not my work(obvious)
But worth a read...
----------------------------------
I am a born and bred US citizen, a military veteran, and this is why I believe Americans don't riot, or even vehemently protest.
In our history, it has been those with the least (or nothing) to lose that have rioted and protested. African-Americans in the 1960's wanted a better life and had little to lose and everything to gain during the civil rights protests. The decision to protest was between maintaining the second-class status quo and offering your children a better life. The decision was sometimes difficult, but there was much gain to be had for the risk.
The youth in the 1960's had a vested interest in ending the Vietnam war, since they were facing imminent drafts into the military. They were generally college students, away from home for the first time, asserting their independence and living very simply in a college dorm room. They didn't have a lot to lose, but they could potentially lose their life if they were drafted and fighting in Vietnam. The risk was minimal with the gain of not risking life or limb. The decision to protest was simple.
Fast forward to 2009. We have been raised in a consumerist capitalist economy. With few exceptions we are very materialistic. Who you are is defined by the car you drive, the house and neighborhood you live in, what university you attended, who your friends are, what status is assigned to your job, and how many material possessions you have.
This may come as a surprise to outsiders, but most Americans are one paycheck away from being destitute. Savings are minimal, living expenses are many.
When you protest or riot, you put your present and future at risk. If you embarrass your employer by being shown on camera or being thrown in jail, there's a high likelihood that you'll lose your job. The potential gain of the protest needs to offset this risk. It's hard to be altruistic if you stand to lose everything for the cause.
Especially if you have that little nuclear family to feed.
For those outside the US, I'll describe the steps that would likely occur if you were to lose your job as a result of pretesting some perceived injustice:
You attend a riot.
You are arrested.
You're in jail for 3 days.
Your boss finds out because you missed work and didn't call to explain why.
You lose your job.
Your savings, if you have any, are gone in the first month on the following debts:
Mortgage: $2000 - $3000 a month on your $250,000 to $750,000 home (these are not mansions, simply nice homes in good neighborhoods in good economical areas)
Automobile: $300 - $500. Most household have at least 2 cars.
Groceries: Most Americans dine out 3+ times a week, and have lost the art of cooking healthy, nutritious meals.
Insurance: We are plagued by home, health, dental, auto, life, legal and in some cases pet insurance. This can total over $1000 a month unless your employer has a very generous health plan. The day you miss a payment you lose all coverage and the money you've paid in is gone. And when and if you recover enough to buy back in, you have huge penalties for being uninsured for any period of time over 60 days.
Children's education: This can be from $10,000 minimum to $50,000 a year per child for a good education.
There's plenty more in incidentals, such as heat, water, telephone, broadband internet, etc.
Eventually, you will lose your home. If you're a renter it will be within 30 days. If you have a mortgage, it could take up to 9 months.
Now you have no job, no home, possibly no car and your savings are gone. Your spouse, who was also raised in that consumer capitalist lifestyle, will leave to cut his/her losses and look for better opportunities.
In most cases, the non-working spouse will win primary custody of the children in a divorce. You are now saddled with anywhere from $300 - $600 a month per child in child support payments.
If you cannot make these payments, you may end up as a "deadbeat parent". This may result in your being sent to join our vast prison population.
When you are released from jail, you now have a criminal record. This makes it substantially more difficult to find a well-paying job with which to pay your debts.
You will likely never recover from these setbacks. Some do, most don't.
These are the things that go through an American's mind before they decide to riot.
We think we're free, but there's a lot we can't do without huge risk to our lifestyles.
Is that really free?
I believe that we live in an artfully designed covertly oppressive society. No one will tell you not to protest or riot, but it will cost you.
Think about it long and hard.
Is it worth it? What's in it for me? I'm not happy about the war in Iraq, but does it affect me? Does my life improve if I protest and we end the war? Nah, probably not. I'll just go to work today, but I will think of the soldiers in Iraq.
That's good enough.
Americans will not riot until we have nothing left to lose, and for most people that's a lot of material wealth (that which we value, unfortunately).
But it can happen in a very short timeframe. We are in a recession, headed into depression. Foreclosures are making more Americans homeless each day.
As I look at the empty homes in my neighborhood, I am reminded that every homeless American is another potential rioter. A person who has had a taste of everything, and will fight to reclaim it. At some point, survival instinct kicks in and desperation overrules reason.
As I read the conspiracy forums, I see postings that separately sound like fantasy. However, when taken as a whole, they start weaving an intricate web of insight, recent events, cause and effect, and plans that, from a government's perspective (but not an individual citizen's perspective), make sense. Planning that the government must certainly be doing to prepare for what might happen if we reach certain milestones, such as 30% employment and rising, retirement savings and futures lost, rampant homelessness, beloved children and parents ill and dying without healthcare.
That's just the fear they must have of desperate Americans.
Add to that foreign interests and the now universal hatred of America and what we stand for, the havoc our Wall Street's greed has created in the world economy. It's nearly impossible to support what the government must certainly be planning, because it's not going to be pleasant. If even a fraction of the conspiracy theories are correct, there's a police state coming, because it will need to be to maintain order.
But it's hard to imagine that they're not actually planning this, creating their red, blue and yellow lists, detention camps, and using the Patriot Act to look for dissenters.
If you were in power, wouldn't you?
The Soviet Union fell, Rome fell, the British empire fell.
We too could fall.
We're no one special.
Just another momentary blink in the history of this planet.
We'll be gone and forgotten by the next blink.
-------------=
From an ---Anonymous Coward---
But worth a read...
