But one thing that did surprise me (though it shouldn't have) was how many people were offended by my use of profanity, specifically the "F" word at the very end. But as it turns out, a lot of folks wanted to share the video on their Facebook pages and show it to their kids, so I can see why they didn't appreciate my delivery.
Anyway, the other night two people requested that I post an edited version so that they could more comfortably share the video with more people. So Friday I bleeped out the bad words and put a new one up. Click here to see it.
So if any of you felt uncomfortable about sharing this video due to the 'blue' language, here's your chance. When I first recorded it, it was really just to vent, but the more positive feedback I receive, I'm starting to actually believe it makes valid points and shows the silliness of the Occupy Wall Street movement. So do me a favor and post it to your Facebook page. I can guarantee that your friends will either love it or hate it...
And once again, HUGE thanks to everyone for all the messages of support. It's pretty heartening to know that I'm not alone out here. Witnessing the OWS delinquents can make you lose faith in our country, but after all the loving, supportive messages I've received from hard-working, responsible Americans (and Canadians!!!), I have total faith that all will be fine. We just need to keep fighting the good fight, you know?
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Obviously when preaching to a choir, your points seem more valid.
ReplyDeleteWay to go Matt! Excellent summation of this misguided movement. We got to see it develop and fall apart from here in Jersey right across the river from NYC. There are ALOT more people that think this way than any of those lost souls in OWS. Keep up the good work. We stand behind you and beside you!
ReplyDeleteThanks for cleaning this up Matt. I found the original video through my Uncle on Facebook, and as part of his post he had to put on Parental Discretion warning because of that one F-Bomb at the end. Personally, I couldn't care either way, but I'm sure my uncle will appreciate it.
ReplyDeleteYou're simply wrong. This video does NOT tell the whole story and just because people have been caught up in a level of consumerism it does NOT mean that it is on an equal footing as the 1% BY FAR! To repeat there is the consumerism of the 99% and then there is TRUE corporate greed... they are NOT the same! And talk to the the many many many people who have TRIED to pay their mortgage and have been foreclosed on, which is EXACTLY the situation that spurred the Occupy movement.
ReplyDeleteAlso... did he ACTUALLY FOLLOW these people or did he just imagine this? Did he ACTUALLY see someone pass by homeless people and not give them change??? Probably not... he's making stuff up and representing it as the 99%!!!!!
So... I think your argument is short-sited!
One more point... who better to protest corporate greed then the customers who buy their products????? Customers/consumers are part of the loop and are having their say! This is the equivalent of the billions of dollars spent on lobbying!
And yes, the mess left behind is a cost!
So... question... is my commentary and point of view going to stay?
Yes, Christopher, your commentary will stay. It speaks VOLUMES.
ReplyDeleteAn Iraq war veteran got shot in the head in Oakland. Another one helped an 84 year old lady after she was pepper sprayed. Not all delinquents in this movement.
ReplyDeleteGood job Matt. Shared.
ReplyDeleteMy Daughter also works for Wells Fargo in Portland. Good to see yet another conservative view from 'LeftLand', OR.
GREAT job Matt, keep up the good work..
ReplyDeleteI thought it was interesting that you state "When I first recorded it, it was really just to vent, but the more positive feedback I receive, I'm starting to actually believe it makes valid points and shows the silliness of the Occupy Wall Street movement" So at first it was a rant..... then because people "Liked it"......you start believing it? shouldn't you have believed it before you recorded it? Shouldn't you touch on the REAL Issues before putting your "Spin" on it? You are certainly one of the 1%...... the ones who have a long way to fall. Those of us on the ground already will kindly pick you up and dust you off when it's over!! Enjoy your greed puppet boy!
ReplyDeleteI can't tell you how disturbed I am that the man in this video takes delight in propagating stereotypes and glossing over very real problems with our politics/government. I agree that the movement attracts slacker/hypocrites (and like any movement, people who can't articulate or understand fully what it is they're protesting). While some Occupiers may over-broadly protest banks, capitalism, and corporations; other protesters understand that those structures are necessary and good things. That does not mean we don't have the huge problem of the influence of money and corporations on our politics; and that problem is accelerated by the concentration of wealth among those (individuals or corporations) with political influence. The basis of the protest is worthy of reasoned debate, not whiny stereotype-filled rants.
