Chicago Traders Respond to Protesters With Sign Reading 'We Are The 1%' - pic

[Kadie]

CHICAGO TRADERS RESPOND TO PROTESTERS WITH SIGNS READING ‘WE ARE THE 1%’ | The Occupy Wall Street movement spread to Chicago this week, where protesters have gathered outside the Chicago Board of Trade, the world’s oldest options and futures trading center. Like the protesters in New York and other cities around the country, the group gathered to protest our nation’s growing income inequality, as the top 1 percent of Americans continue to see their incomes rise rapidly and their tax rates fall. The Chicago traders, confronted by the protesters’ “We are the 99 percent” message, crafted their own not-so-subtle reply, hanging signs in eighth-floor windows that said, “We are the 1%“:



http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2011/10/05/336590/chicago-protests-we-are-1-percent/



here is another link...

http://chicagoist.com/2011/10/05/board_of_trade_has_a_message_for_oc.php

[arcane1]

1. That kind of dicketry won't be considered "funny" for long n/t

[Occulus]

79. .

.

[Syntheto]

123. Actually, it's hysterical...

... It shows again that when you block things out into simple shapes with no feedback, it's the easiest thing in the world to demonize them - it's almost a straw man argument. However, when there's a little negative feedback, the crusaders are suddenly indignant: "How dare they respond with such flippant defiance? Our cause is Holy! They are EVIL by our terms!" Yeah, well, doesn't anybody on this site have friends and family in the financial sector? With as many college degrees that are spread around here, surely there's a CPA or Broker or two in the familial closet? How about a little empathy? The people in the window are working people, too, or they wouldn't be, well, working. What if the kid in the mail room decided to put this message out? What if the Electronic and Communications technicians who maintain the data links put the 1% jibe out there? By the way, do those people belong to a Union? Note to self: Unless the CWA and Electrician's join into a sense of 'The General Strike 2011', and refuse to cross lines to service Wall Street's interconnected communications and data net, this whole thing is bogus. What does anybody honestly think is going to happen from this? It's all vanity posturing and in less than six weeks, we'll be regaled with up-to-the-minute progress of the Duchess of Cambridge's pregnancy, with the hope that it will be a little girl they can call, sigh, 'Diana.'
Carry on.

[reggie the dog]

128. if you are part of the top 1% you are not a worker

i have a masters, i have a friend who is in banking, he is not top 1%, he is not even in the top 50%, my beef is not with a guy or girl who goes to work in a bank, my problem is with their bosses

[PragmaticLiberal]

137. Fwiw, I agree with you.

Unlike many DUers, I don't believe anyone with money is inherently "evil".

[Javaman]

145. wow, you don't get it.

it's not about money per say, it's about the control the 1% has over the nations 99%.

haven't even been paying attention?

apparently not.

you get a paycheck, you are part of the 99%. See how it works?

damn the ignorance.

[PragmaticLiberal]

169. If hear what you're saying and completely agree.

But I don't think its that way for every DUer.

I think there are SOME folks on this site who hate the 1%(rich people)in general.

Those are the ones I was referring to.



Personally, I don't resent anyone for thier success.

But what I do resent is not realizing that thier success is in part made possible by the the hard work of working class folk.


So as you see....I'm not ignorant. :)



And definitely not a 1% either....

[Javaman]

172. I apologize...

the reality is I believe I can say there is anyone that falls with the 1% on this board.

most of those people didn't make a dime of their own money. They are the investment class that owns and runs it all.

While I'm not a big fan of the obnoxious rich, I fault no one who worked hard to make their money.

however, I do have a massive problem with the ultra wealthy who live and feed off our blood sweat and tears and think nothing of it other than we are their slaves.

They are the investment class. They work for no one, they live off investments or inherited wealth, they have never ever received a paycheck and have zero concept of what it's like to worry over whether to eat or pay a bill.

I have no problem dismantling them and making them live like the rest of us.

[caseymoz]

196. " I fault no one who worked hard to make their money."

Don't you think Genghis Khan would have said that he worked hard? I bet he put in a lot of 15-18 hour days. I think Al Capone would have said he worked hard, too, and probably like his job.

I agree with what you say as a whole, but my point is that your making the mistake in thinking that all work is honorable. If somebody works 5 minutes and makes $200,000, you might call them "smart." Low effort, high return. Then again, they could just be a bank-robber, who very thinks of what they do as "work." Hell, they call it a "job," don't they?

The reason why this is important? Because the argument shouldn't be one against sloth and for industriousness. Otherwise you argue the middle and lower classes into ever-higher workloads at a time in history when over-production is a problem, leading to less employment and less wages, while the wealthy class always says with confidence it works, and works intelligently, and points to their mountains of cash as proof.

The problem isn't work, the problem is whether the work is honorable. You can't parse out the idle rich here. The wealthiest people in this nation, the idle and the diligent both, have now fixed the system so they have to get ever-wealthier at the greater expense of the rest of us. We have to change that trend or poverty in this country is going to look like India, where the wealthy have the caste system to keep it in place.

[Javaman]

205. I will side with the working man every single time.

I care not how they make their money.

am I now supposed to pick and choose whom I give my support to? am I going to ask everyone to pass a litmus test for my support?

That is ridiculous.

you using Genghis Khan and a bankrobber are also ridiculous comparisons and you know it.

I am against the controller who manipulate our nation, who control the wealth, who bribe the bribable for their needs wants and desires.

