What are we fighting for? Don’t know — don’t give a damn— next stop is Wall Street? How we have changed. We used to protest against a war that we didn’t belong in— now we’re out there marching against the uber rich for being rich. And how effective it all is — squatting in Zuccotti Park with fancy tents, iPones, iPads, and wifi gadgets, getting lattes at Starbucks and shouting grievances to high-rise skyscrapers.
My-oh-my-oh-my.
What I fail to get is why? No one has made any clear demands. Not one person has come forward and said “These are our demands; if you meet them we’ll stop protesting and get on with our lives.”
Instead, we have some vague ideas that the Occupy Wall Street protesters are annoyed that the uber rich are rich; they don’t like the fact that the banks received bail outs’; they’re not happy that there aren’t enough jobs; and apparently they want to be able to live in the park, make a mess, clean it up, and march up and down Broadway.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but I just don’t get it. In fact last week, a reporter interviewed an “occupier” who’s been homeless since 1973 — but wasn’t that more than a few economic downturns ago?
I think that if you really want to get at Wall Street, just stop buying all those iPhones, iPads, Kindles, flat screen TVs, designer clothes, shoes, purses, furnishings, and, of course, coffee. For god’s sake, what’s wrong with a plain old cup of Joe in one of those blue cups that says “We’re happy to serve you.” Why does it have to be a $4 double grande, mocha chocolate latte from Starbucks?
Stop freaking buying. It isn’t necessary to have the latest, greatest anything. And if you don’t have the cash, you certainly shouldn’t use the plastic.
The banks have the money because we give it to them. It’s not only the bail outs, it’s the incredible amounts of cash that banks earn in fees and by buying and selling long, short and medium. All those ATM fees, mortgages fees, auto loans, personal loans, vacation loans, you name it and the bank will give you a loan for it — all at usurious interest rates that’s compounded daily.
Let’s face it, banks are worse than the loan sharks. But do we stop? No! We just keep on charging and paying the minimum.
The banks make it available, and we take advantage of it.
I really think we the consumers have to take a bit of responsibility for the banks having all that cash; we use credit cards for what we don’t need; we live above and beyond our means; we are the ones that desperately keep up with the Joneses, Smiths and Barneys, just so we can stockpile and cram stuff into our lives that are already over-stuffed enough.
Not for Nuthin, but the only way to stop the banks from stock piling our cash is for us to stop giving it to them. Protesting is okay for getting yourself in the papers, but the only way to get the point across is to hit them where it hurts — in the pockets.
Jdelbuono@cnglocal.com