ReplyDeleteJust because those who suffer the most under the present economy and politics (the less educated) can't articulate the exact problem, or don't act consistently in protest of it, doesn't mean the problem does not exist and should be trivialized with humor.
But worst of all, this man trivializes serious issues in a way that encourages people to stop thinking critically and just paint every Occupy protester under one stereotype. To me, that is truly sickening and disturbing.
@pdxposter123 : Well, if I've sickened and disturbed you, I'm probably doing something right.
ReplyDeleteNow if you want to help us all out, go to my latest video and chime in with exactly what the Occupy movement is all about.
Here's the address: http://youtu.be/swO_ESwL2aE
Contrary to what you say, I'm trying to encourage reasoned debates. When I make good-humored fun of your movement, I get weepy responses from crybabies like you, or more often, I find myself on the receiving end of death threats. So my latest video is an attempt to find some middle ground and help the movement to define itself.
God bless!
@Matt You're not looking for debate. If so, you would do videos where you discuss your ideas with an informed opponent. You're asking your opponents to post in 500 character YouTube comments so you can pick and choose to address the weaker ones in a future video monologue. That is not a debate. So far I see only that you are primarily interested in name calling, stereotyping, and self-promotion.
ReplyDelete@pdxposter123 : NO, I'm not looking for a debate. But I am having fun pointing out the victim mentality emanating from all points of the OWS movement. And you are a perfect representation of your movement's 'pity me' mentality. I'm SO sorry you only have 500 characters with which to make your case. Blame me--I'm the bad guy...
ReplyDelete@Matt It would be great if we could just sum up complex individuals and entire movements in one or two sentences: "Let's just assert that that everyone in OWS has a victim mentality! That way it's easy for me to understand and fit them all into my incredibly simplistic model of how the world works!" I can see why it's so tempting for you to resort to one-liners and stereotypes. That way you don't have to strain your brain trying to comprehend this complex world we live in. I'm sorry to report, Matt, but the world is much more complex than that.
ReplyDelete@pdxposter123 : Thanks so much for clueing me into how complex the world is. Unfortunately, when you're trying to convey a message, regardless of how complex it is, you need to ARTICULATE it, and you 'n' your friends are failing to do so. Head back to the dugout and lemme know when you have something substantive to say! God bless!
ReplyDeleteTell ya what, Matt. How about trying to respond constructively to these articulations:
ReplyDeleteWhile some Occupiers may over-broadly protest banks, capitalism, and corporations; other protesters understand that those structures are necessary and good things. That does not mean we don't have the huge problem of the influence of money and corporations on our politics; and that problem is accelerated by the concentration of wealth among those (individuals or corporations) with political influence.
Whaddya say, Matt? I think together we can bring both sides to a better understanding of the others' point of view. I believe there are valid points to be made on both sides.
@pdxposter123: PLEASE, just make your point, won't you? If you're trying to kill me and the readers of this blog with tedium, you're doing a gold-medal job. YAWN.
ReplyDeleteIf I could get one point across to you @Matt, it would be this: You are not in the business of making helpful, reasoned political commentary. Instead, you are in the business of selling stereotypes. A stereotype is some rule of thumb (be it racists, or political, or otherwise) that we all believe to be true. "Hippies are like this... Hipsters do that.. Liberals think this... Conservatives think that..."
ReplyDeletePeople love to hear stereotypes, because hearing someone else repeat our long-held belief doesn't force us to change what we already know. Instead we get to say "yeah, that's what I always thought! I've been right all along!". It's so comforting to have someone tell us things that match what we already know--it gives us the illusion that we understand the world fully, and therefore we think we have more control over our lives.
And that's why you'll always get lots of support for your videos, Matt. You're telling all the people who have already formed their stereotypes exactly what they want to hear. It's also the same reason why you embrace every commenter who supports you, and berate anyone who disagrees with you. You're not looking to change your world views or learn anything. You're looking for people to cheer you on and help you sleep peacefully at night, because you get to think you understand the world so darn well because so many other people agree with you.