The ones that answer to no one, who account themselves to no one and who choose not which country they pledge allience to but to which corporation makes them the most money and gives them the most control at the cost of the the people of this nation.

I honestly don't know what horse you have in this race, but to try an parce the 1% of ultra wealthy into somehow being "misunderstood" is just fucking weird.

We are done.

[caseymoz]

214. Um, no, I don't know my Genghis Khan etc examples are ridiculous.

Except that you seem to have totally misunderstood my post, and perhaps I totally misunderstood yours. I thought you were trying to parse out the 1% of the wealthy into those who work, and the idle rich. Did you understand me doing that?

Even so, I'll make another stab: there is nothing inherently honorable about doing work, and specifically, I mean that the "work" that the wealthy are doing on us.

My post was a bad idea to begin with. It's what happens when you post first thing in the morning and in a hurry. The point would be better made in my blog. My apology.

[defendandprotect]

183. kr

[Beavker]

158. NO ONE IS SAYING THAT.

Warren Buffet.

[Javaman]

144. and there you have it folks, the a 1%'er in our own midsts. nt

[Beavker]

160. He's not in the 1% any more than the throngs of

Tea Baggers that would go to bat for the Kochs before they would support a Fire Fighter or Carpenter. They've bought it hook, line and sinker that they HAVE to support he rich bastards or the US will collapse into a 3rd World country. Supprise smart guy, that is EXACTLY what the Kochs want. They want slave labor, and you are one of them in the making.

[Javaman]

163. Um, what?

yes, the koch brothers want 3rd world labor and yes, the tea baggers are willing tools to help them.

how is my comment helping them, smart guy?

[ieoeja]

167. I'm pretty sure he was directing that comment at the tea baggers. n/t

[Javaman]

170. Then he was bad at it. nt

[Beavker]

215. I was agree with you in your stance, I was only pointing out that the guy likely

isn't a 1%'er. He's just an kool-aid drinking believer that he'll be one some day.

I agree with all that you said...other than the guy is ACTUALLY a 1%'er. Every single person I know that is a Tea Bagging, RW idiot is NOT a 1%'er. I don't think I even know one at all...hard pressed to even think of one that I've met.

[Javaman]

223. Oh I know.

the reality is there are no 1%'ers here in DU. I would be greatly surprised if there were.

There are whole segments of the population that think they are part of the 1% and aren't, there are whole segments of the population that sympathize with the 1% against their own best interests and there are the willing tools who know they are being taken advantage of but still choose to carry the water for the 1% just because they enjoy being contrary.

So to me, while they aren't the 1% on paper, they love to play pretend and to me, that is just as bad if not worse.

[Stuckinthebush]

171. He isn't in the 1%

and neither are those boneheads putting the signs in the windows. I am amazed at how hard we Americans fight for the privileged. I guess we all think that we can be the 1% too one day. Guess what? We won't.

[Javaman]

185. There was a great study done about those who "make it" and those who don't...

basically, it's pretty much decided by the time you hit junior high.

and when I say "make it" I mean, making 6 figures.

As far as ever achieving the 1% status, never ever going to happen, you have to be born into it.

even guys like bill gates, technically speaking, isn't part of the 1%, however, his kids will be.

[Roy Rolling]

154. Straw Man

Those who say the 99%ers are demonizing the 1% are creating the straw man argument. Saying one is among the 99% and wishing that legislation does not ignore them in favor of the 1% is a statement about govenment legislation, not about the 1%.

The 1% should not be so sensitive and defensive, unless they agree that they need to defend policies that favor the 1% and ignore the 99%.

The issue is about policies, not about classes. A simple example from elementary school is that honorable and fair students hate being the teacher's pet as much as those who are not.

[mother earth]

155. What are you doing here then? Why bother to even have

an opinion, a vote, etc. Better yet, how about firing them up on Wall St. & starting the don't cross the line momentum? Boycotting Wall Street in every aspect sounds good to me.

[Beavker]

157. This is a weak argument.

I work in the financial sector. So does Warren Buffet. Unless you're a clueless twit you will recognize that the protests are not targeting the lowly paid trading assistant or ACAT transfer specialist or the mail room clerk. They know this too. If they THINK they are part of the 1%, then they are ignorant as well.

I'm a pee on worker for a small firm doing mundane back office crap. I speak with reps that work for smaller firms, that likely side with Wallstreet as they aspire to be the next rich money whoring pig. But they aren't the 1% either.

[RaleighNCDUer]

193. Unfortunately, most of them ARE ignorant.

They know their jobs well enough, and they are, if successful, intelligent enough. But they have a tunnel vision that gets in the way of even seeing the effects of the system on the population as a whole. They are entirely focused on their careers, on making money, and nothing else exists.

They vote Republican because they HEAR that Republicans are pro-business - but they don't understand that the economy prospers better under Democrats. They figure if a rich person says something he must know what he's talking about because, after all, he's rich.

Ever watch "Cash Cab"? You get people who are students, or in the arts, or in publishing, and you usually get strong competitors. Get people from the finance sector and, while clearly as smart as anyone, they are often woefully uninformed.

Tunnel vision.

[Beavker]

217. For some reason, it's like it's the 'Cool' thing to be. It's tough. It's manly?

It's like people I know that are Yankee fans that do not live and have never lived anywhere near the NY...or even the East Coast. But you feel good wearing Yankee gear instead of the shitty, embarrassing Padre's gear that I wear!

