Introduction to the Occupiers: Eric

25 Responses to “Introduction to the Occupiers: Eric”

1. Dean on November 16th, 2011 at 1:00 pm #

   I think these occupiers are ridiculous. They should spend their time educating themselves or developing their skills so they can get a good job. Remember, the unemployment rate is only 5% for college educated people. We do not live in a socialized country. Capitalism and its incentives to become wealthy drive Americans to innovate and invent. Think about Steve Jobs and Bill Gates. There is a reason that so much innovation occurs in the US – it is the incentive to be compensated well for innovating. These protestors are from a spoiled generation and expect everything to be handed to them. Stop blaming the governemt for your predicament.
   • Leighton on November 16th, 2011 at 3:29 pm #

     Explain how someone could educate themselves and gain job-worthy credentials without the use of money.
   • Joshua Eaton on November 16th, 2011 at 4:46 pm #

     I’d say that a PhD candidate in Physics at Harvard University like Eric is doing a pretty good job of educating himself, wouldn’t you?

     Or did you not ever bother to watch the video?
     • Theresa on November 16th, 2011 at 5:25 pm #

       +1
   • Joshua Eaton on November 16th, 2011 at 4:52 pm #

     P.S., And I suppose the Baby Boomers’ weren’t spoiled at all? That would explain all of the advertisements for financial services for Boomers wanting to retire to vineyards or alpaca farms. That’s not spoiled at all.
     • Accountability on November 17th, 2011 at 9:02 am #

       Great video.
       Have to say i’m a little saddened that most of the energy in OWB /OWS seems to be focused on keeping the camps, fighting for “occupy rights”, protection vs. police etc and is starting to lose the focus of voicing the rights of the 99%

       Thanks for posting the video- I just wish that the Movement would realize that when the 1% is shouting ‘we cant hear you’, that instead of thinking ‘they are pig headed capitalists’, the movement would say ‘how do we get them to listen to us’.

       Shrug
       • Sage on November 17th, 2011 at 4:13 pm #

         We want 100% to listen, which is mainly the 99%. The 1% are reacting with anger and denial when they are faced with people telling them how their actions have destroyed the economy and ravaged peoples’ lives. When they see broken people in the street in front of their temples to money, they want to sweep it all back under the rug, but we are not going away. We have a message, that inequality in this country is way over the top, too far, intolerable. The root of the inequality is the corrupt collusion between the wealthy elite and the government. This is clear and obvious, yet many still do not see it. We are making this message known loud and clear. That is our act of free speech. We will not be shut down!
         • Accountability on November 17th, 2011 at 7:22 pm #

           Examples of the 1% acting with anger and denial ?
           Just curious what you view as examples of both.

           Personally- I see the reactions of the camps being ‘raided’ as both angry and in denial of their rights (not quite ‘public land’)

           I , for the life of me , cannot understand why the movement hasn’t realized that real change will happen only I this moves to Washington and Capitol hill.
     • Dean on November 17th, 2011 at 4:11 pm #

       Josh you are seriously clueless. We live in a capitalistic society and if people saved and invested for retirement they should be able to retire to Martha’s vineyard or wherever esle they want to live. That is not spoiled. They did not ask for government handouts. They worked hard all of their lives and should enjoy the fruits of their labor. This generation of college students do not understand the concept of hard work. They don’t understand that life is not perfect and that ometimes they will make bad choices with consequiences – that is life. The govenerment and other citizens are not responsible for their poor choices. Individuals need to have a sense of personal responsibility for their choices and stop thinking they are entitled to a perfect life!!
       • Joshua Eaton on November 17th, 2011 at 11:25 pm #

         I was the first person in my family to go to college, managed to get a full scholarship to go from undergraduate at a small state college to graduate school at Harvard, and recently graduated with a master’s from Harvard. In between college and Harvard, I worked 42+ hours a week in homeless services for a small stipend. Yes, you’re right, I have no understanding of hard work.
   • Bob on November 17th, 2011 at 4:25 am #

