Do Not Occupy Wall Street; Occupy Church Instead!

Page 1 of 4 [ 53 posts ]  Go to page 1, 2, 3, 4  Next

Fnord
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 6 May 2008
Age: 66
Gender: Male
Posts: 59,750
Location: Stendec

15 Oct 2011, 4:09 pm

It seems to me that this whole "Occupy Wall Street" effort (and its various me-too spinoffs) is stuck in neutral.

I mean, there is not one, single billionaire that has given his or her money to the poor, yet the movement seems to be spreading to places where the wealthy live and work.

But the Occupiers are missing something.

What about those places where the wealthy go to worship?

Think about it: look at all of those glass and steel monuments to human greed and gullibility, and ask yourself, "How much did that cost?"

Then ask yourself, "Why didn't they spend the money on the poor instead?"

It is my opinion, that any religion that spends money on prime real-estate and builds anything* that is not for housing the homeless is - in reality - stealing land, housing, and money from the very people that need it the most.

Thus, I urge all of those who feel that withholding wealth from the poor is unfair, unethical, and immoral to go down to the nearest religious facility and occupy it as soon as it opens its doors. Stay there until the religious leaders start forking over some of the wealth that they should have given to you already - money that they've stolen from their believers and kept from you under the guise of Worship.

The wealthy may be inaccessible, but their Sabbath-Day Country Clubs* are not.

(*Churches, mosques, temples or other religion-based facilities that are considered tax-free)


_________________
 
No love for Hamas, Hezbollah, Iranian Leadership, Islamic Jihad, other Islamic terrorist groups, OR their supporters and sympathizers.


ruveyn
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 21 Sep 2008
Age: 87
Gender: Male
Posts: 31,502
Location: New Jersey

15 Oct 2011, 4:11 pm

Fnord wrote:

Thus, I urge all of those who feel that withholding wealth from the poor is unfair, unethical, and immoral to go down to the nearest religious facility and occupy it as soon as it opens its doors. Stay there until the religious leaders start forking over some of the wealth that they should have given to you already - money that they've stolen from their believers and kept from you under the guise of Worship.



No one is under any legal or ethical obligation to help the poor. It is a nice gesture and one should do it if the spirit moves, but one's own money is one's own.

ruveyn



Fnord
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 6 May 2008
Age: 66
Gender: Male
Posts: 59,750
Location: Stendec

15 Oct 2011, 4:24 pm

ruveyn wrote:
Fnord wrote:
Thus, I urge all of those who feel that withholding wealth from the poor is unfair, unethical, and immoral to go down to the nearest religious facility and occupy it as soon as it opens its doors. Stay there until the religious leaders start forking over some of the wealth that they should have given to you already - money that they've stolen from their believers and kept from you under the guise of Worship.
No one is under any legal or ethical obligation to help the poor. It is a nice gesture and one should do it if the spirit moves, but one's own money is one's own.

True - an individual's legally-obtained wealth is his or her own. I have no dispute with that.

I am referring instead to the fact that many religious groups take up collections for the expressed or implied purpose of "Helping the Poor", and then use that money instead for new office furniture, investments, and six-figure salaries for their leaders.

This would be called "Fraud" and "Theft" and "Usury" in a secular organization, but for some strange reason, legal authorities seem reluctant to get involved when religious leaders divert funds from the poor to themselves - unless, of course, there is evidence of gross immorality or violence on the part of those same religious leaders.

I have to wonder why the Occupiers are wasting their time and effort on the financial businesses on Wall Street, when there are churches all over Manhattan that rake in more money on one Sunday than most poor people see in an entire year!

Which is worse: The thief in the business suit that makes his wealth off the sweat of the people working under him, or the thief in the pulpit who promises eternal bliss in exchange for ten percent of your wages?


_________________
 
No love for Hamas, Hezbollah, Iranian Leadership, Islamic Jihad, other Islamic terrorist groups, OR their supporters and sympathizers.


Vexcalibur
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 17 Jan 2008
Age: 39
Gender: Male
Posts: 5,398

15 Oct 2011, 5:35 pm

That's silly. You can get rid of the Church problem by not going to it and paying its fines. You can't get rid of the government and wall street problem by stopping being a citizen cause you'll still pay taxes and stuff. Occupiers are not very bright but the whole occupy church idea is non-sense.


_________________
.


blauSamstag
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 5 Apr 2011
Age: 48
Gender: Male
Posts: 3,026

15 Oct 2011, 5:40 pm

i am pretty sure that most people in the finance industry worship the almighty buck, and wall street is their temple.