The RW propaganda machine has been dug deep for a long time I suppose...it's just not cool to be affiliated with the lazy, slacking, liberal hippy dippy Democrats that give all our money to the lazy Welfare leeches :sarcasm:. It's almost the default of the apolitical to be GOP because they are 'sensible, and conservative'. Yeah right. Even my Dad who isn't political at all, and likely voted Repug as a defualt, state that he thought he 'might be more Democrat than Republican' after actually reading what is going on, and hearing from me what the Democrats actually want. Sadly, not enough people fit that bill apparently to get this country rectified.

[Cherchez la Femme]

162. A kid in the mail room put up that sign?

Empathy for THEM?
Empathy for the Enron guys cheering on 'Grandma losing her life's savings' for paying their kited electricity bill?

Paste a nice big "Empathy/Solidarity" sign across your asshat and go join them.

Say Hi to Rahm while you're at it.

[bvar22]

174. "Pleased to Meet Ya,

Hope you guessed my name!" ---Rolling Stones



You will know them by their WORKS,
not by their excuses.

Solidarity 99!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[RaleighNCDUer]

189. Right. Nothing to see here. Move along now. nt

[crim son]

195. If it all ends as you expect,

your claim that it's "hysterical" is utterly bizarre.

[a la izquierda]

2. K & R

I don't have time to look, but someone needs to post that "Jump, You Fuckers!" image.

[butterfly77]

22. Santelli needs to bring his scary ass,,,

out on the ground and say it along with this...http://youtu.be/zp-Jw-5Kx8k

POS!!!

[Old and In the Way]

23. Here it is...

[eShirl]

59. That one never gets old, does it?

:rofl:

[Occulus]

80. I don't think it ever will.

That sign has become downright iconic.

[Po_d Mainiac]

133. Ya need the tune to go with the pix

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yge311sFhC8

[hobbit709]

134. Too bad I can't rec this post. +1000

[mother earth]

153. You made my morning, now this deserves a thread of its

own..."Jump you Fuckers" needs to be the theme song for the movement, let's DU this baby. :)

Thank you, first time I've heard this song & it is great. All DU'ers need to sing this little ditty on a daily basis! How about the 99%ers singing en masse?

[kestrel91316]

173. OMG, how did I miss this one??? Effin' awesome.

[OffWithTheirHeads]

3. Let them eat cake?

cause that worked out so well last time.

[Avalux]

44. Same message!

And not a good thing to throw in our faces.

[I Have A Dream]

229. Your name and avatar are beyond the pale.

Seriously. How is this acceptable on DU? What is this site turning into?

:wtf: :wtf: :wtf: :wtf:

[Cali_Democrat]

4. If they're the traders working on the floor executing trades for investors and hedge funds...

...they are not the 1%. They execute trades for the 1%.

[AngryAmish]

12. Ain't no floor no more....

computerized (mostly)

[Cali_Democrat]

17. Not really

Chicago and the NYSE still have many floor traders or "specialists". But you're right, much of it is electronic now days. However, there are still people that work the floor. In fact, the S&P 500 index options are still almost exclusively traded on the floor of the CBOE. Some of it is electronic, but most of it is open outcry.

[socialist_n_TN]

14. "Any worker who supports the capitalist class......

is not working class, but just a bourgeois cop." Leon Trotsky.

[JVS]

58. The high up guys in the office (who have the window offices) are probably earning at least several..

hundred thousand dollars (possibly more, remember the boo-hooing about bonus caps_), which would indeed put them in the top 1% of incomes.

[CoffeeCat]

78. Ok, that was my point as well...glad someon said it...

...these punks aren't the one percent. They're the cabana boys--trading for all
sorts of people--some of whom are the top 1 percent.

And with the markets being the big house of cards that it is lately--I bet this sign
is a bit of aggression--to relieve stress.

[tavalon]

109. Sycophants don't often fare well in these sorts of class conflicts

I think they might be called speedbumps on the road to radical change.

[Lucky Luciano]

90. Yep...floor traders are practically blue collar workers. They earn a bit,

but can be personally wiped out any day of the week and have to go drive a bus or something.

They definitely WANT to be the 0.01% though.

[Lucinda]

92. Exactly!

[City Lights]

5. Fuck them.

Up, down, sideways, over, under, around, and through.

Fuck them. Fuck them. Fuck them.

:nuke:

[sarcasmo]

75. +1

[Greybnk48]

6. It may not be safe to taunt people right now. I would say

they're playing with fire, unless they don't plan on leaving the building anytime soon. It takes a real sociopath to mock people's real life misery

[pinboy3niner]

25. Like pouring gasoline on a fire

Brilliant! :sarcasm:

[indepat]

72. That's what sociopathic colalorums do

best. :patriot:

[oldbanjo]

103. Whoever put that sign up should be fired, they have endangered the lives

of everyone in that building.

[DCKit]

127. Nope. They're begging for torches and pitchforks. nt

[tcaudilllg]

152. "Let them eat cake" -- Marie Antoinette

[patrick t. cakes]

7. signs high up in ivory towers

i can see the cowards snickering behind them.



we're coming for you

[jtrockville]

8. This is bound to end badly.

[Doctor_J]

15. Not for the 99%

as for these slobs, the world will be better off without them

[jtrockville]

29. Yes... I meant badly for those 1%'ers. And you're right: it'd be no great loss.

[Warpy]

9. The people who made that sign

are part of the 99%. They're just too damned hopeful to know it. They see themselves as billionaire hedge fund wizards in training, not having a clue in the world their butts will be on the street as the market falls.

