Elizabeth Barrette (ysabetwordsmith) wrote,
Elizabeth Barrette
ysabetwordsmith
  • Mood: busy

The Rich Robbers

Tags: economics, news
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  • 10 comments
ionotter

ionotter

April 10 2011, 15:32:53 UTC 10 years ago

You know what worries me about all of these "The Rich Are To Blame" articles I'm seeing?

I'm afraid that when the shit hits the fan, we're not going to have the BALLS to do what needs to be done.

I feel as though Americans have become weak. There will be no Egypt here in America. There will be no Syria. When the police are sent out in their riot gear to protect the wealthy enclaves, I fear we as Americans will bow our heads and go back to our hovels.

It happened before. At Kent, remember?

Up until that point, the Peace Movement was getting bolder and stronger. Then the government slaughtered a few kids, and everyone got scared back into line. All the angry hippies became Mr. & Mrs. Fluffykins McNiceypeace.

When it comes time to tear down the system, I'm afraid we won't have what it takes.
ysabetwordsmith

Thoughts

ysabetwordsmith

April 10 2011, 16:15:08 UTC 10 years ago

>>You know what worries me about all of these "The Rich Are To Blame" articles I'm seeing?

I'm afraid that when the shit hits the fan, we're not going to have the BALLS to do what needs to be done.<<

The rich are not wholly to blame for everything that's going wrong today. They're just hogging the wealth and using their influence to retool a democracy toward a plutocracy. That sucks, but it doesn't excuse the other 99% of Americans from responsibility. People let it happen, often because they want to be insanely rich themselves and believe that it's somehow possible they might grab the brass ring.

>>I feel as though Americans have become weak. There will be no Egypt here in America. There will be no Syria. When the police are sent out in their riot gear to protect the wealthy enclaves, I fear we as Americans will bow our heads and go back to our hovels.<<

That can happen. Clearly Americans have fewer practical skills these days than they used to -- fewer people know how to garden, cook from scratch, preserve food, repair appliances, sew their own clothes, build gadgets, etc. So they're less self-sufficient. They have fewer family ties and less community, on average, so less support for when things get rough. So it wouldn't surprise me to see them give in.

But there's a limit to how long that can happen. There is always a safety catch, and so far no system however tyrannical has managed to disable it. If you push people far enough, they will snap. It's just a matter of how far you can push before that happens; sometimes, appallingly far. Sometimes, it's far enough that some other safety mechanism actually triggers first; a society can also undergo radical transformation if people flee in droves or if it implodes, rather than a revolution. History is full of examples.

There's only so long you can fake your way forward with a system that doesn't actually work. Sooner or later the facts will bite you on the ass and it will cease to function. Only the details are questionable.
cissa

Re: Thoughts

cissa

April 14 2011, 02:47:20 UTC 10 years ago

I really don't get how people are unwilling to learn basic survival skills.

I have decent experience in some, like baking, cooking, brewing, and preserving. I hate gardening, but I do know the theory and have books on it, and so could do it if I had to; I'd rather grow critters and butcher/preserve them.

But- I guess I just don't UNDERSTAND how people would be uninterested in such important areas of life!

And yeah- people will snap at some point. Practically speaking, one really has to count on that.

Facts DO compel.
ysabetwordsmith

Re: Thoughts

ysabetwordsmith

April 14 2011, 02:58:12 UTC 10 years ago

>>I really don't get how people are unwilling to learn basic survival skills.<<

Various reasons include lack of opportunity, lack of resources, no time to spare for it, and denigration of the skills by people around them.
cissa

Re: Thoughts

cissa

April 14 2011, 03:34:44 UTC 10 years ago

Well, as for me- I was entranced by the "Little House" books in my impressionable years, and so that kind of basic skills have always seemed oh-so-interesting to me. :)

I do get how people may not have the time and space (broadly speaking) to do such themselves; I really don't get how they are uninterested in doing such. But- that's me.

The thing I find sad is that if one is NOT interested in doing such- one is totally at the mercy of whatever the corporations want to do to one... and i really HATE that; it's so disempowering, and being able to make sauerkraut (for example) is really empowering- and easy!

I think the denigration of skills is the aspect I find most tragic.
natf

Re: Thoughts

natf

April 20 2011, 23:21:23 UTC 10 years ago

Looking in from the outside (well, from across a big pond, anyway), I remember being told at different times by different LJFriends (yes, Republicans) that the US of A is not a Democracy but a Republic. Yeah, I'm confused because, don't the USians keep trying to make the rest of the world become democracies and send in their armies to fight those wars for people that do not ask for it (since Vietnam)?

*lights blue touch paper and retires*

Yeah, I am a proud democratic centre-leaning (by UK standards - probably VERY left of anything in US politics) socialist. Can you tell?

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