Inequality

It is a commonplace that even though Occupy Wall Street didn't alter any fundamental social relations or power dynamics, at least it "opened people's eyes to the issue of inequality". I don't know how many times I have heard this speech delivered by those trying to salvage something from the experience.But in light of this recent tax legislation, so obviously skewed in favor of "The 1%", can we really cling to the notion of an awakening?

Obviously this concept of equality resonates in different ways for different people, just like the concept of fairness. The guy living in a trailer park -up to his eyeballs in debt, dead end job, etc..- who is celebrating the tax bill obviously didn't get the Occupy messaging about "greed" and inequality. He thinks inequality is a woman or black person getting preference in hiring or college admissions. He understands deep down, it is inscribed in his genes, that he is not equal to the 1%, that he could never go out to dinner with them, sit down and chat.

He can dream of having someone under him that he can boss around, helping him feel a little more equal to those above, and he can join the team of those that want to get government off their back, that want to shrink it till they can drown it, and taste a little equality in this closeness, this team spirit.

The fact is, Occupy preached to the choir, to those already on the team, who already saw the problem with unequal wealth and power. The other team thinks equality is just a sneaky way to take away liberty, the right to kick underlings around, the right to buy Hummers and yachts and shit when you finally win the lottery.