Support NeoGAF

[Mr. B Natural]

A large part of luck is identifying and taking advantage of the opportunities that are presented to you. It takes some growing up before you realize this equation.

Like getting up off your ass and protesting for something that needs to be done? No, that can't be defined as an opportunity because it isn't self-absorbed and doesn't involve directly with the contents of your wallet.
We should champion morons like Adam that make lots of money by out attention-whoring themselves out, but not the people that fight for the betterment of a country and a system that's falling apart... those entitled assholes. Where's their money? They're not making money for themselves and others! Adam Carolla simply can't relate to such scum.

 

[wonderkins]

*shrug* Like what you said was pertinent....

Love it! Keep making it personal. lol.

 

[nib95]

I've talked to people who think the movement is filled with Hippies. When I tell them a fair amount of protesters have full time jobs they don't believe me. How could someone carry a full time job and occupy? I have to be honest. I tend to believe the stat and still wonder how it's possible.

I would like to see the movement morph into something more grounded. I believe in the message, but think the methods will only hurt the movement in the long run.

I could be wrong though. Who knows.

A lot of the people occupying likely work part time or study, others have left their jobs on leave or holiday, or leave for work from the camps. A lot of people (I should say the vast majority) in the movement don't even do the camping side of things and go home by night. Just because people are protesting the streets in droves, doesn't mean they're all camping.

 

[teruterubozu]

Like getting up off your ass and protesting for something that needs to be done? No, that can't be defined as an opportunity because it isn't self-absorbed and doesn't involve directly with the contents of your wallet.
We should champion morons like Adam that make lots of money by out attention-whoring themselves out, but not the people that fight for the betterment of a country and a system that's falling apart... those entitled assholes. Where's their money? They're not making money for themselves and others! Adam Carolla simply can't relate to such scum.

I was just making a general statement. But wow, everything goes back to the fucking Adam C. dude, which I bet NOBODY cares about on GAF but it's something to get fired up about.

 

[Lanbeast]

It doesn't matter how hard you work in life if when you finally get to where you want to be, you make uneducated statements about important current events. It makes you a blathering idiot, just like everyone else.

 

[wonderkins]

You care so little about impertinent statements that you keep responding.

Puttin' in the hard work, bro!

 

[FStop7]

Dude who got rich from an MTV radio show about herpes and a Comedy Central show about boobs is gonna tell you how it really is.

Eh, I wouldn't begrudge him his success. From what I understand he's worked extremely hard to get to where he is. But the thing is... if you become that successful, with a large audience... you don't shit on people who are very poor compared to you. The dude has a Lamborghini Miura in his home office as an ornament. He needs to tread lightly if he's going to open his yap about things like jobs and wealth and entitlement. Because hard work or not, it's absolutely impossible that he hasn't lost a degree of touch with what it's like to not have income or financial security. Especially during times when we're watching banks run away laughing from disasters they created - with pockets stuffed full of our money, no less.

 

[teruterubozu]

You care so little about impertinent statements that you keep responding.

Puttin' in the hard work, bro!

Sorry about that, man. I actually misquoted you and got confused. I was trying to quote FUTURE.

 

[A Human Becoming]

Sounds about right to me.

I love Adam Carolla and agree with almost everything he said here.

.

The evidence sure seems to support his theory.

I'll endorse this.

I Completely agree with everything he said.
If people are mad that they don't have a job, maybe instead of looking to find one, they can camp out in a park for 2 months. Yeah! great idea!

The ignorance in this thread saddens me. Very little of what is posted in the OP is true from my experience or at least the number of people it applies to is the vast minority.

 

[wonderkins]

Sorry about that, man. I actually misquoted you and got confused.

Now we're friends and you're the better man. Hugs, but also a noogie for making me look mean.

 

[teruterubozu]

Now we're friends and you're the better man. Hugs, but also a noogie for making me look mean.

eh, something to pass the time. I lack the work ethic everyone's talking about here.

