Occupy the Board Room!

Occupy the Boardroom! | 28  

To Whom It May Concern,

I write to you today to express my grievances. 
I do not blame you for choices I have made in my life. I was fully aware that I wanted to be an artist and that, oftentimes, that meant that I would be on the poor side. I have been and will continue to be ever-welcoming of this.

It is often misunderstood that, in this day and age, if you are not money hungry, you are lazy. I would like you to know that I am not. I have worked my entire adult life. All of it. I have never been on unemployment. I held jobs while I was in high school and college. And, after, I put in long hours to pay my rent and bills, so that I can have the remaining hours to work on my craft. 

And, with all of that, I have only occasionally had the luxury of healthcare. 

My fiancee has worked her entire life as well and, as an artist, she, too worked with the same understanding as I-that we would not always and maybe never have much money. But, we love what we do. Two years ago, she slipped on black ice and injured her back so severely that she could not turn her head for months after and is currently still working to gain her strength back. We did not have healthcare then. We are still struggling to pay bills back. 

And, again, I say this not to blame you for accidents or choices. I say this for you to understand that we are not asking to be rich. We are not wanting communism. We want to be able to see doctors and afford food and housing. 

I'd like you to look some of us in the eyes and say we and our families do not deserve that.

My older brother has a wife and three kids and has worked the same job since graduating high school. He is a skilled craftsman, but is in danger of losing his job now. He and his wife work full time and more to support their three kids. They need more space as their children grow. But, the housing market and my brother's job situation prevents them from doing so. I see that my brother's eyes are tired and stressed. My father passed away young from a heart condition that was compounded by stress-the stress of raising a family and serving our country for almost two decades in the navy. And I look at my brother and see what it is to keep a young family afloat in our time. 

No one in my family profited from stocks or investing in toxic mortgages. And, yet, we have bailed you out from your involvement. We have bailed you out with our hard-earned money that could have gone towards healthcare, that could have gone to children's educations, that could have gone to food or a home. And we have received nothing back. We have been bled dry so that you do not go bankrupt. 
And your attitude towards us remains indifferent.  

You honestly feel that the piles of money and profits that you sit on are all your hard-earned dollars. And you have the gall to balk at the idea of paying us back. 

You have corrupted our government so that no one holds you accountable for the destruction that you have done. And I do not hold you accountable for that. I hold our government and its poor morals and standards accountable for that.

But, I do hold you accountable for the pollution of our economy and our environment. What I see from you is a hellbent lack of consideration for humanity.

And you can sit and pretend that everyone is lazy. You can sit and pretend that dumping pollutants into our water system and into our air (because its cheaper that way) only affect the "poor" and "lazy" people who cannot afford proper healthcare or the proper education to get themselves out of the ghettoes you created for them.

But, these things that you do will and do affect you and your family. And, if you cannot see that and refuse to change, refuse to see that what the 99% ask for is not your wealth but the slightest bit of a nod to show that you actually give a shit about anyone else but yourself, I pray that you are prepared to look your children in the eye and beg for their forgiveness for destroying the future of the world and environment that they live in. 

Sincerely,
Shane Portman



Shane Portman

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