Liberals Bashing Upper Middle Class Workers=Bashing Union Workers Who Get Benefits

[KittyWampus]

You know the types who bash union workers for getting benefits when THEY don't get any? Rather than fight for all working Americans to get benefits?

Liberals who attack upper middle class Americans who are working and making a good living do the same thing.

I live in an area where I am surrounded by those barely scraping by, professional singles/couples making six figures each and living comfortably and those who are best described as Supra-rich. The Supra-rich who own several mansions, with staff, helicopters and private planes.... the ones you pretty much never see in a grocery store shopping for themselves.

There is a serious disconnect amongst liberals who insist on attacking those who freaking EARN their salaries as if they were those who are truly in the upper echelons. Maybe some liberals are clueless and have never been exposed to the Supra-rich? I really don't know. But this sick attitude where some liberals insist on attacking anyone who is doing better than them has got to stop.

The problem isn't working professionals who are doing well. The problem is the Supra-rich who refuse to pay proportional taxes, who are completely cut off from the rest of us and who actively work to keep the majority of working class Americans from getting ahead.

[RaleighNCDUer]

1. Define 'liberals'. nt

[KittyWampus]

2. I'm not going to be mores specific because then it becomes a "call out" on DU-

although maybe I will go as far as saying Leftists posting on the internet.

[Donnachaidh]

11. so this is a non-specific call out of some DUers

:rofl: :rofl:

[myrna minx]

3. Stupid fucking commies. Why don't they just go back to Russia.

:eyes:

[KittyWampus]

4. Maybe they should grow up and focus on the REAL problem.

[myrna minx]

So - ahem -"they" should focus on a passive aggressive post whose premise is

a straw man argument?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straw_man

A straw man is a component of an argument and is an informal fallacy based on misrepresentation of an opponent's position.<1> To "attack a straw man" is to create the illusion of having refuted a proposition by substituting it with a superficially similar yet unequivalent proposition (the "straw man"), and refuting it, without ever having actually refuted the original position.

[Demit]

5. You know, your rant really should include specifics, otherwise it's meaningless.

Not to mention you do the same thing you are decrying. Vaguely complaining about 'those' people 'attacking' you. I assume you mean you. I assume you mean you earn your salary. So what's the cutoff point? What income does someone have to have so that, by you, it's okay to complain about them? I'm seriously asking. Apparently you feel aggrieved on behalf of the people under this cutoff point. So what is it?

And 'Supra' was an old Toyota car.

[KittyWampus]

6. I said six figures. And I make 12,000 a year. So no, it's not attacking me. And you don't like the

term "supra-rich' cause the supra was a toyota? Wow, that's some great commentary.

[Demit]

12. So it's ok to 'attack' people making six figures? All righty then!

And, lol, I didn't say I didn't like your term. I just think it's silly, an attempt to coin a phrase for no particular reason. Supra is not a real word. What's wrong with the normal spelling?

[Zorra]

7. What liberals are attacking upper middle class Americans?

Do you have some specific source(s) you can post where liberals are attacking upper middle class Americans?

This is not a hostile post; just interested in the info.

Thanks!

[KittyWampus]

8. Liberals on the internet is as specific as it gets. And there are a lot of them who attack

working professionals who make $500,000 annually.

[RaleighNCDUer]

17. Actually, that's not what you said. You said 'upper middle class

working professionals.'

You are aware that anyone with a half-million income is not upper-middle class - that's solidly in the top 2%. By what calculation is the 98th percentile 'middle'?

At that income level, it might also help to define 'work'.

And perhaps, while you are clarifying, define "bash" and "attack".

[BobbyBoring]

27. I have no problem with anyone that makes 7 figures

as long as they do it honestly. There's nothing wrong with making a good living. It's when you have to steal from others using accounting sleight of hand like some have done that I draw the line.

[Skidmore]

9. It would help if the upper middle class worker would

extend a hand back to help those who do not have the same benefits rather than casting their lots with the Supra-rich.

[KittyWampus]

10. A lot of the people I know donate time and money and vote Democratic. So what exactly

do you mean "extend a hand back bla bla bla"?

[Skidmore]

13. Time, money, and voting don't mean a darned thing

if they are unwilling to support strikes or organizing other workers in their place of employment. Those actions give power to workers. I've worked places where white collar workers sought individual contracts separate from the "rank and file" and were treated like and considered themselves to be the equals of management even though they weren't. They would actively collude with management to undermine the efforts of the blue collar worker to gain good contracts because the blue collar worker was considered to be competition for them.

