- byroniceye -

writer, poet, filmmaker, photographer.
(byronic) hero in my own mind.
documenting the inspirations and challenges
of my first novel.

~ satis est ~

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  littlemissmetamorph:

  occupyallstreets:

  tumblrnameremoved:

  First there was this

  Now this picture (above) is making the rounds.  Here’s my reply:

  First of all, thanks for volunteering to serve.  I don’t agree with why you’re there, but you’re doing a job I certainly don’t want to do, so thank you for that.  But, and this is a very big but, if you’re going to interject your opinion into a political discussion, you have to be aware that your service isn’t a free pass to say whatever you want without response.  In this case, the reply is this: 

  You don’t appear to understand what’s going on over here.

  The Occupy Wall Street movement is against corporate welfare and fraud.  It’s against the big banks that bundled and sold trillions in mortgage-backed securities that they knew were worthless.  It’s against JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Bank of America, and Goldman Sachs still holding a combined $650 trillion derivatives ransom over the heads of the US economy.   It’s against the massive disparity in wealth and tremendous unemployment* that still exists and is encouraged by a tax system that heavily favors the wealthiest 1%.

  Occupy Wall Street is not anti-capitalism and it’s not anti-hard work.  It is pro-justice.   

  As a member of the armed forces, you should know that all Americans, regardless of viewpoint, have the right to assemble and protest.  These rights are unalienable; they not given by any government.  Your role is to protect those rights, even if it sounds like “bitching.”  The protesters demanding accountability and action against those who had in active role in our current economic situation isn’t wrong, and just like your service for our country, it isn’t something to be mocked.

  * - Speaking of, good luck getting jobs when you get back.

  The unemplyment rate for young veterans is 30% and rising. 

  The youngest of veterans, aged 18 to 24, had a 30.4 percent jobless rate in October, way up from 18.4 percent a year earlier. Non-veterans of the same age improved, to 15.3 percent from 16.9 percent.

  For black veterans aged 18-24, the unemployment rate is a striking 48 percent. (Source)

  “get back to work”? 14 million people can’t work and a large portion of those 14 million are veterans. 

  1.5 million veterans are considered at risk of homelessness due to poverty, lack of support networks, and dismal living conditions in overcrowded or substandard housing.

    An estimated 107,000 veterans are homeless on any given night. Over the course of a year, approximately twice that many experience homelessness. Only eight percent of the general population can claim veteran status, but nearly one-fifth of the homeless population are veterans.

  Sadly, these veterans don’t know how bad the economy is and how susceptible to unemployment and homelessness they really are.

  

  23 Nov 2011 / 235 notes