Originally Posted by DTD Alum
I agree completely. I think that's why there is a sense of "get real" frustration against many opponents of Occupy _____________ (Occupy Palo Alto just started yesterday, it's getting absurd). Silver spoon or not, to maintain a spot in the top 1% you need to have an incredible balance of experience, skills and education. Even those (athletes, celebrities, etc) who don't necessarily have the education part down clearly have some irreplaceable qualities they have worked for that adds value to their resume. So when the average member of the 99% asks, "Why not me?" the answer is pretty simple: "Because you can't do it and haven't earned it."
Now I think where the problem lies is that 99% of the population is an outrageously broad spectrum, and there is no one "reason" for the fact that they "can't do it and haven't earned it". Some people don't have the skills necessary to get them to the top 1% because they partied too hard in college (if they even made it that far), didn't take school seriously, refuse to think about long term goals, don't have the willpower or determination to develop a skill over a long period of time, are entitled, etc. Some people don't have the skills necessary to get them to the top 1% because they spent their adolescence supporting their struggling family, or because obstacle after obstacle was thrown at them due to whatever factor (poverty, race, physical disability, mental health problems, failing school system, language barriers). And then still there are those who are harder to define...those who had enough obstacles thrown at them to feel sympathy for, but still made choices that would drastically affect their ability to overcome them. Do you sympathize, chastise, or both?
There is a definite "one size fits all" viewpoint being used on either side of the issue...some denounce all those in the 99% as being stupid, lazy, unrealistic, etc. Some seem to be advocating that everybody in the 99% is a great person who just fell upon hard circumstances and therefore they have no responsibility for where they are now. The truth, like always, is somewhere in the middle. There is no "aggregate" reason for the inequality because it is going to differ so much from one person in the 99% to the next.
I think unemployed skilled people are the minority of the 99% as well. Their situations are beyond tragic, but I don't think their plight is really what these protests are about.
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