[Demit]

15. Look out, Skidmore! The OP is asking you to be specific, while s/he stays vague.

That's classic, that is. A person responds to the premise of an angry post and they're the one who has to be on the defensive.

[PassingFair]

21. Ask her how she feels about inheritance tax. n/t

[Skidmore]

24. ???

What?

[Demit]

30. sorry to sound unclear

I was noting how your response to the angry OP was a thoughtful one & contained an actual specific idea, yet the OP not only ridiculed it with the "blah blah" comment, but also was demanding you to be specific. I thought the ridicule was a cheap shot, but demanding something from you that s/he won't do herself flat pissed me off.

Does that make sense?

[Skidmore]

31. Thank you for clarifying.

It makes sense and I agree with you.

[NNN0LHI]

16. I have offered to help people to organize and become unionized here before to get the same benefits

I started threads offering my help to become organized. Others have as well. It was met with </crickets>. What else can we do?

Any suggestions?

Don

[lukasahero]

18. I would also like to know what you mean by "extend a hand"

And why you think that's not already happening...?

[Skidmore]

20. See my response #15.

[lukasahero]

33. If I'm reading this right, you didn't write response #15

And since that one basically says "oh no, don't answer that", I'm wondering if you should have just told me to f off? :shrug:

[Skidmore]

34. Sorry, took the number from the wrong line. That would be #13.

[Spider Jerusalem]

14. "Upper middle class" doesn't mean what you think it means.

The upper middle class consists of physicians, attorneys, accountants, and management types. If you get paid by the hour, and if your job requires you to stand and not sit? You're not middle class, you're working class.

Part of the problem with the political discourse in America is that politicians have been lying to people for decades and telling them they're "middle class" when they aren't, eliminating the idea of "working class" and indeed any meaningful class consciousness. (Which also explains why something like 25%-40% of Americans erroneously believe they're in the top 10% of income earners.)

[quinnox]

19. supra-rich huh

lol

The common "super rich" is much better IMHO. I have never heard of "supra" before though, got to admit you made me look it up and it is an appropriate use of the word, but come on...

[Demit]

26. I should think they'd be at least Mercedes Benz-rich, if not Jaguar or Lamborghini-rich.

Supra is kind of down-market by comparison. :)

[Demit]

22. "some liberals insist on attacking anyone who is doing better than them"

Isn't that what you're doing? Don't your 'supra' rich do better than you?

I assume you are talking about real people, because you say you live in an area where you are surrounded by them, those 'supra' rich, and presumably are exposed to them. Even though you don't see them at the grocery store, and they are cut off from you. But you know how many mansions they own. Perhaps, with such keen powers of observation, next time you'll deign to cite a few 'liberals on the internet' who are doing the bashing of the people who earn their (according to you) rightful salaries. Or at least quote what the meanie liberals said.

[DainBramaged]

23. It's the anti-Union screed here too, and you can't get a +rec here because they are so hateful

So many here who think the word Union is bad, just like Made in America. Selfish fools all.

[Armstead]

25. Um, that's a handy generalization but it is just a reinforcement of the right wing memes

You may have the kernal of a point there, regarding some on "the left" who are excessivelty dogmatic. However, by focusing on that, you are exaggerating a very minor problem while reinforcing right wing crappy stereotypes.

Most liberals and progressives do not "bash" people who are simply affluent.

However, there is something wrong with a system that allows some people to make huge pots of money (and $500,000 is a huge pot of money) while others who work just as hard at jobs that are not lucrative can barely make ends meet on a modest level.

The system -- both in terms of politics and in social values -- has created a dog-eat-dog situation where people have to become meaner to survive, much less succeed. And often people choose to become meaner to be more than simply comfortable.

It also boils down to individual factors. Someone who is affluent because they worked their butt off to build a business that provides a useful quality product, who treats their workers well and gives consumers a fair deal and who is politically aware and who supports worthy causes is a lot different than someone with an exploitative business, or who lucked into a cushy "financial services" position. Also doctors, lawyers or other professionals who behave with a sense of social consciousness are a lot different that those who gouges people for needed services.

[blondeatlast]

29. +1 and very well said. nt

[athenasatanjesus]

32. +2

[TheKentuckian]

28. Define "attack". I don't consider it an attack to support raising taxes on the top 20%

Nor is it an "attack" to think too many "upper middle class" voters throw in their lot with the wealthy and the multi-nationals rather than with labor and the poor.