[MADem]

28. Maybe someone's being ironic/galvanizing? nt

[Raine]

68. Very likely. Often the real 1% can sucker some of the gulliable 99% into believing they will soon

be one of the 1% ... FOOLS. :-(

[Kievan Rus]

70. They've been brainwashed by all that Horatio Alger bullshit

[reggie the dog]

129. top 1% means 350,000 a year or more in salary

[harun]

10. How witty, wonder what they'll come up with when faced with these:

[Sal Minella]

27. Those are actually "spading forks" for digging up potatoes & carrots --

A pitchfork is designed to pick up loose mown hay and pitch it up onto the haystack or into the haywagon -- much more lethal --

[ChairmanAgnostic]

122. Fork me?

No, fork you? Ah, er, never mind. Where's my spork?

[tropicanarose]

11. Yes they are ...greedy,immoral, vulgar slobs. the 1%....

[Doctor_J]

13. What a short fight it will be when the 99% get fed up

I am desperately hoping that happens before I am too old to join in.

[renate]

16. I think it's pretty awesome that they did that

Thank you for flashing your ass, 1%ers! That was very helpful!

[Me.]

18. Exactly

[Raven]

19. My first thought seeing this: these folks must be pretty confident

that the government will protect their greedy asses.

[closeupready]

20. And they are obese, flabby-jowled porkers, probably, who are

getting a kick out of finally feeling better than someone else. :rofl:

[Peregrine Took]

21. I'm not surprised. Ever meet one?

In polite society you would avoid them like the plague.

They work a half day, zoom out of the Loop in their luxury cars and head for the gym, their boat or kayak or the pool. Ugh!

[HughBeaumont]

24. Wow. That's a LOTTA "Chootz-Pah".

"WAAAAAAHH!! Why do they hate us?? Don't they know they NEED us???"

Enjoy your little "ha ha" moment now, pigs. Pretty soon, like any mockingly bad aristocrat, you'll be targeted.

[gratuitous]

26. For such elite folks

You'd think one or two of them would have read "A Tale of Two Cities" and told his fellow parasites how this sort of thing tends to end. Spoiler alert: Not well.

[Starry Messenger]

33. +1

[Aerows]

30. They are hoping to incite violence

That way, there will be a reason to shut the Occupy movements down. As much as I hope that this can remain peaceful, history says that it most likely will not, at least against the protesters. We've already had the pepper spray incident. There are many that will try to goad the protesters into violence as the protests grow larger and stronger.

[gkhouston]

38. I fully expect that within the next week, there will be some "incident",

likely instigated by an agent provacateur and wildly overinflated by the corporate media.

[Aerows]

57. That's what I'm expecting too

It's getting too much attention to ignore now, so it's time for them to try to destroy it from within or at least discredit it.

[flamingdem]

31. Sure, until the market crashes again and the populace refuses to bail them nt

[jwirr]

35. Unfortunately the populace is not asked about bailouts. We are doing

a lot of demonstrating but if it comes to another bailout we need to have a huge demonstration in DC. The biggest ever of people from all walks of life attending and telling them no more. The banks need to be broken up into small local banks like they used to be.

[tavalon]

110. If only the populace truly had control over that bail out thingy

It's pretty clear we don't.

[SammyWinstonJack]

165. We can refuse all we want and that won't matter one wit.

:shrug:

[Worship Money]

32. Keep it up

By all means, keep advertising it.

We'll remember exactly who you were when the time comes.

[hifiguy]

34. Laugh now, you fuckers

because your day will come. And sooner than you might think.

[I Have A Dream]

175. I totally support this movement, but this is completely inappropriate.

Stop it with the violent images and rhetoric. This is a peaceful movement.

[hifiguy]

184. The movement is and should remain peaceable

The retribution should take the appropriate and necessary forms needed for deterrence after they succeed. Which they will in the long run.

[butterfly77]

201. Not for long..

[I Have A Dream]

203. Well then *you* will be part of the reason it fails.

It will fail as soon as the people involved turn violent. Please don't forget that as the movement crashes down around after you indulge your blood lust.

[butterfly77]

206. LOL!!

I don't have any blood lust,these greedy bastards are begging for someone to kick their asses..

[I Have A Dream]

208. Well, it's up to you to control your emotions.

Act like an adult rather than a testosterone-controlled adolescent.

[white_wolf]

181. Nice one.

If they want to act like Nobility, they can suffer the same fate as their kind in French and Russia.

[tritsofme]

186. Do what we want or we will kill you.

Cute message from the OWS boys.

[kctim]

36. More than likely

a bunch of office weasels getting a good laugh from all the over reactions to their signs.

[sinkingfeeling]

37. It's a wonder they still have windows!

[HowHeThinks]

106. They have windows........

but they're nailed shut. If they were allowed to open them there might be a lot of human "confetti" the next time the grand marketeers decide it's time to redistribute the middle class's wealth, again. These guys are the tools of the 1%, probably middle class themselves, but they'll never be allowed to join the exclusive 1% club. And that's why the windows are nailed shut.
And they really shouldn't paint targets like that on their place of business.

