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I haven't been a big fan of his divisive rhetoric and condescending insults towards Liberals. If there is ONE SINGLE THING the OWS protests stand for it is UNITY among the 99%, instead Hedges decides to be divisive in his articles and videos and hand out insults to groups of people that are very much a part of this movement, and very much on the front lines of it.
He rants about the movement being "co-opted" by Liberals as if 1- That would be a bad thing, (our principles and OWS demands are practically identical) and 2- As if Liberals aren't on the front lines of this protest as well, getting beaten with batons, arrested, surviving the already cold NYC October nights, etc. I've been down to Wall St. 6x as of now, trust me, there are LOTS of Liberals.
He also rants against Unions as if the Union members aren't down there doing what they can do. Hedges is ranting as if 1- More Unionism and Union membership would be a bad thing and 2- As if Unionism hasn't made this country the most prosperous, sought-after Nation in the history of the free world. I've been down to Wall St. 6x as of now, trust me, there are LOTS of Union members too.
Then he goes on to insulting Teamsters, Unions, Liberals, MoveOn, Democrats, etc etc, as if those groups aren't HUGE majorities of 99%ers. All the while not ever a mention of how right-wing policies have destroyed this country over the past 30 years and left it teetering on the brink of collapse.
Truthfully, I often agree with Hedges, but his divisiveness needs to end. I am a Liberal, I also believe in capitalism, I just don't believe in cronyism, I don't believe in corruption. I believe the capitalistic system and the corporate system are broken and needs to reformed, even if it takes a revolution to do so. This is about democracy, not his desire for an end to capitalism. New times call for new reforms, new regulations.
Yes, capitalism is broken, but it needs to be repaired not dismantled. It needs to be repaired in the same way us Liberals have been calling for for what seems like forever. It needs to be regulated, this Nation has become a goddamn free-for-all to the corporations and Wall St., raiding and pillaging everything from the Treasury to the environment to retirement savings. We need to make the current system work for US, the masses, not deconstruct the entire thing.
Capitalism was working very well for the 100 years prior to the 70s/80s, then we became a Fascist-Plutocracy. The reason is because prior to then wages kept going up and up and up year after year for workers. That was until the corps decided to do something: NOT raise wages any longer, ship jobs overseas. So in response our citizens thought: If I can't MAKE more money then I'll TAKE more hours, sometimes even a second and third job. Lower wages have also shrunk the job market because of this.
THIS is where our anger comes from. We are overworked, underpaid, overstressed, and faced with a lousy job market filled with low wages and zero incentive, etc. and no one in the top 1% seems to give a shit that their employees, who create THEIR wealth, are having complete f**king meltdowns from being treated like slaves. This stress sometimes leads to alcoholism, domestic violence, child neglect, depression, deep debt etc. All types of societal problems that have steadily increased as wages remained stagnant or went down. This time it has led to OWS.
Not to get off topic let me just say, as a Liberal I will defend Hedges right to free speech, but if I could just make a suggestion to him I would say: Stop using your words for divisiveness and start using them for Unity. Stop making people feel excluded and alienated or 'less than' your 'holier-than-thou' rhetoric and start including everyone. Not everyone can be an elitist Chris, most of us in the 99% don't have 10 books they can sit back on and receive royalties from, or the 4 other job titles you hold. Most of us in the 99% aren't married to an actress either. Most of us don't have a public platform to rally our cause and rail against capitalism while charging $19.99 for a book. Nope. Us 99%ers are being pepper-sprayed by police or working like animals to make ends meet.
I love you Chris, you are my brother, my fellow countryman, but start spreading the UNITY. I respect your entire career and everything you've done, but OWS isn't the time or place for divisiveness. It's time to find and focus on our similarities instead of the very small minute differences.
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