The main stream media loves to have a narrative to follow in reporting the news. Often, it does not matter whether or not that narrative is true; it is still used. The narratives are particularly popular in the media when it comes to political questions. One popular but false narrative is that the Tea Party is racist. The truth is that the Tea Party opposes president Obama's programs for spending and borrowing without limit. That is a fiscal policy position, not a racial comment. Obama's policy would be just as stupid in the long run no matter what his race. Another phony narrative has now been clearly revealed: the Occupy Wall Street movement was a spontaneous outpouring of anger by those damaged in the recession in 2009. Put another way, the Occupy movement was finally giving voice to the downtrodden, the poor and the disenfranchised in our society. While this narrative always seemed phony since there seemed to be no support for the Occupy movement among the very groups from which we were told it arose, there is now definitive proof that the narrative is false.
Socialogists at the City University of New York did a detailed study of hundreds of people who participated in the ongoing demonstrations at the Occupy site in Manhattan. Manhattan, of course, was the home of Occupy Wall Street, hence the name. Before I report on the findings of the study, I want to take a moment to discuss the source. The City University of New York is about as liberal an institution as exists in the USA. The socialogy department at CUNY is one of the more liberal departments at this liberal university. In other words, any bias in the researchers was totally favorable to the Occupy movement. So here is what they found.
1) The movement was principally made up of non-Hispanic whites.
2) The movement was principally made up of the well educated, i.e., folks with college degrees.
3) The movement was principally made up of the wealthy.
So, rich, white, college-educated folks were the spontaneous outpouring of the downtrodden poor. Got it? Here is a bit of detail. Two-thirds of the regular demonstrators were non-hispanic white compared to only one-third of the residents in New York. Eighty percent of the regular demonstrators had finished college compared to less than half that amount in New York. Nearly forty percent of the regular demonstrators earned over $100,000 per year compared to about half that in New York.
Do you recall ever reading in the media about the Occupy movement as a group of rich white college graduates who were out there, in effect, demonstrating against themselves or their peers? I don't either.
The Occupy movement died long ago, so this research won't change anything. It is important to keep it in mind, however, next time the media decides on its next narrative glorifying some liberal group or demonizing some conservative group. Let me put it this way: people who support gun rights do not want to kill children; people who want to enforce immigration laws do not hate hispanics; people against abortion do not favor rape; people who want to support religious freedom are not against birth control. You get the picture.
Socialogists at the City University of New York did a detailed study of hundreds of people who participated in the ongoing demonstrations at the Occupy site in Manhattan. Manhattan, of course, was the home of Occupy Wall Street, hence the name. Before I report on the findings of the study, I want to take a moment to discuss the source. The City University of New York is about as liberal an institution as exists in the USA. The socialogy department at CUNY is one of the more liberal departments at this liberal university. In other words, any bias in the researchers was totally favorable to the Occupy movement. So here is what they found.
1) The movement was principally made up of non-Hispanic whites.
2) The movement was principally made up of the well educated, i.e., folks with college degrees.
3) The movement was principally made up of the wealthy.
So, rich, white, college-educated folks were the spontaneous outpouring of the downtrodden poor. Got it? Here is a bit of detail. Two-thirds of the regular demonstrators were non-hispanic white compared to only one-third of the residents in New York. Eighty percent of the regular demonstrators had finished college compared to less than half that amount in New York. Nearly forty percent of the regular demonstrators earned over $100,000 per year compared to about half that in New York.
Do you recall ever reading in the media about the Occupy movement as a group of rich white college graduates who were out there, in effect, demonstrating against themselves or their peers? I don't either.
The Occupy movement died long ago, so this research won't change anything. It is important to keep it in mind, however, next time the media decides on its next narrative glorifying some liberal group or demonizing some conservative group. Let me put it this way: people who support gun rights do not want to kill children; people who want to enforce immigration laws do not hate hispanics; people against abortion do not favor rape; people who want to support religious freedom are not against birth control. You get the picture.
No comments:
Post a Comment