The Randomness of Me

Ideas around who are the 99% are as vast and varied as the protestors occupying public spaces around the globe. The same is true for the 1%.

Those people, households and families on the bottom of the threshold could very well be the work-a-day guy driving the bus to the encampment who is struggling with a mortgage and college tuition for his kids or the single parent police woman called upon to “control” and disburse the crowds. Pitting one class against another without fully understanding and knowing the faces and stories behind the numbers does a diservice to this growing movement and the change and dialogue it can create. In Oakland, a young black man fell victim to an old argument and died in the encampment, the 99% was quick to point out that they - the young man and his killer - were not a part of the 99%. How can that be true when young men like them struggle every day to find jobs that will support them and, when they can’t, resort ot underground economies like drug sales to make ends meet. Aren’t these young men a part of the 99% and don’t they deserve not to be demonized and ostracisized from a movement that could helo them find a road out of poverty?

As we move to create change and hold true the ideals of free specch and public dissent, we must be careful not to make judegments about people on the other sideof the table. Yes, the Donald Trumps of the world should be made to pay thier fair share but let’s be clear that not everyone in the 1% is a Fat Cat who is milking the system. No, we can not condone violence but we can acknowledge that the pathology that leads to young men of color engaging in these behaviors is based in poverty and exclusion that must be a part of this dialogue.

In order to make this movement be one that truly embraces the ideals and values of our Constitution and that provides spaces for all of the 99% it must first do a bit of soul searching and not become like the monster against which it rails.