It Seems that the “Have Nots” Have No Brains

October 18, 2011 08:07


Occupy Wall Street is hell-bent on not only destroying Wall Street, but all that Wall Street represents: Profit, productivity and capitalism. They offer no alternative.

by Michael J. Hurd, Ph.D.

The central demand of the “Occupy Wall Street” protest is, reportedly, that President Obama “ordain a Presidential Commission tasked with ending the influence money has over our representatives in Washington.” Do they mean to imply that government and the economy should be separate? If so, I heartily agree; but I have a hunch this is not what Occupy Wall Street is after. They want Big Government to replace big business. They believe that politicians like Barack Obama, Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi will not only bring home the bacon, but distribute it fairly and equitably. Never mind that these politicians haven’t the slightest idea where bacon comes from, have never produced bacon and merely seize bacon to give it to people who reward them with votes, money and power.

Liberal commentator Michael Moore had suggested that this is not like any other protest but this protest represents a variety of demands with a common statement about government corruption and the excessive influence of big business and the wealthiest 1% of Americans on U.S. laws and policies. The belief is held by some protesters that the President has become irrelevant, stressing the importance for the 99% to lead and inspire change.

So let me get this straight. The 99% of the population who doesn’t have a lot of wealth will now control the wealth of the 1% who do. How can millions upon millions of people take control of all this wealth? Families of five or ten have been known to fight over far less wealth, to the point of lawsuits and years of never speaking to one another. And we’re to believe that the overwhelming majority of Americans are going to be different when they seize the wealth of the 1% who have the most of it? This makes no sense at all.

Taking over wealth can mean only one thing, in practice: Handing all those billions of dollars in the private sector over to the federal government — to the Obama Administration and the Republicans and Democrats in Congress who had better do its bidding. Control by the people means control by the politicians — the favored politicians, that is, such as the liberal Barack Obama and his cohorts.

It’s amazing to watch these people. They’re not like anti-war protesters, or any other protesters of this type. Anti-war protesters hate war and want to eradicate war — or at least a particular war, such as the Vietnam War or the war in Iraq. These anti-Wall Street people despise wealth and capitalism. Yet they want the very thing against which they protest with all their might. They might as well be chanting, “Wealth no more — give me your wealth now!!” Their whole fight for relevance and power is based on hatred and destruction of they very thing they so desperately want.

What does this tell you about the psychological state of the people who take part in these protests, as well as those who hold any sympathy for them whatsoever? It tells you that they’re riddled with envy. Ayn Rand defined envy as “hatred of the good for being the good.” These protesters seem to feel that wealth is good, which is why they hate it, and why they likewise detest anyone who has it. Pretty sick, don’t you think?

Speaking of sick, many protesters have reportedly taken to using the bathrooms of nearby business establishments as their own personal toilets. One nearby McDonald’s restaurant “has become the movement’s unofficial latrine,” according to one article. Supporters in New York City have also donated use of their bathrooms for showers and the sanitary needs of protesters, in hopes of preventing a public health hazard.

These protesters are not merely disgusting and inconsiderate. It’s deeper than that. They consider the property of these business establishments to be theirs. They’re acting on their belief that all property is collectively owned. This is the essence of socialism. This is also the essence of Barack Obama’s philosophy of “spread the wealth.” This is why Obama says nothing in criticism of these protesters, not even their disgusting behaviors, and why he’s actually on their side, if anything.

Occupy Wall Street is hell-bent on not only destroying Wall Street, but all that Wall Street represents: Profit, productivity and capitalism. They offer no alternative. They refuse to acknowledge that profit is a sign of economic health. If there were no profit, there would be nothing to redistribute. The more government redistributes, the less incentive there is for people to make money, since they’re not able to keep most of it, or even any of it. Most importantly, redistribution is morally wrong. People willing to work do just fine under a system of capitalism. It’s only people who resent having to be self-responsible, or even relying on the voluntary charity of others, who detest capitalism.

The Occupied Kitchen costs about $1,000 a day. Volunteers have a Costco account and buy food in the Red Hook Fairway. There are homeless hangers-on, but they’re not typical. Some visitors are eating in fast-food restaurants.

Fast-food restaurants? Costco? These are creatures of capitalism. If profit were outlawed or severely curbed, as Occupy Wall Street advocates, these companies would not exist. Who would feed the protesters then?

Volunteers reportedly dole out sleeping bags and clothes. The contribution boxes raise $5,000 a day, and supplies come in from around the country. One morning, 90 shipments arrived from around the country, including supplies like rain ponchos and tents.

Where is that $5,000 a day coming from? Either from wealthy contributors — Hollywood celebrities no doubt — who operate on a for-profit basis in the private sector; or from people who earn modest incomes, earned in their private businesses or jobs in the private sector. Or from people with jobs in the public sector, salaries paid for by taxes from the private sector. No matter where the $5,000 a day comes from, Occupy Wall Street is riding on the very hated system of profit it seeks to undermine and destroy.

As insane as it is, there’s an ironic justice in it all. Barack Obama, the hero of this movement now deemed irrelevant, financed his presidential campaign with billions of dollars from donors in the hated private sector, including Wall Street. Just like Barack, these protesters bite the hand that feeds them.

Much more incredibly, the hand that they bite keeps feeding them. Socialists with power in Washington D.C. would be nowhere without the implicit or explicit support of those they seek to destroy. Those on Wall Street who contribute to the hatred of capitalism that marked Obama’s administration deserve everything they’re getting.

Dr. Hurd has a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Psychology, Saybrook Institute, San Francisco, CA, November 1991. Degree awarded With Distinction. Master’s of Social Work (M.S.W.), Clinical, The University of Maryland at Baltimore, May 1988. Bachelor’s of Arts (B.A.), Psychology, Catholic University of America, Washington, DC, May 1985. Distinguished Psychology Student Award, Phi Beta Kappa, Summa Cum Laude. Dr. Hurd blogs at DrHurd.com

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