[firehorse]

39. The 1% think things like: working and paying taxes are for the little 99%

Those traders may identify with the 1% because they are in the money business, but they are fools if they think thats what they are. Dream on suckers, you are the 99% just in denial.

[frankcjames]

66. little ?

During the oil leak, the head of BP referred to us the "small people".

[Hosnon]

40. I highly doubt they are.

Just another example of the "I can be rich one day, too!" mentality that keeps the masses voting for Republicans.

[NightWatcher]

41. They just manage and move the money of the 1%

It's not their money they're playing with.

More delusional people who think they'll be rich (wealthy)

[Blue Owl]

42. "LYNCH HERE"

Thanks for directing the 99% on where to focus their energies!

[I Have A Dream]

199. We're better than this.

:thumbsdown:

[butterfly77]

202. Are you scared?

[I Have A Dream]

204. Not in the least. Not even an iota. nt

[Kadie]

43. Just found another photo

GETTY IMAGES 14 MINUTES AGO
CHICAGO, IL - OCTOBER 05: A sign hangs in the windows of the Chicago Board of Trade building that overlooks Occupy Chicago demonstrators on the sidewalks below October 5, 2011 in Chicago, Illinois. The protest is one of many around the country being held in solidarity with the Occupy Wall Street protests currently taking place in New York City. Among the things that demonstrators are protesting is what they believe is greed and corruption among banking and business leaders.

from daylife.com

[Broderick]

156. Maybe a couple maintenance technicians or custodians

did that to make a point in support of the 99%. Pointing out where the 1% sits?

[raouldukelives]

45. Frank Capra would have had a field day with these dolts. nt

[nadinbrzezinski]

46. Balsy... not bright, but balsy.

[tavalon]

111. Two four word sentences that should never have been said:

"Let them eat cake" and "We are the 1%". Historically impaired morons.

[Critters2]

47. Yeah, that attitude worked well for Marie Antoinette et al. nt

[PETRUS]

48. Seriously? Jackasses. K&R nt

[MichiganVote]

49. Way to fan the flames.

[nxylas]

50. Do these idiots realise they're just reinforcing OWS's narrative?

The official line (courtesy of Erik Erikson's Red State Morning Briefing, ultimate source of all the right-wing media's talking points, which eventually also become the "mainstream" media's talking points) is that 53% of the population are subsidising the protestors (source: http://www.redstate.com/erick/2011/10/05/the-occupy-wall-street-fools/).

[a2liberal]

51. Ok, the replies in this thread are very scary to me

and I'm pretty much a socialist. I know the right-wingers like to call any attempt at fairness "class warfare", but what I'm seeing in the comments here with barely concealed calls to violence seems like actual class warfare.

[Lizzie Poppet]

95. That's because it IS class warfare.

But the 99% didn't fire the first shot...the 1% did. I hope with all my heart that those "shots" remain non-literal, but I'm fast losing that hope.

[rapturedbyrobots]

107. the violence of class warfare

is only scary to the middle class who lived sheltered from the real every day violence suffered by millions. socialist or not, your privilege is showing.

[butterfly77]

143. Exactly...,

[a2liberal]

221. Well, sure

Yes, I have been lucky enough to be relatively privileged/middle class. Call me an "ivory tower liberal" if you must. FWIW I struggle to make ends meet too, but I understand that to the truly poor me saying that sounds just like the guy making 400k saying he struggles sounds to me.

That doesn't change the fact that I don't like violence. I don't think the solution to the poor suffering from violence is to bring violence to the rich. How many people have considered that 1.) The people who put up those signs are almost certainly not in the 1% and 2.) They may even be sympathizers trying to provide the contrast. There are plenty of middle class (yes, relatively privileged, but not super-rich) people who work in the banking/trading industries... I almost ended up there myself. Take a moment to imagine yourself as a middle class class person who landed a software job at a bank after college, but are still a liberal person. Maybe you didn't have a choice because the job market is crappy for everyone but the truly rich. Don't you think that this is something you might do in the spirit of actually supporting the protests and not as an intentional provocation? I think if anything, the people who put this up are guilty of not thinking things through, and not of being genuinely mean. Yes I know it's not a laughing matter but people make jokes about things all the time that they realize in retrospect were probably a stupid idea.

[I Have A Dream]

227. You are right. Those pushing violence are wrong. Period. nt

[I Have A Dream]

226. That's ridiculous.

One doesn't have to have lived a privileged life to reject violence or to look at its results with horror.

[tavalon]

112. Socialists are generally very aware of the class issues

They are damn lucky we're just mocking them here. They yelled fire in a crowded and already incited movie house.

The classes and class warfare are generally only brought up when the ruling class, the oligarchy, is feeling pissy about the serfs and their uppity attitude. We're being pretty uppity right now.

[I Have A Dream]

225. You're exactly right. The violent comments are completely inappropriate. nt

[a2liberal]

230. Thanks! Glad to see at least one person agrees. (n/t)

[lunatica]

52. LOL! They're really brave up on the 8th floor and hiding behind the signs!

Come on down and carry your signs here with us. Dare ya!

[seabeyond]

53. the 1% would not be sitting in an office on this fine day.... nt

[crunch60]

101. soon they will have to send

out for lunch and sleep in their sleeping bags, cowards, to scared to come down. We are the possible society, strong, together.

[tavalon]

113. I like that turn of phrase: The Possible Society

Nice.

