Every Thursday and Friday my syndicated column appears in a bunch of newspapers in southeastern Ontario. Here’s this week’s!
The Occupy Wall Street protesters are starting to really get to me. There they are, protesting corporations, while they film the protests on their iPhones, drink Starbucks coffee, and wear Nike clothes. Those companies did not start because the government handed people money. They became successful because someone worked really hard and took huge risks. That’s what life is about.
Nevertheless, I do have some sympathy for the protesters, because I think they have legitimate grievances. We do live in an era of crony capitalism where some companies get too much government money. Corruption is becoming far more common. And it isn’t fair.
But so what? Since when has life been fair? For the vast majority of human history, life was supremely unfair. It is just that we have recently lived through the weirdest fifty years on our planet, when the Baby Boomers enjoyed job security, company pensions, free health care, and the CPP. So we think that’s what life should be, instead of seeing it for the freakish outlier that it was. My generation isn’t going to know that kind of job security or cushy retirement, and my own kids are likely going to be worse off.
If I could say something to the protesters, I would say this: If life is going to be tougher, then you’ve got to get tougher with it. And that means not whining because you went through school and now no one will hire you. A company will not hire you because you have a degree. They hire you because you bring extra profit to their company. If you don’t bring in more money than you cost the company, why should they keep you on? They’re not a charity; they’re a business.
So you have to earn your keep. That means that your work ethic, motivation, problem solving skills, and initiative are going to be far more important than whether you excelled in your essays in Transgendered Studies, or in Art History, or in Shakespeare. It’s not that university degrees are bad, by the way; most people emerge knowing more about time management and written communication skills than they did beforehand. But it’s not the degree that’s important; it’s whether or not you’re flexible enough and adaptable enough to keep learning new skills so that you can contribute to the company.
And that’s the key: contributing. Tomorrow we’re going to remember the generation of young men and women who gave everything so we could have freedom. They gave everything, while you all seem to want everything. The contrast couldn’t be plainer. How about figuring out how you can give and add value, rather than complaining because people aren’t handing you anything.
Have you read the news lately? There’s nothing left to hand out. You can complain all you want that some people are rich, or that no one will give you a job, or that no one is spreading the wealth, but governments have no more wealth. And the more they take from others, the more the economy slows down. Look at Greece. It’s in a downward spiral, and the world’s governments can’t figure out how to contain it. It’s going to spread. And when that happens, Canada will reel, too.
We’re in trouble, folks. That doesn’t mean you won’t be able to succeed, but it does mean that you can’t depend on anyone else, let alone the government, to help you succeed. It’s up to you.
You can whine all you want, but it’s not going to get you anything. You’d do far better to start figuring out how you can forge your own path. What can you contribute? Go earn a credential, learn a skill, and start hustling. Go learn how to market yourself. You’re going to need to know. And then you’d better save for your retirement. No one else is going to do any of that for you, no matter how loudly you protest.
Sheila Wray Gregoire has been married for 25 years and happily married for 20! She loves traveling around North America with her hubby in their RV, giving her signature "Girl Talk" about sex and marriage. And she's written 8 books. About sex and marriage. See a theme here? Plus she knits. Even in line at the grocery store.
Amen, sister! I agree 100%.
Spot on, my friend. Wall Street, IMO, does need to be taken down. I’m not even sure reform is possible. But the OWS crowd has no solution whatsoever beyond whining and begging others to give them what they have not earned(out of what the bankers have manifestly stolen themselves, I would add.) Get a job and do what the rest of us do, kids. The problem of government and bankster coziness isn’t going to be solved by sitting around all winter freezing to death and breeding new strains of cholera.
Love your last line, Cindy!
Lots of the OWS protesters either have jobs (they don’t spend all of their time at the protest, but come and go with their schedules) or had jobs and have been laid off. And as for them not having a solution– if you actually listened to what they were saying instead of dismissing them as whiners, you’d see that they’re doing a lot of thinking and a lot of talking about how to make our society more equitable.
Thanks for writing this. You explained it far better than what I could and it’s all so true!
Amen!!! We’re dealing with the same thing in our city and I get annoyed everytime I drive by.
~Tammy
This post was most interesting to me, as I have a different take on it. I agree that we have gotten lazy and do have a lot of whiners, and complainers, and little action. However, I respectfully disagree with your opinion that the OWS is comprised of many who just want a handout. I find that these individuals do use their technology for social media, wear their name brand items, and seem happy to do so (I do wonder how so many people can take off work to do this…but I guess that is the point …they cannot find jobs).
Corporations are not “bad” BUT there is an exorbiant amount of greed and gluttony and dishonesty taking place in corporate America, in our government and in our society. I see this OWS, as civil unrest, closely related to how the Civil Rights movemenmt started. I do not think government is the answer, BUT, I have many neighbors, who were working as Engineers, businessmen, highly paid professionals who have been out of work for months, years, etc. They are losing homes, not because of laziness, but because of something bigger and it is unjust to have Fannie Mae, pay Millions of dollars in bonuses to their top corporate CEO’s and higher ups while hard working individuals, work harder, get paid less, and struggle to pay college tuition for their children, let alone put food on their table. Not all the protesters are lazy, whining children. I have seen many adults, many men and women in suits and ties. I saw an 87 year old woman Pepper sprayed because of peaceful protesting, because people are “tired” of the OWS. She cannot be a whining complaining child who is just lazy. This is bigger than that, way bigger. I am always mindful that a small group of people felt that being a second class citizen, based on skin color, was unjust, and they whined and complained and protested and made a difference.