Sleep tight, Matt.
@Matt And since I've been harsh with criticism, I'd like to close with some positive words. I don't think you are a bad or evil person. I think you started with the intention of helping your country and promoting worthy criticism of OWS. You wish for all people to be treated fairly and equally, and you'd like to see people who work hard be rewarded fairly for their work; and for those who don't to not just get a handout because other people have more money than they do. It might surprise you to learn that I feel the exact same way. I simply hope for you to realize that stereotyping is a very unproductive way for us all to try to reach that goal as a country.
ReplyDeleteMatt,
ReplyDeleteI also agree with you.
pdxposter123: I think what Matt is saying is to say what you mean in SPECIFIC DETAILS. And then present a valid, constructive solution. You have thus far avoided as have all of the others who have disagreed.
Corporations are greedy for sure but we CONSUMERS are even more greedy. We all buy our goodies at places like Wal-Mart who was the original pusher of "the China Price" and then everybody followed because Wal-Mart convinced everybody that the cheapest price is the way to go.
Somebody said it right whenever they said this all started with lending money to people who shouldn't be allowed to buy a house and then the bubble burst and everything came tumbling.
Actually, I think this all started in the 1990s whenever "the common people" started investing in Wall Street via mutual funds because the return was upwards of 20% and more in many years and WE ALL DEMANDED companies always pay that sort of dividend.
To tell you the truth, we "common people" actually backed the huge corporations into a corner. In the end, they aren't the greedy ones--WE ARE.
Rifter Rikaze,
ReplyDeleteI have read with interest your rebuttals here. It amazes me that you are backing the OWS crew and not the Tea Party.
Yes, there are jobs out there. Yes, even in the IT industry--I am in it, too. Problem: You need to have the b^lls to move to another part of the country. You need to take a chance.
Companies are not going to come running to you. And you are not going to make all the money that university told you that you would make right off the bat. Whenever I graduated college back in the 1980s, my professors told me I should not settle for anything less that $40,000 a year. (And I paid for it myself and it took ,me until I was 27 to graduate because I did not go full time.)
Turns out the BEST that I could do was $24,000 working for a Fortune 100 company. The $40,000+ jobs were in New York, Chicago, DC, etc--where it costs twice as much to live.
You are also being whiny. You blame others for all of your troubles: government, corporations, your parents, etc. You know what? It is up to you, boy. You aren't hungry enough. I know that sounds harsh but you aren't. You are looking for a handout as are many in the OWS camps.
I was laid off in late 2003. There was a small recession back then, if you didn't know it. I was married, with a mortgage and two kids. I submitted over 450 resumes and cover letters. I applied for everything from a programmer to an orderly in a hospital changing sheets and emptying bedpans. I even applied to be a ranch hand to take care of 100+ acres some old guy owned. I only received four replies to all that effort: three rejection notices and the one place who took a chance on me to be a DBA as I was never a DBA before. They told me they thought the other two people in the running may have been better technically but they liked the way I interviewed because I was confident and genuinely excited. They appreciated that. Yes, I applied to jobs within my metro area but that was mostly because I had two kids in school. I would do ANYTHING to stay but I was just about ti chuck it all and move someplace else.
Bottom line: If all you are going to do is complain, get the hell out of the way. Quit complaining and start coming up with smart, viable, doable solutions.
bubus,
ReplyDeleteI like your style. Please come back and comment often!
--Matt
I have to say to Matt that "PDXPoster123" Has really been burying you!......You seem unable to respond to a few great questions while throwing back sarcastic...and uninteresting (even uneducated) responses! Just answer the questions! Dig deep and talk about the issues. Otherwise turn off this blog and get back to, or search out something you are good at. Something you understand and CAN articulate. So far, you have posted your rant....and that's about it. After that it is just you hurling childlike responses with little to no depth. You ARE burying yourself here. Start digging and make something in the way of an argument. Thanks and "God Bless" to you too.
ReplyDelete@Unknown,
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for posting. You may believe that PDXPoster123 has really been “burying” me, and that’s just fine with me. You see, I create videos and I write this blog for one reason: to amuse myself. If I felt real passion about ANY issue, I sure as hell wouldn’t blog about it and try to change the opinions of anonymous people I’ll never meet, or care to meet.