[Fire Walk With Me]

54. The laughter of discomfort.

[slay]

55. The cocky bastards just keep proving our point for us

their actions nearly destroyed the country and they MOCK the people they hurt?!?! They better hope it doesn't turn violent - for their sake.

[Oasis_]

62. For their sake?

I'm sorry, but some people here really need to take a step back and rejoin the rest of us in reality. OWS is a great demonstration, as it seeks to shine a light on who and what brought down the economy, but do not think for a SECOND the entire demonstration couldn't be squashed like a bug if things really became violent.

A significant amount of people united behind a common cause is still no match for the NYPD and if need be--the National Guard.

The calls for violence by SOME is really nauseating. Keep dreaming that anyone will overwhelm the police and security and storm the gate. It's not going to happen, it will never happen and it would accomplish nothing other than turning nearly everyone else in America against the protestors.

Oasis

[slay]

94. Whatever it takes

n/t

[tavalon]

115. Keeping this nonviolent is the only way it will actually accomplish change

Sadly, I think there will be violence, but I don't think it will come from our side. We are mocking these idiots but we aren't aiming our rifle scopes. But somebody will - a teabagger, a provocateur, a hotheaded police officer and then, well, fuck.

[reggie the dog]

130. tell that to the people of egypt

or syria, or... nevermind

[butterfly77]

140. Keep dreaming..

scared of violence,its coming and the everyone else in America are the 1%. Some of the national guard and NYPD are the 99% and as this goes on many will change because they will not fight there own family members...

[I Have A Dream]

200. I completely agree. Violence is wrong. Period. nt

[butterfly77]

207. Tell it to..

Bloomberg,the republiCON party and the NYPD.

[I Have A Dream]

209. They're trying to find an excuse to turn it into a bloodbath.

The only way we can succeed is to remain non-violent.

[butterfly77]

212. For now..

but sooner or later they will hit the right one or kill someone and then it will be on.

If you really think that people are going to keep on suffering while these mfkers are firing people just because of the President skin color then keep on dreaming.

People are homeless because of these dirty bastards,chrismas is coming...

[I Have A Dream]

213. I don't understand what you're saying about the president's skin color or...

Christmas.

I truly understand the suffering that is taking place today. I understand the rage that people feel.

In reference to a previous post, self-defense is different from violence used as a tool. The latter is wrong and will destroy the movement.

[tavalon]

114. All of our sakes, really

Luckily, the working classes are far less populated with sociopaths so we are less likely to do something stupid. Agent provocateurs, OTOH. are ever present and ready to do their masters bidding. If it gets bloody and it probably will, it won't likely be started by us.

[deutsey]

124. Do you remember the Enron assholes mocking the people they were gouging?

'Disgusting' tapes dig Enron deeper into mire

Enron traders joking about stealing from poor grannies; celebrating by singing a disco song while a power plant in California burns in a wildfire during the electricity crisis of 2000-01; mocking a small business owner on the brink of destruction; and dreaming that their boss "Kenny-Boy" Lay would become George Bush's energy secretary.

The audio tapes are just the latest to emerge in the tale of the Houston-based power company's gouging, scamming, manipulation, and multi-million executive salaries that cost its stockholders, creditors, employees and consumers billions of bucks.

MORE:

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4156/is_20040606/ai_n12589282/

[MissDeeds]

147. That's what I was thinking

The protests have been peaceful and non-violent. This kind of arrogance and taunting could change that.

[Earth_First]

56. Come on down to the streets and engage us, we are not violent...

If you are so confident that what you are doing is right, come on down and talk to us...

[Kurovski]

60. "How amusing Thurston, come look! The hired help fancy themselves the 1%!"

Jolly good laugh, that.

[Tom Ripley]

83. House slaves lording it over field slaves

[Kurovski]

85. A very fine analogy!

Welcome to DU, Tom Ripley! :hi:

[Tom Ripley]

86. Thank you!

[tavalon]

116. Exactly

And I don't think you can be called racists, even while quoting Malcolm X because I don't think there are any but lily white butts up on that eighth floor. Not that they are any less slaves, they are just way less cognizant of it.

[BanzaiBonnie]

180. Exactly!

[TK421]

187. perfectly put!

:thumbsup:

[Zookeeper]

104. +1 n/t

[wildeyed]

61. They could just tape "Let Them Eat Cake"

in the window, but I guess we all know how that ended.

[Downtown Hound]

63. Just stop for a second to do the math on that, bankers

1% vs. 99%?

If I were you guys, I wouldn't be quite so cocky.

[HughBeaumont]

119. You know MBAs. They can make 1 + 1 = 3.

And for a long while now, 1% is somehow far greater than 99% as far as power and wealth go.

[bulloney]

150. We are the 99%. YOU are the 1%. Does the name CUSTER ring a bell with you?

[krabigirl]

64. what total assholes.

[Name removed]

65. Deleted message

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[flvegan]

67. That is extremely unlikely.

The true 1% (for the most part) couldn't care enough about the protests to make signs.

And if they're pit monkeys, that's definitely not the case.

[JVS]

159. Do pit monkeys get window offices?

I'm not saying those guys are or aren't 1% ers, but if they're making 250K or more, then they're coming damned close to being in the 1%. Maybe at about 300,000 or 400,000 they would be (i haven't seen a stat for how much you need to earn for the top 1%, but 250k is top 1.6% or so.)