 

[Azih]

Sounds like a caste system.

Nope no formal caste system. It's just a system where there are opportunities for some and not for all.

Here's the thing. Equality of Opportunity is NOT a natural state of human affairs, not by a freaking long shot. Take a look at how most of the world works, take a look at the entirety of human history. INEQUALITY of Opportunities is what every non small human society moves towards. The only way we've found to alleviate it is by massive amounts of state intervention. If that weakens then you're back to a system where the privileged get the necessary health, education, and security services (cuz that shit costs money) while others don't.

Edit: And let's not forget legal services, The old joke about the legal system not being a matter of innocence or guilt but a means of judging who can afford the better lawyers is fucking true. And it's moved back to a situation on who gets to write the damn laws in the first place.

 

[poppabk]

I don't see them protesting outside Congress, yet it is Congress who enabled Wall Street on every level and continues to do so without enforcement of oversight. It's like some kid going down your street cutting lawns for free and he skips over yours - then you're mad at your neighbors because your grass didn't get cut.

I listened to one of corollas podcasts for the first time yesterday and found him to be massively annoying, anti-intellectual, anti-education and pretty much dismissive of any path in life that wasn't the one he took.
I agree with the spirit of the ows although I don't neccesarily agree with the actions of the participants. The 'game' is so far stacked towards the financial sector that it has become a force unto itself and is slowly sucking the life blood out of other enterprises.

 

[nib95]

The ignorance in this thread saddens me. Very little of what is posted in the OP is true from my experience or at least the number of people it applies to is the vast minority.

There have been a few links posted in this thread with stats and figures that completely blow away half the grossly ignorant sentiment shared by some of these people, including Adam himself. It is truly saddening indeed, and furthers my feeling that a lot of people simply get their information from propaganda spewing news outlets like Fox. Lets be honest, a lot of the sentiment expressed almost sounds like it's regurgitated Right Wing rhetoric of the week style commentary (not that you have to be Right Wing to fall idle to it).

A big one for people opposing the movement is thinking the main reason for people protesting is that apparently rich people stole their jobs lol. Even though only 13% of the protestors are unemployed.

 

[Vicetrailia]

You can't actually predict how hard someone works over another person. The thing about people--- is that they all think that they work hard and they all think that they have worked harder than someone else to justify what they have or don't have. But in reality, they don't know shit about someone else.

Also, hard work is not just related to "$$$" or "employment", it's about many things. Just to survive in the United States people have to "work hard" in many aspects of life, not just one.

 

[Dude Abides]

I thought this no-talent hack's luck had run out, surprised to see he's still around. Might as well ask Paris Hilton or Kim Kardashian what they think of Occupy Wall Street. Or Snooki.

 

[Fenderputty]

A lot of the people occupying likely work part time or study, others have left their jobs on leave or holiday, or leave for work from the camps. A lot of people (I should say the vast majority) in the movement don't even do the camping side of things and go home by night. Just because people are protesting the streets in droves, doesn't mean they're all camping.

The average person isn't seeing this though. They're seeing tents, drum circles and dirty kids. Blame it on media representation. Blame it on crazies adopting movements. Blame it on whatever you want. It's the negative people are seeing.

I got into an argument with my in laws about the movement. When broken down on a principle by principle basis they mostly agree with OWS. However they can't get past, "handouts" "entitled brats" "part of the problem" etc etc.

If the message of the movement is being distroted because minor unrelated things about the movement are being attacked , then why not change those minor things?

 

[Kosmo]

I love the "it's just luck" argument, as if you should be entitled to the same chance of "luck" as someone who puts in the time to give themselves as many opportunities as possible at hitting that "luck." As the old adage goes, you make your own luck.

Corolla made his own luck by being persistent at trying to do bits on a radio show, worked at perfecting his stand up, etc. and took advantage when the opportunity presented itself. Should someone who was sitting at home eating Doritos while he was out trying to get noticed be entitled to the same chance at getting "lucky." I would bet dollars to donuts that most at the OWS movement are not doing shit to "make their own luck."