Fnord
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 6 May 2008
Age: 66
Gender: Male
Posts: 59,750
Location: Stendec

15 Oct 2011, 6:13 pm

Vexcalibur wrote:
Occupiers are not very bright but the whole occupy church idea is non-sense.

Is it any more nonsensical than...

... having unmarketable skills and expecting businesses to hire you anyway?

... believing that giving 10% of your gross weekly pay to someone in a glorified bathrobe will somehow buy you a place in heaven?

... getting angry because someone in or from a foreign country can do your former job faster, cheaper, and better than you ever could?

... getting arrested for illegally occupying the offices of a potential employer, and then blaming that employer for not hiring you because of your police record?

Churches have the money that they are supposed to share with the poor (according to the Bible). Withholding this money is stealing from the poor. The poor should occupy churches and demand what's theirs.


_________________
 
No love for Hamas, Hezbollah, Iranian Leadership, Islamic Jihad, other Islamic terrorist groups, OR their supporters and sympathizers.


blauSamstag
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 5 Apr 2011
Age: 48
Gender: Male
Posts: 3,026

15 Oct 2011, 7:34 pm

Fnord wrote:
Vexcalibur wrote:
Occupiers are not very bright but the whole occupy church idea is non-sense.

Is it any more nonsensical than...

... having unmarketable skills and expecting businesses to hire you anyway?

... believing that giving 10% of your gross weekly pay to someone in a glorified bathrobe will somehow buy you a place in heaven?

... getting angry because someone in or from a foreign country can do your former job faster, cheaper, and better than you ever could?

... getting arrested for illegally occupying the offices of a potential employer, and then blaming that employer for not hiring you because of your police record?

Churches have the money that they are supposed to share with the poor (according to the Bible). Withholding this money is stealing from the poor. The poor should occupy churches and demand what's theirs.


I think you unfairly mischaracterize many of the protestors.

many of them have marketable skills but the market for such skills is smaller than it was 4 years ago.

overseas contractors are often just cheaper.

I don't know that any of them expect to work where they have protested



Oodain
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 30 Jan 2011
Age: 33
Gender: Male
Posts: 5,022
Location: in my own little tamarillo jungle,

15 Oct 2011, 7:56 pm

the occupation has spread to many countries now, denmark too apearantly,
anonymous costumes were worn en masse here for some reason.


_________________
//through chaos comes complexity//

the scent of the tamarillo is pungent and powerfull,
woe be to the nose who nears it.


Inuyasha
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 12 Jan 2009
Age: 41
Gender: Male
Posts: 9,745

15 Oct 2011, 8:01 pm

blauSamstag wrote:
Fnord wrote:
Vexcalibur wrote:
Occupiers are not very bright but the whole occupy church idea is non-sense.

Is it any more nonsensical than...

... having unmarketable skills and expecting businesses to hire you anyway?

... believing that giving 10% of your gross weekly pay to someone in a glorified bathrobe will somehow buy you a place in heaven?

... getting angry because someone in or from a foreign country can do your former job faster, cheaper, and better than you ever could?

... getting arrested for illegally occupying the offices of a potential employer, and then blaming that employer for not hiring you because of your police record?

Churches have the money that they are supposed to share with the poor (according to the Bible). Withholding this money is stealing from the poor. The poor should occupy churches and demand what's theirs.


I think you unfairly mischaracterize many of the protestors.

many of them have marketable skills but the market for such skills is smaller than it was 4 years ago.

overseas contractors are often just cheaper.

I don't know that any of them expect to work where they have protested


That isn't exactly the fault of the businesses if they don't make a profit or worse are losing money they go out of business.

The cold hard truth is businesses have to be able to compete against foreign companies or we end up with companies moving overseas so they don't go under.



Vigilans
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 19 Jun 2008
Age: 35
Gender: Male
Posts: 12,181
Location: Montreal

15 Oct 2011, 8:03 pm

Oodain wrote:
the occupation has spread to many countries now, denmark too apearantly,
anonymous costumes were worn en masse here for some reason.


I heard the guy fawkes masks were somewhat popular here too in the Occupy Montreal protests


_________________
Opportunities multiply as they are seized. -Sun Tzu
Nature creates few men brave, industry and training makes many -Machiavelli
You can safely assume that you've created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do


Inuyasha
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 12 Jan 2009
Age: 41
Gender: Male
Posts: 9,745

15 Oct 2011, 8:17 pm

Vigilans wrote:
Oodain wrote:
the occupation has spread to many countries now, denmark too apearantly,
anonymous costumes were worn en masse here for some reason.


