’re on the fast track to employment with a major media network.

  2. Was Lori raised in an ultra religious and conservative household with parents who were extremely biased, prejudiced and felt they were better than everybody else? This wasn’t a piece that you write and explore your feelings, Lori. You sold out. And I agree… you should apply to FOX News when you graduate.

  3. Wow, you obviously have not done any research and have no idea what the Occupy movement is about.

  4. I would like to see people in the field of journalism at least grasping at the straws of unbiased journalism. Occupy Wall Street is a non-partisan movement that has supporters for many different presidential candidates. We are trying to keep our favorite politicians out of our mouths as we speak of economic injustice because we DON’T want this movement to be swayed or seem to be backing only one individual. More to the point, both major political parties are accepting extremely large corporate donations and therefore both are apart of the massive politico-economic bulwark Occupy Wall Street is trying to oppose.

    Another important item to mention is that not all revolutions must necessarily be violent, in fact it is through non-violence that we will claim legitimacy. With the tool of non-violence protesters resist the pepper spray and arrests. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said that being passive does not work, but he also said that being violent only propagates hatred. He spoke of a “militant pacifism,” militant in that it is unrelenting. I hope that this movement may remain nonviolent as well as militantly pacifistic.

    Peace, Love, Unity, Freedom, Dissent, and Justice: This is what my generation is demanding. Thank You.

    -Josh Clark

  5. The overwhelming odds are that you are part of the 99% as well Lori. You have been thrown under a bus by corporate America just like the rest of us. Wise up, and stand united.

    And if it happens that you are part of the 1% – well, then I’m really not surprised by your article at all.

    If you’re part of the 99% you’re just fighting against yourself, and if you are part of the 1% – YOU are part of the problem.

    Please remember – celebrities are people too, and they’re not defined only by their jobs. They are Americans with a right to angry.

    Furthermore, this movement is not about party lines, or just for hippies. I don’t believe that 99% of America is hippie liberals. That 54% approval we’re at (and growing) is more than just hippie liberals as well.

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