What I Learned Yesterday.

Hi.

Yesterday I started a thread criticizing the Occupy Movement.

A few of you got a little upset with my viewpoint and that’s okay. Just because I don’t share your political point of view doesn’t make me a bad person though some of you are convinced otherwise.

I asked a simple question for which I never did get an answer. Instead I received replies from a bunch of people who think it's okay to blame the banks because they accepted loans they were unable to repay. As I stated in that thread nobody had a problem with the bankers when they loaned the money. When the banks wanted the money back is when people became angry.

You did teach me something. I learned people really do follow the leader. They repeat what they hear and always want to be part of the majority. It doesn’t matter if the majority is right people just want to be patted on the back and told they’re right and part of the group.

The replies I received were worded many different ways but most of the time the message was the same. That message was that people don’t really understand the Occupy Movement or if they do they can’t explain the ideology to outsiders.

I was called a “Troll” and I’m sure in some minds I was being called much worse. I don’t care because I know it’s not true. It’s easier to dismiss those who question your beliefs than it is to explain why you believe. I am a little disappointed with the response but I am becoming familiar with feeling disappointed.

In closing I will say I was not swayed in the least. The responses were more effective at reinforcing how I feel than to change my mind.

I hope some of you will do some research and find out how this radical movement began and who is really running the show. During my time on this planet I have learned that people who become angry when you ask questions are the people who usually have something to hide.

Peace.
Happy Halloween.
Be Safe. Be Prepared.

Originally posted by cavalryscout

You did teach me something. I learned people really do follow the leader. They repeat what they hear and always want to be part of the majority. It doesn’t matter if the majority is right people just want to be patted on the back and told they’re right and part of the group.

And that is how the term "Sheeple" came about. And people from both sides of any argument use it.

When people use that term or troll or any accusary racist language, I disengage as that is a sign of a closed mind.

reply to post by cavalryscout


I have learned to just stay away from such threads. People want you to agree that everything is the bank's fault, and if you try to tell them that they knew that they could not afford an expensive house and yet took the loan anyway they become ferocious!

It seems that everyone thinks they are entitled to the best of everything- RIGHT NOW!- and they'll worry about figuring out how to pay for it later. Then when they can't it's "the big, bad bank's fault". Sorry- you can't eat steak every night on a Ramen Noodle budget. If you don't read the fine print or you don't understand the math and sign the contract anyway it is your own fault and nobody else's.

When people have lost their jobs and can't pay their bills it's sad, but if you can't pay your mortgage you lose your house. You signed a contract, and when you default on that contract what do you expect- that the bank is just going to feel bad for you and GIVE you the house? Life doesn't work that way.

Now flame on, flamers- flame on!

reply to post by littled16




It is sooooo true.

I'm not judging people but some of the actions of the "occupy movement" were ridiculous. Stop blaming and take responsibility for your actions.

It is unfortunate when somebody loses their home and I feel bad for them but people need to live within their means. If you want a nice house and a nice car then you have to work for it and most of the time you have to work very hard.

I know there aren't many high paying jobs right now but that doesn't mean you just stop paying your bills.

P.S. - I've witnessed the wrath of the 'attack kitten' you've been warned.

reply to post by cavalryscout


When I was younger I was still building my credit and I bought a car from a dealership. It was an $8,000.00 car and, because I had no credit, I agreed to pay $270.00 every two weeks in payment.

Three years later, give or take a few months, I met a woman and we moved in together. I was the kind of guy who just whipped out checks to whatever bill was in the stack - without caring. She was the daughter of an accountant who nit picked every single line of every single bill. She was going through everything one night and she got confused and asked me how much I paid for my POS Chevy Cavalier.

I replied "Eight grand, why?"

She replied "Because you've already paid $22.000 for it and you've still got nearly two years left on the loan."

Long story short - I fought the bank, the bank simply showed up and took the car one night. I got a letter, a month or two later, saying that they'd sold it, at auction, for a few thousand and that I owed them the remaining balance due ( I think it was roughly $11k more ).

Nearly $40.000 dollars for an $8.000 car. And even at $8,000 the dealership and bank were going to make their profit margin on the sale.

Bringing this all together. This is the same thing that banks did with houses to a great many people who got duped by variable rate mortgages and loans. It was predatory lending, plain and simple. They sold those houses to people with questionable credit because they made enormous amounts of money in the process. Money that just evaporated, off of the records through the use of exotic derivatives.

It was a scam and the tax payers ended up holding the bag.

Sure, quite a few people got caught holding onto more debt than they could afford. But many others were paying their bills - until the economy crunched - and got caught up in the BS. Innocent victims of both extremes - the rich and the poor alike.

Right now the banks are crying poverty and playing the victim. But here's the catch. Property values will rise again, once we get past the recession... and the banks? They're sitting on a fortune just waiting to be resold. Houses that previous tenants paid for over years.

It's a shame that good people in the middle got squeezed out.

~Heff

reply to post by Hefficide


Okay. To begin I'm sorry you got screwed. I know bankers are often less than honest or lets say they don't explain the details of a loan as thoroughly as they should.

If a person takes out a $250,000 loan for a house it is their responsibility to research the contract they're signing. If you need to spend a few hundred dollars and hire a lawyer to explain the contract then that's what you should do.
(Boy, lawyers and bankers what a combo.)

I didn't take out a loan but yet my taxes are bailing out the banks because people who borrowed the money can't repay the loan. That isn't fair but I'm not going to go sit in a park and whine about the situation.

That's where I have a problem it's the reaction from these people.

How would you feel if you loaned your buddy $1,000 and he says sorry Heff I lost my job so I decided I'm not going to pay you that $1,000? Then if you get pissed he goes and tells people you're a bad person.

Doesn't make much sense.

I try to learn one new thing each day...

Unfortunately, what I learned yesterday, was of no use to me today. So, Im in the process of learning something today, that I can use tomorrow...

You provided that...thanks!