I make a video making fun of OWS and it goes viral--it amuses me. YouTube pays me thousands of dollars--it amuses me. Thousands of people get pissed off and call me names--it amuses me. People with far too much time on their hands lurk on my blog, repeatedly posting, challenging my opinions--it amuses me. People like you side with those people--it amuses me.
I’m not here to “dig deep” and make arguments. I have nothing to prove to faceless people who I’ll never meet. This is my blog and it is my fairness and benevolence that keeps me from deleting posts from you and people like you that insult or challenge me. You amuse me, and for that, I thank you.
Unknown,
ReplyDeleteTo tell you the truth, the people who support the OWS protesters haven't made any solid, succinct points in this blog. From what I see, it is all emotion and knee-jerk responses.
I feel for people who are laid off and can't find a job. That has happened to me several times in my life. In fact, the last time it happened, I was working for a Fortune 500 company and I needed to train my Indian replacement. Talk about a shot to the teeth!
But it was what it was and I actually went on to do things that I never thought I could ever do and now, eight years later, I find myself in a much better position than if I were still in that job.
It was hard. It was stressful. There simply were very few IT jobs back in 2003. I was so LUCKY to land a DBA job but I applied for everything. I already wrote about that previously, so I am not going to get back into it.
You can whine. You can complain. You can protest. But how does any of that get you what you truly need? As I read the demands of the OWS movement, their "demands" seem reasonable on the surface (sort of) but whenever you delve deeper, they simply want to be handed everything. That, sir (madam?) is a bunch of bull piddookies. Get up off your lazy arse and get a job.
Like I told Rifter Rikaze, you need to go out and do whatever it takes to get a job. It may not be your "dream" job. It may not be in the city where you "want" to live. It may not pay what you think you "deserve" to make. But YOU make YOURSELF. Quit looking for somebody else to give you something and to make you feel good about yourself.
I am going to say something that may just start a firestorm, but maybe that will get the heat off of Matt and onto me. This entitlement sh&t has gotten way out of line. Whenever you demand entitlements, you automatically lose a very important part of yourself: YOUR PRIDE.
I hate to say it but ever since "The Great Society" experiment began back in the 1960s, it has ripped the heart and soul out of almost each and every person who has succumbed to accepting and totally living off the entitlements that the Federal and State Governments have been doling out. There is NO PRIDE in those people who have lived for several generations off the crumbs of the taxpayers in this country.
Unknown,
You know, whenever all this first started out, it was actually a good idea and it sort of worked. I know a man, a black man, who worked as tax accountant in a very large company. Back in the 1960s, his family fell on really hard times and had to go into public housing. He said it almost killed his father but it was the only thing the could do. He said they lived there for about 4-5 years and it was nothing like it is now. He said the people who lived in "the projects" were grateful to be there. They kept their homes and yards clean and tidy because they all felt everything was temporary and they would be moving out as soon as they could and wanted to leave the house in as good of condition or even BETTER for the next person who was forced to live there. Whenever they moved out, it was time to celebrate. This man went on to go to college, serve in the Marines, work his way up to a tax accountant, and is now serving as the CIO for a non-profit that serves the neighborhood where he once was forced to live and he wants to help the kids who live there regain some pride and make something of themselves.
Unknown, to continue:
ReplyDeleteNow, Rifter Rikaze mad a good point: too many of us middle class suburban parents gave and give our children too much. So much that now they expect it. I agree. We have held back somewhat but I think I am even guilty to a point.
That said, you have to get to the point that you have to stand on your own and you have to quit blaming other for your plight. Just like if you had, say, a cold father, say, and he never threw a ball with you, saw your band concert, and missed all of your birthdays. You can go on in life and be bitter and then do the same thing to your kids or you can take responsibility for your OWN self and your own life and go do the needful.
I agree we are facing desperate times as a nation but mostly because of all the entitlements. We have seen dire times in the past, like back in 1980s whenever I was first laid off and I went to apply for a position at a sort of local McDonald's and the line wrapped around the building one-and-a-half times FOR ONE JOB. Of course, I lived in the Rust Belt and that was when all the steel mills were closing and unemployment in my area was >23%. Trust me: bad, bad times.
