Love Thy Neighbor (Unless They Happen To Be Richer Than You)

I encountered something rather interesting the other day.

I came across an article about how some of the people at the lower levels of the "1%" are starting to encounter economic problems. (EDIT: The article was by Bloomberg Business, and appears to have vanished from Yahoo. This is the only sign I can now find of it.) 


The bonuses and salaries that they've become accustomed to have been dwindling, suddenly and rapidly, and now some of them can't afford some of the lifestyle perks and high-class investments and costs that they've become accustomed to. These people, who were assured they were protected by and valuable to the established hegemony, are now discovering that when the ship starts sinking, they are, in fact, more expendable and vulnerable than they were initially told. Private schools for their kids are in jeopardy, Country and Golf Club Memberships are becoming unaffordable, and they are starting to find, to their unimaginable horror, that they have to start tightening their belts and making changes to the lifestyles they've becomes accustomed to. A lot of it sounds like bitching about Rich-People First World Problems, and for the most part, it pretty much is.

But that's beside the point. Some of the folks that were formerly in the "Haves" are now discovering that the bullshit they've been fed for so long about "Hard-Working Rich People" and "Lazy Poor People" might actually be as fecal as the 99% claim.

So... That's a good thing, right? People who were arrayed against the populist side are starting to wake up. That's encouraging... Isn't it?

And then I got to the Comments section.

It turns out hateful language and bigotry doesn't just come from the top-down. The vitriol spewed forth from readers was no less alarming and reprehensible as a Corporate CEO calling OWS protesters "stupid monkeys". From what a lot of these angry and indignant commenters say, you would think that these former and soon-to-be-former 1%'s had run over their cats and then lamented about the cleaning bill for their Beemer. How DARE they be upset and distraught that they went from making $500,000 a year to $300,000 a year??!!??? *RAGEFACE*

Well... How would you feel if you were assured over and over that you had great job security, so you spent within (okay, let's not delude ourselves, slightly beyond thanks to credit cards) your means to establish a comfortable lifestyle for yourself and your family, that the people who said you were evil and wrong were nothing more than jealous naysayers who were just lazy, and then one day found out that you were getting a $3/hour pay cut and all that "job security" you were assured starts looking like an illusion? And suddenly that lifestyle that you and your family are used to, that you PROMISED them was a sure thing, has to change drastically. This isn't just going from buying champagne to Mad Dog; this means your kids might have to change schools. That you might have to sell a house that you love but can't afford anymore. Economically, this is a REALLY BIG DEAL, because they're finding out the hard way that the same top-level millionaires and billionaires that they thought were their friends and allies are largely even elitist towards them.

Keep in mind, these people are the lower-end of the Wall Street crowd. And what does the lower end of any group end up doing?

The grunt work. The bitch work. The nitty-gritty, down-and-dirty day-to-day mundane shit that the upper levels don't pay a lot of attention to until it affects their profit margins. These are the people who know what actually happens on a daily basis in the financial and banking industry. So why, exactly, are you gonna be a raging, callous douchebag to these potential newfound allies, who actually know how things work and who's doing what? I thought this self-realization on the part of the 1% was what the 99%ers WANTED to happen. Well, it's happening... And you're going to get pissed that they didn't end up completely destitute???

Hold on a second.

Unless you're a raging, reactionary, completely anti-establishment anarchist, the actual amount of money that someone else has or makes is not the issue.

Let me repeat that: another person's economic status is NOT. YOUR. PROBLEM.

It's the SYSTEM you have a problem with, the system that created economic disparity in the first place. The System that told them they earned and were worth every penny they had even while it told you to shut up and work harder. The System and the ones who run it at the top are the ones who have been lying to EVERYONE about the magic of the Free Market and the Glory of Capitalism.

So... Some of them are starting to be hit in a very real way with the reality of the situation... And rather than accepting them to your side with open arms and empathy for other people who have been used and lied to in the worst way, who's very worldview has been cracked and shattered... You're going to rub their faces in it and wish them even more ill? What happened to understanding them as you want the 1% to understand your own position? Why doesn't the love and solidarity you espouse for each other extend to them?

This isn't supposed to be about "punishing" anyone for the mistake of believing a lie. Unless they've knowingly and intentionally engaged in thoughtful criminal behavior, they don't deserve prosecution. Alienating newfound allies does nothing but shoot yourself in the foot.

So what's it going to be? Are you more interested in seeing people who make more money than you vindictively punished for making mistakes, or is this actually about loving and accepting everyone into the fold in the name of fixing the broken system that caused this conflict in the first place?

Your move, 99%. Choose wisely.