Dr. Guy, re: your comments to me: You may accuse me of crying victim hood all you like, (thats a jump in logic), and a mean spirited dig, (hows that for a jump in logic?). However, the point I was trying, apparently unsuccessfully, to make was simply this: the fact they you and your corporate 'friends' and doing fine in this 'economy,' does not necessarily mean the economy is working for all, or even most Americans. Indeed, it is not. Your little corner may be all hunky dory, well and good for you. But remember most people are not enterpreateur (spelling?) types, as apparently, you are. (More power to you!). But participation in, and benefiting from systematic economic, political, social, etc. systems that take advantage of people less intelligent, less educated, born with less family connections, born with less, or no inherited monies, born and reared in homes that are incredibly dis-functional, in part , because the only 'jobs' available are working 2 or 3 part time positions at mininum wage, etc. , does make you partially culpable. You, and i participate in it. Playing the individualism card is all fine and good - Horatio Alger myth, etc... (leaving off that the famous hero of 'pull yourself up by your bootstraps' stories, were actually veiled, read between the lines, man-young boy sex stories.) Anyway, go... cancel all your insurance, tell the fire department, and police, not to come to your home, etc. Refuse to accept any protection from the sons and daughters of the poor who die in uniform ... Point is, we all are connected in a vast web of relationships...some obvious, and some not so obvious. You and I both live in the web. You state that you and your friends have done well for yourselves. Bravo. But what you do affects the rest of us. What you say, how you vote, etc., all affect the rest of us. Not as victims, as you (in my opinion, callously) charged me, but as consequences that ripple through the web of life.
Is your home being foreclosed because you fell for one of those snake oil mortgage deals disguised as a government 'program.?" Is the government in the process of trying to 'privatize' your SS, etc., so that, being the simple souls most of us are, we can't make head 'n tail of the complicated legalize and dizzying array of financial products: and we get screwed? (or worse, the 'private enterprise/corp that our SS trust fund allotment end up in goes bankrupt, because of insider theft / embezzlement, etc.). Do you support efforts to get the damn feds out of intrusions into the 'so-called free market? How many more savings and loans must go under because of insider trading and corporate scheming? How many more banks must be collapsed by insider thieves? (The people of Iceland did the right thing, you want the money swindled from the Icelandic Bank - that caused it to collapse, go after the corporate thieves, not we citizens / and our public monies.)
You blithe comment that 'all is fine with me and my corporate friends,' made in the context of this thread, in the context of institutionalized slavery of foreigners, child laborers, who make many of the products American corps sell at obscene profits, company store-ism, and blatant in-humane abuse practiced as policy in that (forced) workplace of (Shezhen?) struck me, as rather self centered, if not down right selfish, but definitely callus. People who don't help you make money, directly, don't matter? Then you took opportunity to accuse me of playing the victim card. Well, my corporate friends and I got ours, proves all the rest of you who feel that the economic system is stacked against you are just plain wrong, and if you try to redress it an any collective fashion, or discussing it on a forum with someone who doesn't seem to understand all the connections, you are playing the victim card. Aren't corporations and political parties collectivized entities?
Finally, your comment, 'all is fine with me and my corporate friends,'(who probably pay you more that mininum wage) just came across, to me , as 'I got mine, who the hell cares if I care about anyone else?' OK, fine. You and your cabal may have a wonderful life, and you may do very well... but you do so well, in part, on the backs of, via the suffering of, at the expense of, and on the deaths of others whom you do not see becuase they are not living in the house next door. if you feel striving for 'fair trade' practices is crying 'victim',' so be it. If you feel my calling attention to your seemingly self-absorbed comment, while using your comment to imply there is nothing wrong with the system of webbed relationships we all participate in, and to justify the ever increasing amounts of wealth accumulating in the top 5% of American families, so be it. You may consider I am playing victim, but you, sir, came across as a callous, uncaring, selfish "i got mine, (and so do my corporate friends), so screw all of you," kind of person. OK, screw me, label me a victim. But you (and I) still benefit disproportionately (apparently you more than I - not that it truly matters) from the systemic, intentional, abuse, suffering, and just plain oppression of others. These 'others' may not live in your neighborhood. And, at least for now, the more egregious of these abuses are still, technically illegal, here in the USA. But you and I still benefit from their, to use your label, 'victim-hood,' from their suffering and deaths.
i am sure you are a wonderful, 'stand up' kinda guy, very polished, etc. You are fun at parties, and discuss, eloquently, all sorts of interesting things. You might even go to Rotary! And I am sure you lavish your love on your family. (This is not sarcasm...) But your callous disregard for the human costs, paid by others in the web of relationships in which we all participate, and from which you benefit disproportionately, truly sickens me. Your prosperous little corner exists, in part, because of the suffering, and deaths of others with less power, and fewer allies. But that does not matter, because you don't know me (us) (them) personally, so any benefits you derive, indirectly (via the web of relationships, from me (and other creatures of my ilk) are irrelevant to you. Such callousness will help transform the nice town in "its a wonderful Life," into a worldwide Pottersville.
I am so happy you and your corporate friends are doing so well. (seriously). Social Darwinism has served you well. But your callous disregard for others outside your immediate field of vision is very sad, and does not bode well for the rest of us. Good night and good luck.