We are in bad times now but it is way different. This time, the government is about ready to collapse under the weight of debt. I hate to say it but entitlements like the OWS want need to be the first thing to be cut way back on. It is funny how a hungry stomach will make people go out and find work.
Sorry for the length of this post. This "movement" is getting me really angry. The audacity of a number of the protesters who want everybody else to pay for whatever the protesters want because they deserve it.
Final thing. There are two groups of people in this country: the tax PAYERS and the tax RECIPIENTS. Problem is everybody gets to vote and there is no way a tax recipient will ever vote to give up anything. Worse, they continue to want more and will do all they can to make sure politicians who "promise" them more get voted in. As the tax recipient continues to grow, the tax payer group shrinks and more and more is taken from them. As Margaret Thatcher said, what happens whenever the tax payers run out of money? The only people who live the good life are the morons the tax recipients have voted into power.
Please, any of you OWS people, tell me of ONE socialist government that has succeeded and has resulted in helping the lower class get more? The answer is NONE. They all have eventually created a much wider gap between the HAVEs and HAVE NOTs.
A friend of mine on Facebook shared this video, and this was my response. I felt like I should put it here, too. Just to be clear, I have a job. I work 7 days a week, I go to school 3 days a week, I have two small children & fiance for which I am the sole provider. I have never been given a hand-out, my parents don't have money, they don't help me out with anything financially. So, yeah.
ReplyDelete"The sheer attitude that this guy has is infuriating on its own. It's one thing to have a differing opinion, it's another to state it in a condescending, deliberately inflammatory manner. I don't think this guy really has a clue, which might not be his fault, because I'll admit, half of the occupiers don't have one either. It is not necessarily corporate greed that people are protesting, it's the fact these higher ups in corporations are profiting by exploiting the working class, that they are benefiting from their own mistakes. If you or I default on a loan, or our business goes under, we suffer the consequences of that. These bankers & CEO's have not only avoided the negative consequences of their bad business decisions, but have profited from them as a result of the bailouts the government was coerced into providing them. They were given the money on a condition that they would invest it in their workers & businesses, instead CEO's have gotten more bonuses than ever, and more people have been laid off. The amount of money these people got would have given every voting citizen in the US at least $17k, and these corporations used their wealth to lobby & bribe our government into 'bailing them out' instead. I'm not saying that the gov should just give us money, but I feel like if you're going to shell out several trillion dollars, shouldn't you give it to the American people & really boost the economy instead of a select few people who own some companies? So, it's not that people are mad that these other people are rich, it's that they got rich in an underhanded way, and are being rewarded for crimes that normal citizens would be arrested for. Also, in response to the hypocrisy statements, about the occupier wearing & consuming corporate goods, compare this situation to the early 19th century slavery abolition movement. Certain communities grew their own cotton & avoided wearing slave-made clothing, which was great, they were a great example of people treating political issues as a matter of personal consumer virtue. But, then look at the people who really made differences in that movement: Harriet Tubman, who infiltrated slave territory & freed hundreds of slaves, wore slave-made clothing. Frederick Douglass, who successfully promoted the cause, also used slave-made products. So, the point is, IMO, that money back then would've been better spent backing people like Harriet & Frederick instead of the communes, simply because they were the ones making a difference, despite the fact that they were 'supporting' the slave economy. All out boycotting the corporate empire might be a good example to set, but it is not practical, or possible in some areas. Granted, a fair amount of occupiers are not as considerate with their spending habits, but sometimes there is little choice, because there huge companies have driven out & under the smaller independent businesses because of their monetary power & exploitation of workers. Small businesses can't compete because they are hiring local workers for labor as opposed to the big guys who are outsourcing their labor for cheaper third world laborers." The guy in this video has a right to his opinion, sure, but the attitude was unnecessary, and kind of fired me up.
Thomas,
ReplyDeleteI can see where you are coming from, even though I do not agree. You see, Wal-Mart has already "won" because it seems like you believe the cheapest price wins all the time. And you will probably go for the cheapest price.