[Kievan Rus]

69. These people truly have no souls

[rdking647]

71. as a former member of the CBOT im not surprised

traders are dicks.. I was a different person on the floor. All I cared about was money and profit,the rest of the world be damned.
but after 20 years in the pits I realized there were more important things than money so I walked away.

Now I do volunteer work instead

[Hissyspit]

73. Um, yeah. That would be the POINT?

You don't have to be all that smart to make lots and lots of money.

[sarcasmo]

74. Those idiots think it's funny, they have no idea the can of worms that has been unleashed.

They won't think it's funny when they have to hire two or three Haliburton armed guards just to make it to work in the morning.

[RagAss]

76. It's all fun and games until somebody wheels out the fucking guillotine, motherfuckers !

[Bonobo]

77. Most of them are not but are just deluded fools.

I went to HS in a suburb of Chicago and a certain percentage of kids made it their plan in life to go and be traders.

Most of them did not make it. It is a lot like going to Vegas and trying to hit the jackpot.

Sad, deluded fools.

The real 1% do not live like that. They hire people to do that shit while they cruise on their 200 foot yachts.

[reggie the dog]

131. 1% is only 350,000 a year

you have a big house in the burbs and a lexus for sure but the yachts are for the top 0.5%

[Tom Ripley]

81. Did they jump or were they pushed? Fuck them.

[avaistheone1]

82. Have faith. The 1% are "doing God's work".

[Generic Other]

84. The 1% will be the jumpers

And apple sellers soon.

[lonestarnot]

87. If you were a thief, would you put a sign in your window stating that fact?

Maybe 1%er's are not just douche bags, that one is apparently a stupid douche bag.

[tavalon]

117. These are the hired minions

At least Satan might have promised them something for their loyal services.

[reggie the dog]

132. i wear t shirts with pot leaves on them

and i am a grower.... just sayin

[rhett o rick]

88. What they mean is: "we are the slaves of the 1%". No 1%'er would lower

themselves to make a sign.

[butterfly77]

89. Kicked&Recommended..

[Juche]

91. LOL

[Poll_Blind]

93. Oh, now see...I don't know if somebody can throw a rock 8 stories.

But I bet someone will try.

PB

[glinda]

96. So how do they think they can leave the building safely taunting like that.

[999998th word]

99. The combination of hubris and stupidity= losers.

[coalition_unwilling]

97. Whatever they have to tell themselves. They are the lackies

and lickspittles of the ruling class. If I were they, I'd be working really hard at getting some callouses on my hands (to steal a line from Mao :)

[suffragette]

98. Reminds me of the London bankers waving money at G20 protesters and wagering

on number of arrests.

Fine displays now and then of their elitist contempt for the 99%.

Waving money at the G20 protesters
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x3810817#3810846
This was also reported by BBC and the Guardian.


From the link posted in #24 there:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/apr/02/bankers-betting-protesters-g20

And these two wanted to see the long arm of the law carting a few protesters away – because they had a financial interest in arrests. "I'll make money if they arrest more than 140", he said. Traders, he explained were putting spread bets on the number of arrests – with the quoted spread on Bloomberg at 130-140. They were also paying out on deaths and if more than 20 demonstrators are injured by horse charges.

[Rex]

100. No they're not.

Not even close.

[Quantess]

102. They probably are in the top 1%

1 out of 100 is actually a huge number when referring to Americans.
The number is too large to pinpoint the real greedy leeches. It's less than 1 out of 10,000

[Zookeeper]

105. Vulgar, tacky and probably delusional. Wannabe lackeys. n/t

[tavalon]

108. Callous, cheeky and stupid

Perhaps a history lesson is in order: while in the day, "let them eat cake" had a different meaning than it has now taken on, it still didn't sit well for the 99% and Marie Antoinette's head didn't sit well on her shoulders for very long after that callous, cheeky and stupid comment.

[matmar]

118. Roll out the guillotines and give these financial scumbags justice.

[I Have A Dream]

198. Stop it with the violence.

:thumbsdown:

[eilen]

120. Maybe they should build a moat. nt

[Amaril]

121. Yeah, I don't think I'd advertise it if I were them

That's the kind of "joke" that will get your ass kicked really bad, really fast.

[barbtries]

125. aren't they special

:sarcasm: as if it was necessary

[reggie the dog]

126. that is a good way to get shot in chicago

chicago gangsters are hardcore, i know as i did my sociology deep undercover research on gangs there ten years ago, murders only cost 300 dollars in chi town. those one percenters may not want to attract attention like this for long.

[SemperEadem]

135. pride goes before destruction and the haughty spirit before the fall.

[Ganja Ninja]

136. Wow! Snappy come back. Here's my response.

[yoyossarian]

138. Why don't ya come down here and say that?

[orbitalman]

139. K & R

[McCamy Taylor]

141. Wow. They admit it.

[Locrian]

142. make no mistake...

While these morons are not the "1%" they are definitely their enablers.

I've met these people - they think they're on the fast track, and would LOVE to throw anyone and everyone under the bus to get to the top. In some ways they are worse in that they up the level of "do whatever it takes" to climb that ladder for the almighty buck.

Posting the signs, safe in their "perch" is hilarious to them.

[CanonRay]

146. I used to work in that building (not as a trader)

thirty years ago. They were assholes then, and apparently still so. They used to just shove their way onto the elevators and didn't appear to give a shit about anybody or anything but money.