 

[RDreamer]

The average person isn't seeing this though. They're seeing tents, drum circles and dirty kids. Blame it on media representation. Blame it on crazies adopting movements. Blame it on whatever you want. It's the negative people are seeing.

I got into an argument with my in laws about the movement. When broken down on a principle by principle basis they mostly agree with OWS. However they can't get past, "handouts" "entitled brats" "part of the problem" etc etc.

If the message of the movement is being distroted because minor unrelated things about the movement are being attacked , then why not change those minor things?

I'm not saying you're wrong, because they really should change some of these things, or at least make things a bit more clear, but do you really think changing like that would gain them a ton of headway? The very people they're fighting against are the ones that own these giant media conglomerates. They have no reason to paint the protests in a good light and every reason to try and skew things. If they changed it then their skew would just change to something else, probably. They're already putting words in the protestor's mouths and giving generalizations that just aren't true. What's stopping them from doing that all over if say th protesters stopped with their tents or what have you.

I love the "it's just luck" argument, as if you should be entitled to the same chance of "luck" as someone who puts in the time to give themselves as many opportunities as possible at hitting that "luck." As the old adage goes, you make your own luck.

Corolla made his own luck by being persistent at trying to do bits on a radio show, worked at perfecting his stand up, etc. and took advantage when the opportunity presented itself. Should someone who was sitting at home eating Doritos while he was out trying to get noticed be entitled to the same chance at getting "lucky."

I love the laughable notion that just because someone else hasn't made it big they're somehow sitting on their ass at home doing nothing. Yes you do make your own luck to an extent, but not everyone has the same opportunities or even the same amount of opportunities presented to them. What if that break had never happened to Corolla? What then? Yeah, he worked to get himself in the right place at the right time, but that time and place still had to be there. I'm not diminishing his or anyone else that made it big working hard and really doing what they believed in, but there's still a different component there that isn't there for everyone. And you're just plain ignorant if you think it isn't.

 

[teruterubozu]

The average person isn't seeing this though. They're seeing tents, drum circles and dirty kids. Blame it on media representation. Blame it on crazies adopting movements. Blame it on whatever you want. It's the negative people are seeing.

I got into an argument with my in laws about the movement. When broken down on a principle by principle basis they mostly agree with OWS. However they can't get past, "handouts" "entitled brats" "part of the problem" etc etc.

If the message of the movement is being distroted because minor unrelated things about the movement are being attacked , then why not change those minor things?

There's definitely a generational gap. And sure, there are older people in the OWS, but it's largely a young people's movement. I see it perfectly represented in my grad school class (American History). All the younger students fresh out of undergrad want to bring in OWS into the class discussion and all the older students are like "meh". The professor definitely didn't want to talk about OWS at all and said "let's stick to the subject" and all the older students smirked.

 

[demon]

I love the "it's just luck" argument, as if you should be entitled to the same chance of "luck" as someone who puts in the time to give themselves as many opportunities as possible at hitting that "luck." As the old adage goes, you make your own luck.

Corolla made his own luck by being persistent at trying to do bits on a radio show, worked at perfecting his stand up, etc. and took advantage when the opportunity presented itself. Should someone who was sitting at home eating Doritos while he was out trying to get noticed be entitled to the same chance at getting "lucky." I would bet dollars to donuts that most at the OWS movement are not doing shit to "make their own luck."

No they should not. Nice strawman, though.

 

[dave is ok]

I love the "it's just luck" argument, as if you should be entitled to the same chance of "luck" as someone who puts in the time to give themselves as many opportunities as possible at hitting that "luck." As the old adage goes, you make your own luck.