Now, I am more liberal than most. I am a hard working homemaker to three boys, who works on the side. I praise God daily that my husband has had his job throughout all of this. I do stay aware of political and social issues as best as I can and I see there is a great stirring and maybe we should look at this OWS as an opening for communication. I think we can all agree that something has to change, soon. I want my children to have a healthy future, and not suffer the financial mistakes we continue to make. I know that I have to equip them with experiences and knowledge so they can rely on themselves and no one else to provide for their families, just as my husband and I have done. But, I am aware that I could be my neighbor so it is God’s grace, His provision that I rely on ultimatley.
Anyway…I just think we should listen to the cry and take heed and be mindful of the some deeper issues and see that not all of these persons or any other group as crazy, lazy, whining, individuals looking for handouts. Our country, our global economy is in a crisis and change has to happen. No one is voting for capable politicians, no one is compromising and finding what is right for the majority so some times the squeaky wheel gets the most attention. It certainly got ours.
Thanks for taking the time to read a different view.
XO, April
This post really frustrated me, because the OWS protesters aren’t whining for a handout– they’re protesting the obscene inequalities in our society. There are SO MANY people who work harder than you or I ever will, who hold down multiple jobs and do awesome things for their community, but who are still struggling to make it. That isn’t just unfair– it’s obscene.
Absolutely, Aliyah. But the answer is not to complain about Wall Street. The answer is to complain about government. And complaining against people who have worked hard to build their businesses is ridiculous. It is not businesses’ fault if they are using the tax breaks governments give them. It is government’s fault, because government is too big. Of course many people work hard and don’t get anywhere, but that has always been the case. If we want to live in a country where people can work hard and get ahead, then we need to have the freedom to do so, and right now it is government holding us back by too much spending, putting a huge drain on the economy, and too much regulation, preventing hiring.
If people are willing to work hard, that’s great. But let’s face it :most of the protesters sleeping overnight did not have jobs. And the fact that they had to create “rape free” zones to prevent rape (I thought all of North America was supposed to be a rape free zone) shows how lawless it was. These weren’t orderly protests. It was anarchy. And I am not in favour of anarchy.
Did they have a point? Absolutely. But they are protesting the wrong people and they are protesting in the wrong way, and that gives a very negative message. Life is never going to be fair. If you want to change it, do it politically, not by advocating anarchy. I don’t think that’s too much to ask!
I honestly think that you’re missing the whole point of the OWS movement, and I would suggest that you do some more research on the topic. They’re protesting at Wall Street because they’re upset at how much sway the big corporations have over the government. The government isn’t the enemy at all (although I think you’d be hard-pressed to agree with that if you’re espousing neo-liberal economics…) And let’s face it– when you compare worker’s rights in the US to those of pretty much any other industrialized nation, it’s clear that the regulation that matters (that is to say the regulation that protects people instead of businesses) doesn’t really exist in the US! The other thing is that even if the protests started out at Wall Street, they’ve spread, and yes, they do criticise government economic policies.
As for anarchy– actually, a lot of the protest sites have very specific rules about behavior in the camps. The rape-free zones thing– I can’t find any mention of them that comes from a reliable source other than a Post article about women sleeping in tents together to deter sexual predators (whether or not these are protesters or opportunistic folks passing by is not mentioned.) If you could point one out, I would be more than happy to address the question, but until then, it seems to be a red herring.
And last of all– you state that lots of the people who sleep overnight at the protests don’t have jobs. How do you know this? I know several protesters who are employed (a few of them are actually clergy, working as Occupy chaplains), or are students. Where do you get this idea from?
Aliyah, we aren’t going to agree on this one. In news reports there have been murders, sexual assaults, a guy firing at the White House, other protesters sitting in solidarity with the guy firing at the White House, blocking children from entering schools in New York, leaving tons of human excrement in their camps, spreading lice and other diseases, and seeing drug overdose deaths.
This has been in the mainstream news.
It is disgusting.
Is there Wall Street cronyism capitalism? Absolutely. But the fault lies just as much at the hands of the government as it does in Wall Street, and the answer is to make government smaller so there’s not as much room for corruption.
But the fact is that if you work hard, you can still get by. This is not the third world. Yes, there is a lot of unemployment, but sitting in a camp is not going to help that. You’d do better to volunteer, get some work experience, or learn a trade, rather than just complaining. That’s what our great-grandparents did in the Great Depression, and it made society better. Perhaps we should learn from them.
Sheila, I love your writings, but I wish you would give the OWS movement another look.
The occupy movement is filled with many smart and creative people who have recognized that the status quo is not sufficient to deal with our current problems. Here is one of the supporters (Steven Keen):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGkmgnprrIU who talks about the restoration of trust in society and his idea on how to get society back on track financially.
Some clergy helped out a few days ago: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6dOGEc7p08 They were arrested.
Joe, I agree that the status quo is not sufficient, but I fundamentally disagree that the problem is the rich vs. the poor, and I fundamentally disagree with the methods of OWS. I think the problem is producers/parasites. Producers come at all income levels, and they’re simply hard workers. Parasites also come at all income levels. I think focusing on those who enrich themselves off of the government or off of others, rather than produce, would be a good movement. But that is not what they are attacking. I also think government is far more the problem than business. If Occupy started talking about unfairness in terms of what government does, and unfairness in terms of how some people game the system at all income levels (from food stamp fraud to Enron), then I’d embrace it. But that is not what they are saying. Attacking job creators is never a good strategy.