[rdking647]

168. i was a treader there for 20 years

we didnt give a shit about anything but money ...

[DaveJ]

148. I can't believe the police are defending these criminals

These traders obviously are criminal minds who have found cracks in the system to exploit.

You'd think police would at least be a little upset that they are being treated like imbeciles who do THEIR bidding, traders go home and drink $3,600 bottles of wine with their prostitutes, while the police go home to studio apartments. And the police defend THEM! Unbelievable. They must be totally deranged to tolerate being taken advantage of to such an extent.

Messed up world we live in were the sociopaths legitimately control the entire system.

[bvar22]

176. They didn't "find" cracks in the system.

They "bought" cracks in the system,
and that includes the much vaunted "Historic" Banking & Credit Card Reforms.



You will know them by their WORKS,
not by their excuses.

Solidarity 99!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Capt. America]

149. douchebags n/t

[tcaudilllg]

151. It'll be a steep fall from those windows before the end.

We're going to drag them out and put them face first in manure.

[Township75]

210. "We"? Are YOU going to physically drag them out, or are you one more

internet chest thumping typer who is no where near the place, and won't get going there...but want credit for those actions when they happen?

[I Have A Dream]

228. I hope that person doesn't go anywhere near any demonstrations.

The last thing this movement needs is people who consider violent actions to be acceptable.

[L. Coyote]

161. Remember when the French royals were that uppity?

My Mother wisely said, "Never eat anything bigger than your head."

I'll add, "Never say anything that will cost you your head." :rofl:

[lynne]

164. No, they're not. The 1% certainly doesn't work in a wall street office -

- they're merely employees. Probably doing mundane office stuff but for a decent wage and with a nice benefits package. While the work they do may benefit the 1% - and a good number of 99%ers, too - that sure doesn't make them wealthy.

But, hey, they're being targeted just by working there. Imagine its a pain in their butt to get to work and in and out of the building. While not very sensitive to the topic at hand, I'm guessing they're blowing off a little steam.

[fascisthunter]

166. Ironic, because they are not the 1%, but serve the 1%

[rosesaylavee]

192. Exactly.

Fools.

[I Have A Dream]

177. The posts showing violent images and threats are completely inappropriate.

This movement is a peaceful movement. I understand the anger, but violent images and threats are not going to help what we're trying to do.

Please don't allow yourself to be baited; it's what the 1% want.

[Zookeeper]

222. +100. n/t

[FirstLight]

178. violence/non-violence

you know, rationally, we say we need to remain NON VIOLENT at all costs, to stay true to the ideals that have us occupying in the first place...i agree...

but on the other hand, there is a LOT of RAGE bubbling within every one of us that won;t take much to trigger.
and i have to say i agree with that too.

we may end up being more like egypt than we think...they had their share of both...and aren't they being governed by the military now? :scared:

[I Have A Dream]

182. FirstLight, we cannot go the violent route.

Seriously. It's spiritually wrong.

:loveya:

[crim son]

179. Not a wise move, IMHO.

Whoever put up the signs, and wherever they fall on the economic spectrum, it is likely only to inflame protesters and people like me, for example.

[otohara]

194. Me Too

makes me want to go throw a brick or a rock, since they're way up on the 8th floor.

[valerief]

188. 1%ers don't work in office buildings. nt

[TK421]

190. bold, I really don't know what else to say about this arrogance n/t

[butterfly77]

219. They are taunting us...

[TK421]

220. Yeah, they are, but look..I am not someone who looks at all rich people as evil

I know a few of them, some of which have helped me out by giving me some extra money through jobs on the side when I was really needing it. These people I speak of are truly good, down-to-earth types who don't openly flaunt what they have to others. Others have been brought into money, and they maintain themselves with dignity, rather than flaunt it. There are, of course those who were brought into money rather than having earned it themselves who give off an air of superiority to those less fortunate around them...I refuse to damn every rich person to hell because of the actions of some of them, I refuse.

I'm thinking those people who placed the "We are the 1%" sign in Chicago are office pranksters just thinking they are having a good time and believe they are bringing some levity to the situation. I really DON'T expect these people, in the position they are in, to be down there with these protesters.

edited to add: I feel the need to add that, with my earnings I am considered poverty-level and still don't feel the need to kill or harm those who are doing better financially than I am. People, what we fucking need in this country is JOBS, and as long as we keep sending our services overseas we won't be seeing them. Used to be MADE IN AMERICA was a label that prompted us to buy, but these days nobody seems to give a fuck where the product they just bought was made.

Sometimes, if the price is right we just fucking BUY IT

[I Have A Dream]

224. Thank you for saying this. It's so easy to stereotype people.

:thumbsup:

[otohara]

191. Asking For Trouble

IMO - like bricks being thrown through their windows.

[I Have A Dream]

197. This thread should be locked. Advocating violence is wrong.

The OP didn't advocate it, but there are many responses that certainly do.

Turning the movement into a violent lynch mob will make it as bad as the Tea Party.

[Capitalocracy]

216. Responses advocating violence should be deleted

but the thread itself has value

Either way, thank you for advocating non-violence.

[Blue_Tires]

211. eh...they are just trolling....don't give them the satisfaction...

[Inuca]

218. Classy! n/t

[MisterP]

231. awww, some DUers are going all Bloomberg because some people are using het-up rhetoric

[butterfly77]

232. Kick