Corolla made his own luck by being persistent at trying to do bits on a radio show, worked at perfecting his stand up, etc. and took advantage when the opportunity presented itself. Should someone who was sitting at home eating Doritos while he was out trying to get noticed be entitled to the same chance at getting "lucky." I would bet dollars to donuts that most at the OWS movement are not doing shit to "make their own luck."

No one said it's 100% luck, but luck comes into play especially when you work in entertainment.

Corolla hasn't 'perfected' stand-up, by most accounts he is pretty lousy at it - and not a great writer either. He was a serviceable co-host though, and that's why he got hired for Loveline and the Man Show.

But like it was said a million other times, this isn't about him.

 

[Dude Abides]

I love the "it's just luck" argument, as if you should be entitled to the same chance of "luck" as someone who puts in the time to give themselves as many opportunities as possible at hitting that "luck." As the old adage goes, you make your own luck.

Corolla made his own luck by being persistent at trying to do bits on a radio show, worked at perfecting his stand up, etc. and took advantage when the opportunity presented itself. Should someone who was sitting at home eating Doritos while he was out trying to get noticed be entitled to the same chance at getting "lucky." I would bet dollars to donuts that most at the OWS movement are not doing shit to "make their own luck."

Kim Kardashian "made her own luck" in similar fashion. Fact remains that they're both talentless and owe their success largely to good fortune.

What you would bet dollars to donuts about is meaningless, since you have little empirical basis for your bet.

 

[teruterubozu]

In the entertainment biz it's who you know and the casting couch. Which doesn't apply to 99% of Americans.

 

[WanderingWind]

I love the "it's just luck" argument, as if you should be entitled to the same chance of "luck" as someone who puts in the time to give themselves as many opportunities as possible at hitting that "luck." As the old adage goes, you make your own luck.

Corolla made his own luck by being persistent at trying to do bits on a radio show, worked at perfecting his stand up, etc. and took advantage when the opportunity presented itself. Should someone who was sitting at home eating Doritos while he was out trying to get noticed be entitled to the same chance at getting "lucky." I would bet dollars to donuts that most at the OWS movement are not doing shit to "make their own luck."

Who is saying "it's just luck?"

 

[FStop7]

Kim Kardashian "made her own luck" in similar fashion. Fact remains that they're both talentless and owe their success largely to good fortune.

What you would bet dollars to donuts about is meaningless, since you have little empirical basis for your bet.

Good example. Kim Kardashian was born into a wealthy, connected family. Her father was one of OJ Simpson's lawyers and confidants, it's very likely he helped OJ dispose of incriminating evidence. We'll never know and that's beside the point - she had a lot of connections to make use of before she was even born.

 

[Fenderputty]

I'm not saying you're wrong, because they really should change some of these things, or at least make things a bit more clear, but do you really think changing like that would gain them a ton of headway? The very people they're fighting against are the ones that own these giant media conglomerates. They have no reason to paint the protests in a good light and every reason to try and skew things. If they changed it then their skew would just change to something else, probably. They're already putting words in the protestor's mouths and giving generalizations that just aren't true. What's stopping them from doing that all over if say th protesters stopped with their tents or what have you.

I agree the attacks would change. The opposition will find something else to attack no matter what. However ... what they're attacking right now just makes it too easy for them. With one generalizing brush stroke an entire movement is tainted in the eyes of the many. It's also the reason I would like to see a leader who can speak about the issues clearly. Right now the movement is just too easily discredited by unrealted attacks.

 

[Dunk#7]

I am under 25 and part of this entitled generation and I agree with Corolla


I am so sick of participation trophies. I have a whole wall of trophies from sports and very few of them actually mean anything.

My dad has just a few that are very meaningful which is the way it should be.

We need to stop catering to everybody's feelings so much. Everybody is good at different things and the sooner you learn what you are not good at the better. If you suck at something move on and try something else instead of complaining about your position within that activity.

 

[otake]

Adam Corolla is not a thinker. He's a comedian. From that point of view, his rant is funny. Doesn't have to be right or wrong, has to have enough truth to make it funny and it is.

