The 'We are the 53%' Tumblr is Heartbreaking

Forbes: Contributor E.D. Kain, 10/13/2011 @ 12:16PM

I have perused both the ‘We are the 99%’ Tumblr and the ‘We are the 53%’ Tumblr and I’ve come to this conclusion: the latter is far more heartbreaking than the former, if unintentionally so.

For one thing, most of the fifty-three-percenters are probably not actually in the 53%. Many describe a life of hardship, unemployment or underemployment, and dependence on government jobs and services. Take this one, for instance:



After this young woman’s father was diagnosed with thyroid cancer, he was told by the doctor to take it easy since he’s a manual laborer. Yet he went back to work full-time, working 12 hours a day, six days a week. She writes, “The cancer still grows. That is the American dream.”

Tell me this isn’t heartbreaking. Not just the story, but the sentiment.

The notion that this is the American dream, that men diagnosed with a horrible cancer should work 72 hours a week to support their families, is deeply tragic. There ought to be better visions of society than this.

I think that’s what the Occupy Wall Street protesters are saying: We should be able to craft a more human economy that doesn’t allow this sort of thing to happen, that rewards hard work and alleviates suffering and risk.

Source is FORBES, people. FORBES!!