If Only...

Friday, September 30, 2011

Link Round-Up: Attack on Yuppies Edition

In lieu of your regularly-scheduled blogging, I'm providing some links to places on the web where I've been wasting time lately.  Today's theme is what the the title suggests; all the following links tie in to the permeating cluelessness of the bourgeoisie.

And, as always, 8PP is in no way affiliated with the following sites, and therefore does not endorse 100% of their content.

First up, you may have heard of these guys in the news...Occupy Wall Street.  This is a group of peaceful protesters that, about two weeks ago, initiated a sit-in on Wall Street.  Their slogan is, "We are the 99%," referring to the way that the richest 1% in America own the majority of the wealth and therefore tend to get all the breaks.  The group is largely composed of kids who followed the American dream; went to college, studied hard, and graduated with a mountain of student debt and no job prospects in a failing economy.  (Sadly, an all-too-common story nowadays.)  They are trying to empower the masses and show that it's not the big banks who deserve the bailouts, but us working-class heroes.  Unfortunately, media coverage has been ignoring their message while focusing on the more sensational aspects, like the NYPD officer who pepper sprayed a group of penned in, non-resisting female protesters.

It's not all bad news, though.  The movement, largely grassroots, is gaining a lot of momentum on the ground, and Occupy Together is spreading across the country.  There is an opportunity in almost every state now for people to march on the major financial and government districts of their area.  If you're one of the 99%, you're in NC, and you're interested, and if you're down for some peaceful protesting (no Che Guevaras need apply), check out Occupy Charlotte, starting tomorrow.  I heard they're even arranging for carpool to help people get there.

This ties in well with my second link.  Spent.  Do you believe that most people facing homelessness are there because of bad decisions, character flaws, addiction, or mental illness?  Urban Ministries of Durham has some news for you.  To make the issue of poverty hit home for those who have been blessed enough to be clueless about it, they've come up with a computer game that simulates what it's really like to be poor.  You start off as an unemployed single parent who has recently lost their home.  You have $1,000 left in savings.  You have to take whatever crappy minimum wage job you can get, and try to make it through the month.  You have some tough choices to make, like whether you can afford to pay for your child to play sports, or if you are going to have the gas or the electric turned off, since you can't pay both bills.  It's depressing, but eye-opening.  Even if you make it to the end of the month with a little bit of money left, you don't really "win".  After all, the end of the month just means that rent is due tomorrow.  See if you can play the game without feeling a punch in your gut.  Good luck.

After you play Spent, you're going to need something to cheer you up.  And there's no better place to laugh at clueless yuppies than on STFU Parents.  Now, as the name would imply, there is going to be some profanity.  But the reality-based humor more than makes up for it.  This is a site where people can send in screencaps from Facebook of various moronic things parents have posted, whether it's TMI photos of baby poop or labor, or entitled whining from Moms who think the world should revolve around them, etc.  The funniest ones, to me at least, are where the ridiculously stuck-up stay-at-home trophy wife is bemoaning not getting her first choice in caterer's for her 1-year-old's birthday party that she invited 200 people to.  Seeing people like that complain about how hard life is after you played Spent is kind of hilarious, if frustrating.

Don't worry about these people being publicly embarrassed, however.  The blog moderator blocks out all the names so that no one can be identified by their post.  As an added bonus, see if you can see the "Mom's Gold Star" I got for the time I compared my toddler to a puppy!

I hope these links provide you enough entertainment until I can get back on a regular posting schedule.  I'm starting Clomid for a few days, so don't be surprised if the next update is a list of reasons why I hate every person I've ever met, but especially my husband.  (From all I hear, Clomid makes you murderously crazy and rage-filled.  Good times!)

Have a good weekend, everyone.

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