Good for him.

 

[Kosmo]

Who is saying "it's just luck?"

It is luck, genetics, upbringing, and all sorts of other shit out of your control.

.

Good example. Kim Kardashian was born into a wealthy, connected family. Her father was one of OJ Simpson's lawyers and confidants, it's very likely he helped OJ dispose of incriminating evidence. We'll never know and that's beside the point - she had a lot of connections to make use of before she was even born.

Regardless of if she's a talent-less bimbo, her fortune of being born into a wealthy family has also put a lot of people to work on her stupid shows.

On a personal note (anecdote incoming!) my first real time being immersed in this generation was when I went back to grad school in 2004. I was 27, but most of the people in my class were 20-22. Given the syllabus at the beginning of the semester, people were complaining about things like having an exam 2 days after Spring Break, to the point of asking the prof to change the date, which was 2 MONTHS in the future. Fortunately the prof was like "Well, welcome to being an adult, life is about choices and planning ahead."

 

[Dude Abides]

Good example. Kim Kardashian was born into a wealthy, connected family. Her father was one of OJ Simpson's lawyers and confidants, it's very likely he helped OJ dispose of incriminating evidence. We'll never know and that's beside the point - she had a lot of connections to make use of before she was even born.

So what? I don't think her father's connections are what made her sex tape popular. She works just as hard on being a socialite as Carolla does at being an unfunny talk-show host.

 

[Foxtastical]

The dude was a poor carpenter for years, and after years of doing improv for free, he became successful. Read Wikipedia before you state something like that. Talent and years of hard work brought success.

You're a fool in thinking that Wiki tells you that much about a successful person's past. The rich people I know tell stories about how hard they worked (and I'm not doubting that), and Wiki backs it up, but go deeper and you discover the opportunities and privileges they had growing up. No one talks about those advantages, though. A trust fund was there. Parents were always there to run back to after failures. Yet, no one mentions these.

I'm so sick of people measuring how hard they worked against other people's hard work. Christ, people all over the country work hard. We work hard and try and become successful. I'm fucking sick of people judging another person's (or a collective group's) hard work based upon jack shit/their economic situation. Success is not equated to hard work in a direct 1:1 ratio. There is so much at play, and plenty of it is out of your control.

You've grown up in a neoliberal culture. Read about neoliberalism. See how the discourses, economic policies, foreign relations and political events have shaped the ideas of neoliberalism into the norm.

 

[Princess Carl]

.



Regardless of if she's a talent-less bimbo, her fortune of being born into a wealthy family has also put a lot of people to work on her stupid shows.

That doesn't look like just luck that he said. But hey, I love being willfully ignorant too!

 

[Fenderputty]

I am under 25 and part of this entitled generation and I agree with Corolla


I am so sick of participation trophies. I have a whole wall of trophies from sports and very few of them actually mean anything.

My dad has just a few that are very meaningful which is the way it should be.

We need to stop catering to everybody's feelings so much. Everybody is good at different things and the sooner you learn what you are not good at the better. If you suck at something move on and try something else instead of complaining about your position within that activity.

This is what I'm talking about. His post literally has NOTHING to do with the movement. Yet tents, drum cicrcles and a rant by Adam Carolla and somehow the movement has been marginalized to him.

 

[empty vessel]

.

I'm dying to know, do you think that answers the question? Is reading comprehension really that poor?

 

[Princess Carl]

You're a fool in thinking that Wiki tells you that much about a successful person's past. The rich people I know tell stories about how hard they worked (and I'm not doubting that), and Wiki backs it up, but go deeper and you discover the opportunities and privileges they had growing up. No one talks about those advantages, though. A trust fund was there. Parents were always there to run back to after failures. Yet, no one mentions these.

I'm so sick of people measuring how hard they worked against other people's hard work. Christ, people all over the country work hard. We work hard and try and become successful. I'm fucking sick of people judging another person's (or a collective group's) hard work based upon jack shit/their economic situation. Success is not equated to hard work in a direct 1:1 ratio. There is so much at play, and plenty of it is out of your control.