----------------------------------
I am a born and bred US citizen, a military veteran, and this is why I believe Americans don't riot, or even vehemently protest.
In our history, it has been those with the least (or nothing) to lose that have rioted and protested. African-Americans in the 1960's wanted a better life and had little to lose and everything to gain during the civil rights protests. The decision to protest was between maintaining the second-class status quo and offering your children a better life. The decision was sometimes difficult, but there was much gain to be had for the risk.
The youth in the 1960's had a vested interest in ending the Vietnam war, since they were facing imminent drafts into the military. They were generally college students, away from home for the first time, asserting their independence and living very simply in a college dorm room. They didn't have a lot to lose, but they could potentially lose their life if they were drafted and fighting in Vietnam. The risk was minimal with the gain of not risking life or limb. The decision to protest was simple.
Fast forward to 2009. We have been raised in a consumerist capitalist economy. With few exceptions we are very materialistic. Who you are is defined by the car you drive, the house and neighborhood you live in, what university you attended, who your friends are, what status is assigned to your job, and how many material possessions you have.
This may come as a surprise to outsiders, but most Americans are one paycheck away from being destitute. Savings are minimal, living expenses are many.
When you protest or riot, you put your present and future at risk. If you embarrass your employer by being shown on camera or being thrown in jail, there's a high likelihood that you'll lose your job. The potential gain of the protest needs to offset this risk. It's hard to be altruistic if you stand to lose everything for the cause.
Especially if you have that little nuclear family to feed.
For those outside the US, I'll describe the steps that would likely occur if you were to lose your job as a result of pretesting some perceived injustice:
You attend a riot.
You are arrested.
You're in jail for 3 days.
Your boss finds out because you missed work and didn't call to explain why.
You lose your job.
Your savings, if you have any, are gone in the first month on the following debts:
Mortgage: $2000 - $3000 a month on your $250,000 to $750,000 home (these are not mansions, simply nice homes in good neighborhoods in good economical areas)
Automobile: $300 - $500. Most household have at least 2 cars.
Groceries: Most Americans dine out 3+ times a week, and have lost the art of cooking healthy, nutritious meals.
Insurance: We are plagued by home, health, dental, auto, life, legal and in some cases pet insurance. This can total over $1000 a month unless your employer has a very generous health plan. The day you miss a payment you lose all coverage and the money you've paid in is gone. And when and if you recover enough to buy back in, you have huge penalties for being uninsured for any period of time over 60 days.
Children's education: This can be from $10,000 minimum to $50,000 a year per child for a good education.
There's plenty more in incidentals, such as heat, water, telephone, broadband internet, etc.
Eventually, you will lose your home. If you're a renter it will be within 30 days. If you have a mortgage, it could take up to 9 months.
Now you have no job, no home, possibly no car and your savings are gone. Your spouse, who was also raised in that consumer capitalist lifestyle, will leave to cut his/her losses and look for better opportunities.
In most cases, the non-working spouse will win primary custody of the children in a divorce. You are now saddled with anywhere from $300 - $600 a month per child in child support payments.
If you cannot make these payments, you may end up as a "deadbeat parent". This may result in your being sent to join our vast prison population.
When you are released from jail, you now have a criminal record. This makes it substantially more difficult to find a well-paying job with which to pay your debts.
You will likely never recover from these setbacks. Some do, most don't.
These are the things that go through an American's mind before they decide to riot.
We think we're free, but there's a lot we can't do without huge risk to our lifestyles.
Is that really free?
I believe that we live in an artfully designed covertly oppressive society. No one will tell you not to protest or riot, but it will cost you.
Think about it long and hard.
Is it worth it? What's in it for me? I'm not happy about the war in Iraq, but does it affect me? Does my life improve if I protest and we end the war? Nah, probably not. I'll just go to work today, but I will think of the soldiers in Iraq.
That's good enough.
Americans will not riot until we have nothing left to lose, and for most people that's a lot of material wealth (that which we value, unfortunately).
But it can happen in a very short timeframe. We are in a recession, headed into depression. Foreclosures are making more Americans homeless each day.
As I look at the empty homes in my neighborhood, I am reminded that every homeless American is another potential rioter. A person who has had a taste of everything, and will fight to reclaim it. At some point, survival instinct kicks in and desperation overrules reason.
As I read the conspiracy forums, I see postings that separately sound like fantasy. However, when taken as a whole, they start weaving an intricate web of insight, recent events, cause and effect, and plans that, from a government's perspective (but not an individual citizen's perspective), make sense. Planning that the government must certainly be doing to prepare for what might happen if we reach certain milestones, such as 30% employment and rising, retirement savings and futures lost, rampant homelessness, beloved children and parents ill and dying without healthcare.
That's just the fear they must have of desperate Americans.
Add to that foreign interests and the now universal hatred of America and what we stand for, the havoc our Wall Street's greed has created in the world economy. It's nearly impossible to support what the government must certainly be planning, because it's not going to be pleasant. If even a fraction of the conspiracy theories are correct, there's a police state coming, because it will need to be to maintain order.
But it's hard to imagine that they're not actually planning this, creating their red, blue and yellow lists, detention camps, and using the Patriot Act to look for dissenters.
If you were in power, wouldn't you?
The Soviet Union fell, Rome fell, the British empire fell.
We too could fall.
We're no one special.
Just another momentary blink in the history of this planet.
We'll be gone and forgotten by the next blink.
-------------=
From an ---Anonymous Coward---
Last edited by beerface702 (2009-02-05 00:33:21)