I guess it comes down to this: if the OWS don't like it, then do something about it. Make a better mousetrap instead of whining for somebody else to do something.
I am sorry. I don't see them DOING anything. But I do see them all in their Columbia tents, wearing their North Face coats, drinking their Starbucks coffee, and tweeting on their iPhones.
Maybe it's just me but all I see are a lot of people, sitting on their collective butts, screaming for others to do what they want. In other words, like some spoiled brats telling mommy to do their beck-and-call because that is how they were raised.
Time to grow up. This is not like the 1950s anymore. boys and girls. It is unfortunate but very, very true.
Seriously, you can steal 100% of all the money from the top 1,000 richest people in the US (from Bill Gates and Warren Buffett all the way down) and you STILL won't take a dent out of the national debt and what we owe things like Social Security.
But if you do that, what happens? If you force these people to liquidate, what happens? Company after company will be forced to close down and even more people will be out of work and there will be less companies to hire these people back! We would be a lot worse off than when we started.
Can anybody tell me when the last time a poor man gave them a job?
Also, if a poor man steals $1,000 from a rich man, he will blow thru it in no time and still be poor. But the rich man will know how to go out and make that $1,000 back.
We need to make the US viable again. You see, what started out as a way to help third world countries get on their feet financially has brought the US down--way down.
This whole thing reminds me of a cousin of mine. He is a deaf man who was able to graduate in the top 10% of his class in RIT and came out with a degree in electrical engineering. He go a really good paying job at US Steel in the late 1970s and was riding high. The bottom fell out of the steel industry and he found himself in the unemployment line like a regular Hunky. He was devastated. He was offered many jobs over the next 5-6 year but took NONE of them because NONE of them paid what he was getting paid. The big baby is still sucking off the government's teat as he has run out of all the money he saved.
Just to respond, Busbus, I don't know if Wal-Mart has won. I do believe the cheapest price tends to win, because that's what I see day-to-day. I personally do not go for the cheapest price. I boycott Wal-Mart, and try to always buy from smaller businesses. I pay higher price for Fair-Trade items, & ethical food products. I go down to the Farmer's Market, and buy eggs from local people who sell them from their front porch or truck bed. And as someone who's owned his own business, I know that the cheapest price is rarely the best when it comes to tools & materials.
ReplyDeleteBut most people (or at least the people I tend to encounter in my area) go for the cheapest, most convenient product. There is no conscious consumerism.
Also, I relate to your cousin story, I've encountered many people like that, who complain that they have no job, yet Craigslist is full of jobs, they just happen to suck. I don't have my dream job, but it pays my bills & I'm getting through school.
And about the whole wealth distribution thing, I don't know if I've really seen that. I'm not saying at all that we should do that, I think too many people would be unhappy about it. For me, the message isn't "hey richies give us your money" it's about a flawed government being controlled by corporate powers. End/nationalize the Federal Reserve. Hold the CEO's who blew the bailout money accountable...
All that being said, I don't have a lot of hope for OWS, because too many of them might be those little babies you're talking about. But I like that it's happening, that these things are happening, that it's causing a stir. I think our government might be seriously corrupt by corporate power, and we need to get it back. It's not a left or right thing to me. People of both schools of thought need to work together to get the USA back from the corporate powers....
Thanks for reading my post, I'll stop rambling now =D
Young man, I give you two very enthusiastic thumbs up. I wish I had more thumbs to give you! You have obviously thought this out very well, and I applaud your willingness to stand up and say what's on your mind. I see that not everyone agrees with your point of view, but "they" say that's what makes America great. At any rate, I respect your opinion, agree with everything you so eloquently said, and am still laughing from the final sentence. Well put!
ReplyDeleteI received this video by mail and it gave a good explanation of the hypocrisy of OWS. I have a friend attending the Occupy Wa. DC rally and she has got herself so wrapped up in the possibility of being part of something big that she forgot she is a small business owner whom the average protester is fighting against. The lack on my part to support the movement has driven a wedge between our friendship. This shows how far these people will go in the name of a movement that seems to be against everything.
ReplyDelete