You've grown up in a neoliberal culture. Read about neoliberalism. See how the discourses, economic policies, foreign relations and political events have shaped the ideas of neoliberalism into the norm.

Its become physically tiring and saddening to keep wondering how people think this way when I live in the same country as them.

I'm dying to know, do you think that answers the question? Is reading comprehension really that poor?

I'm always afraid my brain might actually explode reading stuff like this

 

[dave is ok]

I am under 25 and part of this entitled generation and I agree with Corolla

I am so sick of participation trophies. I have a whole wall of trophies from sports and very few of them actually mean anything.

My dad has just a few that are very meaningful which is the way it should be.

We need to stop catering to everybody's feelings so much. Everybody is good at different things and the sooner you learn what you are not good at the better. If you suck at something move on and try something else instead of complaining about your position within that activity.

What if that activity is "making enough money to feed your family and stay alive" and the reason you suck at it is because the other team has a bunch of ringers on it?

 

[Kosmo]

I'm dying to know, do you think that answers the question? Is reading comprehension really that poor?

There is shit out of your control and shit completely within your control (which can be different for everyone). Whether people try to capitalize on the shit within their control (and keep trying) is where "luck" ends. EVERYBODY has some amount of chance to succeed within their control (barring some debilitating disability).

 

[Princess Carl]

There is shit out of your control and shit completely within your control (which can be different for everyone). Whether people try to capitalize on the shit within their control (and keep trying) is where "luck" ends. EVERYBODY has some amount of chance to succeed within their control (barring some debilitating disability).

Again, do you really not understand this? Its confusing because you keep choosing to contradict yourself, twice in the last two posts.

 

[Aizu_Itsuko]

People in Vietnam were drafted.
Please. I dare you to go up to any Vietnam vet and make the same comparison.

I'd rather not.

I'm talking about how they were received when they came back home, not that Vietnam vets and this new movement have anything else in common.

 

[Dyno]

Just yesterday I read a Vanity Fair article on Rick Perry. I bring this up because it is merely the most recent example of an all-too obvious point. I've quoted and bolded some exerpts.

Indeed, under Perry, Austin has undergone an old-style revision to “pay for play’’ government; there is a widespread perception that anyone who wants something from government must contribute to Perry. “Early on, in the lobbying business, we were told in no uncertain terms that it didn’t matter how Rick feels about you—if you want time with Rick it’s going to depend on how much your clients give him,’’ says one Austin lobbyist.

Perry’s critics, in fact, can reel off literally dozens of multi-million-dollar favors the governor has done for his biggest donors: the bill mandating meningitis shots for every college freshman in the state, using a vaccine made by Novartis, which donated $700,000 to the Republican Governors Association, from which Perry (a former chairman) has received $4 million; Perry’s petitioning of the E.P.A. to waive federal ethanol mandates, a boon to the chicken-farming magnate Lonnie Pilgrim, who has donated $600,000; the executive order Perry signed to speed construction of 17 coal-fired power plants, 11 of which would be built by the TXU utility (now called Energy Future Holdings), which has given more than $1 million.

The list goes on and on. Perry’s chumminess with corporate donors accounts for the staggering $17 million his presidential campaign raised in its first six weeks, the single thing that has kept it afloat; without that money, he would have had little staying power. But it’s not just money Perry receives in return. As a presidential candidate, he has taken scores of flights on his donors’ private jets. When The New York Times snooped into this, its reporters discovered that Perry’s cash reimbursements for these flights fell a quarter-million dollars short of what was required by law.

http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/2012/01/rick-perry-201201

I assume that every American politician is like this to a certain degree. In fact I would say they are all like this as much as they can personally be. On 60 Minutes just a couple weeks ago they did an expose on policians getting rich while in office with insider trading and land deals. The non-stop avalanche of lobbyists buying their laws into being is simply more of the same. And now the Supreme Court - in all their august wisdom - has ruled that corporations can make unlimited political donations.

