I AM THE 99%
I AM THE 1%I AM
Attention #OccupyWallStreet, internet dwellers, protesters, rioters, teenagers, adults, the wealthy, the poor, every human.
The majority of you all are so caught up in how much you make, how much others are making that you again are being blinded by what exactly caught you into being the “99%” in the first place.
The lack of knowledge. The majority of those that are out of jobs, were affected by the stock market and are drowned in student debt are those that chose to remain ignorant of the world surroundings. If you are looking for someone to blame, indeed WALLSTREET is to blame, the GOVERNMENT, but the entity that deserves the most blame?
You need not look farther than into a mirror. The majority of people reading this did not vote, nor did they pay attention to the news when the warning signs of economic disparity were but clouds in the distance; distant but indeed imminent. YOU chose to be sheep, to surround yourself with the internet, to distract yourself with video games, and to keep up with the latest celebrity gossip.
I understand why YOU did it. It’s not cool to know, politics and economics are too boring, or there was always the latest Jersey Shore episode to watch. But while you were Facebook’ing, Tweeting and Tumbling the latest picture about
Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez, or Kanye West.The RICH were getting RICHER and the stupid were getting poorer.DID YOU KNOW that crime has decreased drastically in the last 5 years because of video games and social networking? The internet is a great tool but you’re also being crowd controlled by it.
The government, media, and corporations have you bounded as slaves. The chains that bind you are those of stupidity and ignorance. The key to freedom is simple: Knowledge. To learn is the greatest disobedience.
Those who do not remember the past, are condemned to repeat it.
Learn from your past mistakes, people. Is what you’re doing right now making the world, your life, or another’s life any better? Arm yourself with insight and knowledge for fuck’s sake.
Elections are coming up soon. Did Obama give you the change he promised?
Modcloth Encourages You to Volunteer in Africa
Modcloth, the official provider of blogger clothing, has a lovely product called “Trip to Tansy-nia” skit. In keeping with its policy of using forced twee to describe the clothing on offer, Modcloth presents you with this masterpieces of wtf:
Volunteering feels good, doesn’t it? It’s also a great excuse to travel, and this time your huge heart is taking you to Africa! Embody the vibrant personalities and positive spirits of the locals when you wear this dynamic maxi skirt with a gold exposed zipper! Created by Lauren Moffat, a favorite amongst fashion bloggers, this skirt’s wide, blue waistband matches its bottom hem, and every other olive brown, bright red, ivory, and blue vertical line is decorated with tansy-colored flowers. Wear it wonderfully with a solid-colored top, oversized beaded jewelry, and shoes that are just pleasantly unexpected as its silky lining and the colorful bouquet that diagonally blooms above the hem of this skirt, and you’ll be loved by Tanzania locals for more than just your helping hands!
My gut tells me that trying to tell a $274.99 skirt by telling people to wear it volunteering in Africa just seems…tacky? Then again this is Modcloth, their demographic is upper middle class suburban white girls who probably wouldn’t use a Greenpeace latrine if you paid them. I’m sure Modcloth thinks this is in no way condescending.
submitted by: http://yesyoucant.tumblr.com/
Insensitivity at its finest.
Here’s a piece I did for the online student news source, Next Gen Journal. They’re a great place for students from all over to come and join in a talk involving culture, news, politics and student issues. I’m very excited.
Here’s the link to NGJ’s Tumblr. Follow them, keep up! There’s much potential!
My piece is, essentially, about how the New Deals from the 1930’s would never work today, because of a shift in cultural, international and economic perspective. Despite our yearning for a more self-sufficient, beneficial economic system, we have become so stubborn to the point of no progress.
Here are some excerpts:
“Leaders need to stop eluding citizens into believing that immigrants “steal” jobs, when realistically, they take up the jobs that the American populace has grown to disdain. To be fair, there are Americans that make up a good amount of these humble jobs, and they most assuredly should be proud of their employment. However, the harvest of these disgraced jobs—the mangoes in the local supermarket, the cleanly mowed lawns and trimmed hedges in nearby neighborhoods—are rarely appreciated.”
…
“This then introduces a new factor into the equation: America simply cannot create jobs that clearly are not here anymore. The political and economic costliness of bringing jobs back to American soil makes the prospect improbable, although doing so may benefit the country in the long run. The productivity of the early twentieth century still heavily relied on industry work, but as our world fuses and jobs become compromised and moved overseas, the feasibility of an “American America” starts to dwindle.”
What we actually spend money on. From Ezra Klein, The Washington Post.
Gah, this is what I have been saying!
Ron Paul has officially surpassed Michele Bachmann in the GOP presidential nomination race, according to a recent poll. Now I know he’s technically a Republican, but I feel like he aligns with Libertarian views quite well, and as far as I can tell no one would argue with that. However, there is one HUGE problem that this article touches on that I think needs to be explored further.
Ron Paul is getting virtually no media coverage.
How is this possible? After the debate in Iowa, Bachmann was all over the news. But then again, she aligns better with conservative viewpoints - so people are more interested in what she has to say. Ron Paul has some different views than most Americans, and the general public isn’t so interested in him. At least that’s what I think. It’s about ratings.
However, I also think there’s more to it. Ordinary conservatives could feel threatened by someone with a more Libertarian lean and not want to give someone they see as a threat any coverage. More liberal leaning networks/newspapers might feel the same way - he’s a threat. He isn’t a traditional conservative, and therefore he they don’t want to give him publicity because people might see this difference and vote for him over Obama.
Now I’m almost as liberal as they come, but reporting, especially political reporting, cannot be biased. There isn’t room for it. We live in a democracy, which means that people should be able to decide who they want to vote for. Just because I believe my opinions are what’s right, maybe I’m wrong, and that’s why decisions are made by everyone - to correct individual mistakes. I don’t personally think that Ron Paul is the right person to lead our country, but that doesn’t mean people shouldn’t know about him. As an aspiring political reporter, I firmly believe that each candidate should be reported on - not only is it fair, but it also allows people to actually have an idea of who the candidates are and why they should be voting for them.
The moral of the story: Get your biases out of the way and give everyone equal coverage - it’s what the candidates and the people deserve.
Hey guys, here’s something I posted on my personal news blog. I figured I’d repost it here as well, because it’s an issue I feel pretty strongly about. It’s important to keep your eyes open and make sure you do your research before you go out and vote. Political ads don’t count - too much fact-bending and mudslinging.
Child in a rebel camp in the north-eastern Central African Republic. Photo by Pierre Holtz.
Great photo.
I stumbled upon (literally, not a cute reference to the aggregating website) this website/blog, Wannabe Hacks, of a curious bunch of five young journalists who are traversing through the world of journalism in the modern age. I thought it was fascinating, and I love the confident, old-school-crime approach to the blog with the members with names such as “The Intern” and “The Student”. This blog indicates, quite honestly, the difficulty of landing the traditional career of “journalist”—if that’s even in existence. It’s a fascinating idea, having five graduate students show their path through journalism today. It’s similar to what my friend, Justin, and I are doing with this blog. We felt that tapping into the expanding stage of journalism was important, and I felt an affinity to these guys. It’s inspiring and motivating to see other young people doing things like this. So, shout out to Wannabe Hacks. Kudos!
