I Am the Other 99% – Slactivists Unite

I get it folks. Things are bad. Depending upon who I talk to they’re either just bad or really bad. And while I may have some Facebook friends among the privileged few in our society, neither I nor the bulk of my real life friends, acquaintances, clients or associates tends to truly fit the 1% qualifications. My apologies to those of you who party like you’re rich, but still have student loans you’re paying off, you too are not part of the 1%.

But then I look over at the 99%, or at least many of the people out there calling themselves the 99% and who are absolutely under some belief that destroying the livelihoods of struggling shopkeepers and business people in Oakland is really going to amount to anything more than a mere piss in the swimming pool of the rich. No, keeping me from getting to an appointment, which I need to make to be able to pay my health insurance bill this month, is not going to ingratiate me to you anytime soon.

We got all the rich people in the Bay Area living in Atherton and Hillsborough, go occupy them. At the very least, go occupy Danville. They have plenty of wealthy people there too, except they all own guns.
Sure, I have some friends who celebrate Jerry Garcia’s birthday every year and list their favorite color as tie dyed, but I never take them too seriously. Somehow, not owning a t.v. set, shopping at Whole Foods and working at a coffee shop is now considered über cool.

The proletariat has had lots of time to prepare for the revolution. Is this the best we can get? I suspect however that some of the unwashed may simply be into the fight because they couldn’t get the wide-screen tv they wanted last year for Christmas.

My apologies also go out to those who are part of this fight, and in any way, shape or form, call themselves part of the 99% and have some self-awareness, and who aren’t simply victims or underachievers. Yes there are quite a few of you, I just wish there was some sort of different colored jersey or uniform you can wear. God Bless those of you who actually have some understanding of history, politics, or at the very least can name the person who is Vice President of the United States.

I just wish there was another 99% that I could join. One that I felt was actually working towards viable solutions. One that vetted out the folks who just want to hang out and hopefully get somebody to pass them a joint, or wait until darkness, so they can break the windows on some bakery that’s barely making it, just so they can steal some cupcakes. A 99% that understood the importance of comfortable footwear and properly ventilated porta potties. And a group that approached the problem with a bit more clarity, thought and consideration for all those involved.

It shouldn’t really matter much, but it does occasionally put things into perspective when you look at the situation from a global viewpoint. The average homeless person in the United States has a better quality of life, including health care than ¾ of the other people living on this planet. That doesn’t mean our One World problems shouldn’t be important. I totally understand how your day was wrecked because your DVR had a hiccup and you didn’t tape X Factor last night. Yes, you should sue the cable company and spend the day under the covers.

Then there’s the Slactivists out there. The ones who support our troops by buying a $2 bumper sticker from a street vendor that says “I Support Our Troops”. Or better yet, the ones who simply retweet, sign internet petitions, or “picket” as part of their status updates on facebook.

So perhaps it’s time to sit down and think. You may indeed not be part of the 1%, but are you part of the 99%?

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