Occupy was touching on the fact that your vote is worthless, that all politicians are beholden to their corporate contributions, and that America's democracy has become an oligarchy. None of this has anything to do with when the protesters were born or how they were raised. I think Adam Carolla is way off the mark on this, which is typical, considering that he's probably rather wealthy what with his successes in showbusiness. I think people like him can be biased because they have something to lose but that's the only people we tend to hear on this subject: established television personalities.

 

[nib95]

I wish I was more articulate and able to explain my point, but after reading so many of the awful posts in response to the article from the OP on the site linked, I felt compelled to post myself. My post from the link in the OP. GAF should step in and post too. No point keeping to ourselves on here, we owe it to ourselves and everyone else to push the message there too.

There is a un-comprehensible amount of misinformation and ignorance showcased in Adam's rant and so many of the posts below. I really do worry for the US. Does Adam have his head buried in the sand, and is he ignoring the fact that a huge number of the protestors ARE successful, have their own businesses, are highly educated or over 30? News flash for those against the movement, only 13.1% of the protestors are unemployed. One third of those are above the age of 35. Let that sink in for a moment along with the realisation that the vast majority of basis for much of the attacks are fud (No they aren't protesting about rich people stealing their jobs).

Some opposers of the movement are so out of touch with reality, essentially making stuff up a huge chunk of the time and ignoring the truth, hell, ignoring the very reasoning the people protesting are actually giving.
Can't believe so many people have such an ignorant and misinformed view of it all. But I suppose that's what happens when you have a Fox News generation bred on a constant barrage of agenda filled sensationalist right wing or corporate propaganda. Much of the sentiment is regurgitated Right Wing speil based on factually incorrect nonsense.

---

Now on to some other points.

---

Firstly, the portests have no unified complaint. Of course they don't, and why should they? It's an impossible task to unify a problem when there are so many with the current government or political/financial system. Unifying it to just one, might even be a disservice to the cause which is actually much more over-arching than people realise. It's an amalgamation of general negative discourse and disagreement of NUMEROUS flawed elements of the system. In-fact, since the movement started, I feel it's helped to highlight even more. Especially on the subject of freedoms, rights and liberties of people, the press etc.

Then there's the difficulty of laymen even explaining such complicated issues. Liquid assets, derivatives, toxic debt, betting against bonds and stocks you were promoting moments before, every facet of the financial scandal and corruption that exists today, and the power the corporations have over Government and the American people, or the cushty relationship they share behind closed doors (paying politicians off to push through damaging legislation etc)...it's not stuff easily explained.

---

Second, the protestors don't know why they're protesting. This is an ignorant assessment, one spoon fed to you by corporate media. Sure, a very small minority might be protesting for aimless reasons, or perhaps can't explain the reasons eloquently, but the vast majority know exactly why they are protesting and do so with cause. The truth is, it's not the protestors that don't know why they're protesting, that's what the media wants you to think. It's the opposition that doesn't know why people are protesting, out of sheer ignorance or confusion and THAT is why they feel the protests are pointless, because they don't have a clue about the points being raised. It is clearly evidenced by the posts in this thread and media speil, the opposition doesn't have a clue. The main argument is that the protestors are all liberal hippes with no jobs that think rich people stole their jobs even though as mentioned, only 13.1% are unemployed (almost in line with the national average)!

Wake up America. Wake up. This movement is fighting for YOU, for your children, for your children's children. You (the opposition) are defending a very small minority that has corrupted and infringed on you. A shady minority that has little to no accountability. That went to war based on lies and misinformation, a war that profited only small private contractors and cost YOU billions. A minority that led you to a global recession based on corrupt financial shady dealings that cost YOU, the tax payer billions of dollars. A minority that is enshrined in every facet of politics today and has complete corporate domination over government and policy that affects YOU. Corruption and illegality in government and corporation is skewing and distorting everything that was good about America. Wake up America.

