Charissa Cotrill's Blog, page 211
October 13, 2011
ginamak:
marleymagaziner:
slacktory:
I am the 2%.
Fact.
I...
I am the 2%.
Fact.
I admit it: I laughed.
I giggled, too. ADMIT IT YOU'RE CALLED SKIM BECAUSE YOU SKIMMED OFF THE REST OF THE MILK
wearethe99percent:
I am from an upper-middle class family. I am...
I am from an upper-middle class family. I am graduating from college this fall. I am fortunate enough to have a job. I am fortunate enough to have parents that can aid me with unexpected costs. I am fortunate enough to live in a state that has full scholarships dependent on GPA so I have no student debt. I DO NOT deserve more than anyone else because I have been this lucky. I feel responsible for my fellow human-beings. WE ARE THE 99%. WE ARE ALL HUMAN—CORPORATIONS ARE NOT!!
How did this start because I WANT TO BE IN ONE.
How did this start because I WANT TO BE IN ONE.
Max Udargo - Open Letter to that 53% Guy
Hello,
I briefly visited the "We are the 53%" website, but I first saw your face on a liberal...
October 12, 2011
That second gif is hilarious when you've just finished...
That second gif is hilarious when you've just finished doing a Portal run-through. XD ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: Long (Time) Jump
OMG AURORAE
October 11, 2011
travellyr:
my1stgirlfriendturnedintothemoon:
kan-kara-rindo:
b...
my1stgirlfriendturnedintothemoon:
You know, I really hate politics. I'm not even actually a part of this movement at all. But I just cannot stay silent about this.
It is not this easy for everyone, and I think that OP is absolutely wrong to blame people for their own "bad decisions". Sure, there are people who do make bad decisions with their finances, but what about the people who don't have the means to save? My family's never had the finances to save for my college tuition, and the things that they DID do went down the toilet once the market crashed. And my parents work fucking hard. My dad wakes up at ass-o'clock in the morning and works in a potentially dangerous environment to provide for me and my mother and sister, and while my mom's got a much better job, she works just as hard as he does. Yeah, my dad didn't finish college. Yeah, my mom didn't become a doctor like she wanted to. Does this mean that I should be blamed for things that they did or didn't do years before I was born? Does that mean that someone who made a mistake years and years ago should be blamed for that and made to suffer for the rest of their lives? Furthermore, who the fuck are you to judge people for not finishing school or not? It's a choice that should be made available to everyone, but that's the key: it's a choice. My parents do what they can to provide for me and my sister and that's enough.
Also? I simply don't have the time to work. I'm also taking way too many classes as well as teaching a class. My hours also don't coincide with a normal working day; my classes are all over the place on my schedule. (Which isn't my fault. Required courses have a way of being scheduled for inconvenient times.) I can't pay for my loans right now and I know for a fact that I'll have a bunch of debt to look forward to in the future. OP is incredibly lucky on the scholarship front—scholarships not a be-all end-all way to solve your loan problems, which I know for a fact: I've gotten scholarships all throughout the time I've been in college and I'd be lucky if they paid for half of my tuition. Not to mention the cost of books. I've actually been forced to cut costs by not buying any textbooks this semester and reading everything online. Oh, and another point to add—you haven't considered people who are physically/mentally unable to work, or are discriminated against in finding a job, or just can't find a job because the job market sucks right now.
I think my lifestyle's humble enough. I don't buy too many things for myself, except food and books, and I live with 2 roommates in a small apartment to save. I go to a public university, too. I had amazing grades in high school and I've got okay grades now, though they could be better, but I'm still struggling financially and I'm still going to be covered in debt once my 4+ years are up.
Tl;dr?
The American Dream is just that: a dream. Sometimes people get lucky. But more often than not, the system doesn't work. We struggle. We do what we can to get by. It. Isn't. Easy.
I am a student. I'm in debt. I'm going to work to get myself out of it, but like it or not, I am the 99%.
So hi, I love Danni and she's brilliant.
Danni said it perfectly.
I'm not the 99% due simply to the facts that 1) I literally am living off of my mother right now and 2) in less than a month I'll be a paid member of the United States Army and I'm starting off debt free and with an advanced paygrade
Not everyone is that lucky; not everyone can be financially supported by their parents, not everyone can just join the military, not everyone can get a scholarship, not everyone can afford to save up, not everyone can get a job, etc. There are more things than "laziness" that cause debt, too—unexpected deaths that mean high funeral expenses, sudden accidents or injuries or discovered illnesses that cause high hospital bills and expensive prescriptions, layoffs, etc. Every single person is different and has a different story and has experienced different turns of luck.
Just because you were fortunate enough to be able to stay debt free (whether you "worked your ass off" or not) doesn't mean you should blame the 99% for not being as fortunate.
The thing that redeems the privilege is the incredibly thoughtful conversations that are coming from it.
Keep it up.