I heard the guy fawkes masks were somewhat popular here too in the Occupy Montreal protests


Hope the situation in Canada doesn't end up like the situation in Rome.



pandabear
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 16 Aug 2007
Age: 65
Gender: Male
Posts: 9,402

15 Oct 2011, 8:26 pm

Ah, what started as the Arab Spring is now rolling into the American Fall.

Someone should write some folk songs.



Master_Pedant
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 14 Mar 2009
Age: 32
Gender: Male
Posts: 4,903

15 Oct 2011, 8:29 pm

The original poster epitomizes the intellectual laziness of whiny businessmen who are scared over the occupy wall street protests and fixate on coming up with strawman to smear it. Any cursory glance at the various organizing parties makes it resolutely clear that buying politicians, engaging in regulatory capture, and getting the state to bail themselves out with taxpayer money.


_________________
http://www.voterocky.org/


blauSamstag
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 5 Apr 2011
Age: 48
Gender: Male
Posts: 3,026

15 Oct 2011, 8:52 pm

Inuyasha wrote:
blauSamstag wrote:
Fnord wrote:
Vexcalibur wrote:
Occupiers are not very bright but the whole occupy church idea is non-sense.

Is it any more nonsensical than...

... having unmarketable skills and expecting businesses to hire you anyway?

... believing that giving 10% of your gross weekly pay to someone in a glorified bathrobe will somehow buy you a place in heaven?

... getting angry because someone in or from a foreign country can do your former job faster, cheaper, and better than you ever could?

... getting arrested for illegally occupying the offices of a potential employer, and then blaming that employer for not hiring you because of your police record?

Churches have the money that they are supposed to share with the poor (according to the Bible). Withholding this money is stealing from the poor. The poor should occupy churches and demand what's theirs.


I think you unfairly mischaracterize many of the protestors.

many of them have marketable skills but the market for such skills is smaller than it was 4 years ago.

overseas contractors are often just cheaper.

I don't know that any of them expect to work where they have protested


That isn't exactly the fault of the businesses if they don't make a profit or worse are losing money they go out of business.

The cold hard truth is businesses have to be able to compete against foreign companies or we end up with companies moving overseas so they don't go under.


Funny you should say that because by off-shoring work, Good Patriotic American Companies are gradually becoming these foreign companies you say they have to compete against.



Fnord
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 6 May 2008
Age: 66
Gender: Male
Posts: 59,750
Location: Stendec

15 Oct 2011, 8:59 pm

Master_Pedant wrote:
The original poster epitomizes the intellectual laziness of whiny businessmen who are scared over the occupy wall street protests and fixate on coming up with strawman to smear it...

Wrong again.

I see nothing being accomplished by the Occupiers, due mainly to the fact that the top 1% on the wealth scale is inaccessible to the occupiers. Let them stand all day on Wall Street, and they'll not see a single billionaire.

But turn them loose in a place like the Crystal Cathedral, and they'll be shoulder-to-shoulder with dozens of Orange County millionaires, in addition to being in close proximity to the Schuller family, which has been siphoning off funds from the collection plate for the last half-century.

All I'm saying is that the Occupiers are shooting too high and wasting their effort, when they could simply show up at some gilded edifice to human greed and gullibility, park themselves in the pews for a few days, and maybe even get paid to leave.

I'd tell those people to go where the money is going - to the tax-exempt deductions that the rich people use to pad their income tax reports - go to the churches, the mosques, the temples ... go to those places and stay as long as you can. Make a statement against foolish, wasteful donations to meaningless institutions. Take a stand for science instead of superstition.


_________________
 
No love for Hamas, Hezbollah, Iranian Leadership, Islamic Jihad, other Islamic terrorist groups, OR their supporters and sympathizers.


Vexcalibur
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 17 Jan 2008
Age: 39
Gender: Male
Posts: 5,398

15 Oct 2011, 9:07 pm

Fnord wrote:
Vexcalibur wrote:
Occupiers are not very bright but the whole occupy church idea is non-sense.

Is it any more nonsensical than...

... having unmarketable skills and expecting businesses to hire you anyway?

... believing that giving 10% of your gross weekly pay to someone in a glorified bathrobe will somehow buy you a place in heaven?

... getting angry because someone in or from a foreign country can do your former job faster, cheaper, and better than you ever could?

... getting arrested for illegally occupying the offices of a potential employer, and then blaming that employer for not hiring you because of your police record?

Yes, it is definitely more nonsensical than that.


_________________
.