 

[WanderingWind]

There is shit out of your control and shit completely within your control (which can be different for everyone). Whether people try to capitalize on the shit within their control (and keep trying) is where "luck" ends. EVERYBODY has some amount of chance to succeed within their control (barring some debilitating disability).

You're agreeing with us, finally. Some control. Some.

 

[Vilix]

I am under 25 and part of this entitled generation and I agree with Corolla


I am so sick of participation trophies. I have a whole wall of trophies from sports and very few of them actually mean anything.

My dad has just a few that are very meaningful which is the way it should be.

We need to stop catering to everybody's feelings so much. Everybody is good at different things and the sooner you learn what you are not good at the better. If you suck at something move on and try something else instead of complaining about your position within that activity.

But, we want to make everyone feel special so that eventually no one will be.

 

[empty vessel]

But, we want to make everyone feel special so that eventually no one will be.

Are you saying Adam Corolla is special? I don't care what other point you are making as long as you are not saying that Adam Corolla is special.

 

[arab]

But, we want to make everyone feel special so that eventually no one will be.

there's a difference between being special through getting ice cream on your birthday and being special through having a lucky birth

 

[The Big Rig]

You're a fool in thinking that Wiki tells you that much about a successful person's past. The rich people I know tell stories about how hard they worked (and I'm not doubting that), and Wiki backs it up, but go deeper and you discover the opportunities and privileges they had growing up. No one talks about those advantages, though. A trust fund was there. Parents were always there to run back to after failures. Yet, no one mentions these.

I'm so sick of people measuring how hard they worked against other people's hard work. Christ, people all over the country work hard. We work hard and try and become successful. I'm fucking sick of people judging another person's (or a collective group's) hard work based upon jack shit/their economic situation. Success is not equated to hard work in a direct 1:1 ratio. There is so much at play, and plenty of it is out of your control.

You've grown up in a neoliberal culture. Read about neoliberalism. See how the discourses, economic policies, foreign relations and political events have shaped the ideas of neoliberalism into the norm.

I actually know about the man's past. I told that guy to read about Adam because he was talking out of his ass.

Take ten minutes and find information on Adam's "advantages" in his life before you wildly speculate about all the trust funds and supportive parents he had.

 

[FStop7]

So what? I don't think her father's connections are what made her sex tape popular. She works just as hard on being a socialite as Carolla does at being an unfunny talk-show host.

I think you'd be surprised.

 

[Something Wicked]

OWS has been a laughable mess as predicted.

US Democrats may soon lose the White House and Senate.

Union pensions are finally being identified as having a major role in many of the US' fiscal problems.

European social collectivism is being crushed for its misguided views on human nature.

AGW support is crumbling throughout the world.

Free market capitalism is bringing billions of people up from poverty and into modern lifestyles.


Ah, it sure is a bad time to be a lefty in this world. You guys may want to reevaluate how you look at the world and life, because your current views are just going to further embarrass you in the near future. Then again, continue to maintain your envy filled ideologies, which always blindly sides with a perceived "underdog." I enjoy looking down upon the... less enlightened.

 

[dave is ok]

OWS has been a laughable mess as predicted.

US Democrats may soon lose the White House and Senate.

Union pensions are finally being identified as having a major role in many of the US' fiscal problems.

European social collectivism is being crushed for its misguided views on human nature.

AGW support is crumbling throughout the world.

Free market capitalism is bringing billions of people up from poverty and into modern lifestyles.


Ah, it sure is a bad time to be a lefty in this world. You guys may want to reevaluate how you look at the world and life, because your current views are just going to further embarrass you in the near future. Then again, continue to maintain your envy filled ideologies, which always blindly sides with a perceived "underdog." I enjoy looking down upon the... less enlightened.

Wow. Just wow.