     Hi Dean,

     Speaking of “living in a socialized country”, ha ha …
     Did you catch the Bank Bailout in 2008, 2009?
     Do you know what happened?
     Do you know how much borrowed money was spent by your government to keep major banks in business?
     Is that socialism?
     Is supporting the banks after they shoot themselves in the foot while drunk on a free-market binge OK?
     Should the 99% pay for bank fraud/mis-management and the 1% get more government support?
     Do you mind paying for that binge as the banks stay drunk and start dismantling your retirement fund, that you put your earnings in?
     Have you been following the U.S. government debt accumulate starting with Reagan in 1980 and his so-called “trickle-down” supply-side “free market” economics?
     Any idea how much the pile of debt is directly attributable to tax cuts for the 1% starting in 1980?
     Do you follow any of the many wars?
     Are these wars against “freedom”, “democracy” or for corporate access to resources?
     Any idea what those wars have cost?
     How about exporting US jobs overseas for cheap labor, then, when we import the cheap product we pay for that product with US treasury bonds (IOUs) and get more in debt?
     Are you familiar with the SUPER COMMITTEE and its “finding” coming out NOV 23, a week after the government started to shut down OCCUPATION sites?
     Any idea what the SUPER COMMITTEE is going to pronounce?
     What if you get a call from the SUPER COMMITTEE telling you that you are going to pay for all the fraud and mis-management noted above which you had no direct role in creating and the 1%, who not only created it profited outrageously by it?
     Do you think you might wake up some day and consider getting your input from sources other than TV?
     Wishing you well …
     • Dean on November 17th, 2011 at 4:27 pm #

       Seriously you are delusional. I was not for the bank bailout but there was no choice. Without it the entire worldwide economic system would have collapsed. Deficit spending is a problem. Much of it has to do with entitlement programs. If you are poor you should not have 5 children and expect the governemt to pay for your food and housing. If you are poor and cannot afford to purchase a home you should not have taken out a mortgage. If you can’t afford your mortgage you should be foreclosed on. let the markets work. The government tries to orchestrate social justice and it just messes everything up. The governement wanted low income people to own houses and its policies allowed poor people to get mortgages they could not afford. The super committee should cut spending. We are not entitle to anything except an opportunity to succeed. That is what America is all about. have you been to India? Nepal? South America? Eastern Europe? I have been everytwhere and what makes the US so special is that with hard work anyone can go from the 99% to the 1% but there is no guarantee and it is not the responsibility of the government or other tax payers to make an individual successful.
       • Joshua Eaton on November 17th, 2011 at 11:26 pm #

         Welfare is not an entitlement program. The only entitlement programs are Social Security, which is self-funding, and medicaid.
   • Chris D. on December 6th, 2011 at 8:43 am #

     Dean: I am 45 years old and have a law degree and a masters of public health. I have been unemployed or underemployed for more than five years due to personal health issues and the state of our economy and many other (complex) issues. Worrying about limited access to health care, medical bankruptcy and living out of my car does not help me to better look for work. I have lived in countries with very little government social support. In those place, communities, families and villages take care of each other. That does not happen enough in our culture. Most of us are not “blaming the government”. We are asking for folks to educate themselves about the systemic structures and policies that all of us have tolerated and allowed to develop in this country that lead many of us to struggle with the issues we face daily even though we ARE educated and work very hard and still can’t break even. Thanks for you time. Chris D.
2. Theresa on November 16th, 2011 at 3:16 pm #

   Dean, you didn’t pay attention or you would realize that they are educated. None of them said they wanted to abolish Capitalism or start a socialist society. There is a problem with corruption in our government and it doesn’t matter where your political ideology lies.

   Try reading a food label. Am I a socialist for wanting to know what is in my food? I don’t think so. But I don’t 7 million dollars to lobby my perspective, Monsanto does. And for some odd reason, maybe because they have previous employees and board members throughout every echelon of the United States government and regulatory agencies, the laws that should protect the citizens instead protect Monsanto and companies using their products from providing the information about whether or not our food is corn, or corn spliced with dna from salmon in a lab. This is ONE issue of hundreds where the government is not working in the best interest of it’s citizens. And notice, there is nothing there about unemployment, socialism or any other “entitled” message there. Unless you think wanting information is entitled.

   Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, let’s talk about them. Steve Jobs ran a corporation which essentially hires slave labor in China, forcing employees to work 98 hours of OVERTIME in a month. Meanwhile he presented himself to be socially responsible here. Bill Gates agrees he should pay higher taxes, but, he is also talking about vaccinations as a form of population control. Neither of them are individuals I would look at as anything other than very smart businessmen. For that, I would look to Gary Hirshberg and others like him, men with a conscience and business acumen, and not so arrogant as to think they are not equals in this world.

   I love Capitalism. I love the idea that innovation and invention are rewarded. But, they are being stifled. Look at what Sony is doing to competitors, tying them up in court cases so that they can stall the launch of competitors products.

   There are problems that need to be addressed. Occupy is at least attempting change, even in the face of such blatantly mean spirited comments from people like you.
   • Dean on November 17th, 2011 at 4:07 pm #

     You are obviously a fool. Have you even been to china? I was there in April. The poverty in the countryside is unbelievable. Manufacturing jobs are an important way for the people of china to enter into the middle class. Nobody forced them to take those jobs- don’t you understand the concept of personal responsibility??? Stop blaming everyone else for your poor choices….
     • Joshua Eaton on November 17th, 2011 at 11:27 pm #

       Their economy, driven by their government’s policies, forced them to take those jobs.
       • Accountability on November 18th, 2011 at 6:19 am #

         Not dissimilar from many
         Thousands on wall street who make far less than OWS would like to recognize
3. Introduction to the Occupiers: Eric | Occupy Wall Street Info
   on November 16th, 2011 at 3:43 pm #

   […] rest is here: Introduction to the Occupiers: Eric This entry was posted in Boston, News and tagged boston, boston-herald, herald, […]
4. Apphouse50 on November 16th, 2011 at 5:04 pm #

   More of these, please! Let people have a good look at the diversity within the Occupy movement instead of letting the media portray it as bunch of entitled kids and people looking for “handouts.”

   I’ve spent a fair amount of time at OB, and what I know for sure is that all ages, work status, education level, races, creeds, and even political leanings (and that’s just for starters) are well represented down there. Yet I’m amazed at how many people still want to dismiss Occupiers and therefore trivialize them.
5. Beth on November 16th, 2011 at 10:09 pm #

   Dean,
   Please educate yourself by attending an event. There you will find people of all ages. If you really take a look at any picture of any protest, you will see people of all ages. It is an uneducated opinion to assume that people at the Occupy events do not have jobs. I have an occupation and I Occupy, as do so many of the people you are referring to. People occupy for the greater good. This is not just about jobs. This is about living a just life in a just government. We are the people that the politicians speak of when they say “The American People” and we will be where ever we have to be until they understand that. Please educate yourself with what these protest about. Below is a link that declares what we believe in. Any educated human would share these beliefs.

   http://occupywallst.org/forum/first-official-release-from-occupy-wall-street/
   • Dean on November 17th, 2011 at 4:28 pm #

     Please define a just life and a just government
   • Dean on November 17th, 2011 at 4:32 pm #

     I think you do not understand capitalism. The only motive of a corporation is profit. That is it. They should maximize profit for their shareholders. Period. The govenerment should put in place rules and regulations to protect it citzens. THere should be a balance but please do not think corporations should care at all about anything except profits. And that the way it should be. That is what drives innovations that improve the quality of all of our lives.
6. Sage on November 17th, 2011 at 12:03 am #

   Eric is an amazing individual. The son of two Marine veterans, he believes in the true meaning of democracy, in which the voice of every person is valued no matter how much money they have in their bank account, no matter whether they even own a home or are homeless. He has worked hard to achieve a high level of education, pursuing a PhD in physics at Harvard, and yet sacrifices months of his life for the ideals that this country claims as its own, and works so hard to make those ideals a reality. This shows the caliber of people involved in Occupy Boston. He is truly a credit to the movement, and a living example of the highest aspirations of humanity.
   • Theresa on November 17th, 2011 at 10:11 am #

     Right On Sage!!!