What I Saw When I Crashed a Wall Street Secret Society Party

Fitting into the theme of "sickening":

http://www.politico.com/story/2014/02/kansas-candidate-posted-grisly-images-103817.html?hp=f2

 

“There are two kinds of humor. One kind that makes us chuckle about our foibles and our shared humanity -- like what Garrison Keillor does. The other kind holds people up to public contempt and ridicule -- that's what I do. Satire is traditionally the weapon of the powerless against the powerful. I only aim at the powerful. When satire is aimed at the powerless, it is not only cruel -- it's vulgar.”

― Molly Ivins

 

Major, are we talking about banks or are we talking about the individuals at the party? If the latter, than I demand proof that the individuals at said party cracking tasteless jokes are in fact the same individuals who were responsible for the financial crisis. Mr. Roose attempts to conflate the two under the label of Wall Street, but my argument is that he has not yet shown a true link.

 

I'm saying if that was their favourite all time comedian then all of these sensitive people wouldn't be overreacting, I think this arctile is a little bit biased to show the negivitve side of the group. It's not like none of us have laughed or told a joke about something bad that has happened to us or someone we know before, don't be so sensitive

 

Where did they joke about people they had hurt? I listened to the audio and I didn't hear it. I heard the audience pretty heavily boo the joke about Hilary too.

And I made that point because they were acknowledging the criminal behavior of SAC and Corzine. They weren't really glorifying it. It also seemed like that Dixie song was ripping the investment banks for having to get bail outs too.

 

Dick Fuld and Corzine are members. nuff said.

Do you recognize the irony of deriding a group lumping people together, while lumping together a diverse group of Americans with legitimate grievances under the label "socialist"?

 

big ups guys.

I'll go murder someone, and sing about it. it'll go down well.

 

"Nuff said" about what? Did Roose see Fuld and Corizine crack tasteless jokes? Did he see that they were there at all? And why does Fuld and Corizine being part of a club somehow make that club bad?

I'll admit that I meant basically the people commentating on this thread when I said "socialist", as opposed to those who rail against the banks in general. Still, I understand how that can be construed otherwise, which was a mistake on my part.

 

But here's the thing about what I think about this article as a whole: it is feel-good nonsense, but does absolutely nothing productive in political discourse aside from encouraging class strife. The rich are going to be encouraged to donate to charity or work with the government/people when stupid articles like these, which can't even shame the rich because it's about such a trivial matter.

This comes down to one thing I know I've discussed with some people here - namely, the idea that there is some mass socialist populist discontent and that if it can only be tapped with the real democratic change, than America can finally have its social revolution. My perspective is that there is a populist movement out there - the Tea Party. The fact that there are businessmen who have helped the Tea Party does not prove that it is not a populist movement, no more than say, the fact that the Fabians were predominantly an upper-class British movement means that it was in fact not socialism. Many of you on this board have talked of your desires for third-party level group that has quite a bit of popular support and can make change on the local level - and you got exactly what you asked for.

There is no populist leftist movement out there. The American people are not interested. So if you want change like this? It's going to come from within. And it's not going to come from within when people are printing silly crap like this.

 

Fwiw it wasn't criminal to get a bailout. Also hasn't most of the bailout money been repaid?

Also, I don't know how the parody song went. I don't think being forced to be bailed out is a source of pride for any company or leader. If the song was along the same tone as that Dixie song then it wasn't pridefully rejoicing being bailed out.

 

Making a joke at people's expense is great. I do it all the time. I think most of us have. Making a joke at the expense of someone's life you've ruined is different.

Nobody is saying humor which mocks people is wrong. However mocking people who's lives you are responsible for having ruined is disgusting.

As I said, most of what happened and is discussed in the article isn't a big deal at all. The only thing that is problematic is how out of touch these people are, and the fact that they are making fun of those they had a hand ruining their lives.

 

Hmmm maybe I meet you halfway on your argument, I don't think I'm that suitable to discuss people whose lives have been ruined as living in Australia we didn't even go into recession and unemployment was never really that bad. I guess I need first hand experience in this issue to feel the way you and a few others are.

 

The article claimed it was self-congratulatory---so probably not the same tone?

It's not criminal to get bailed out---robo-foreclosures, drug/terrorist laundering, LIBOR-rigging, market manipulation, and bribing foreigners of influence is however, or should be, and they'd be prosecuted accordingly if it wasn't for Holder's office pussyfooting around the situation. JP Morgan's dipped their fingers into 4 of the 5, and I haven't even started counting most of the sins out. Why exactly are these guys singing again---about anything?

 

Fuld and Corzine would have made the same "harmless jokes"---defining an attitude that led them to crash billions.

So yes, this club is bad. You can argue the individuals are bad and they made a club together, or the club makes them bad together---I don't know. But you can't dispute "these people" are not at the root of significant problems.

 

Who are you targeting with this redundant speech?

You need FIRST HAND EXPERIENCE to understand that it's despicable to mock innocent lives you've ruined?

I think you're rather out of touch with reality.

 

And you know this how?

Once again, I ask you to prove that "these individuals" as a group are indeed entirely responsible for this financial crisis. Take, say, Warren Stephens. I have no idea who Warren Stephens is. He is someone who Mr. Roose lists as an individual there, as a person who sang that song about Dixie. But what great crime did Mr. Stephens commit?

 

I think he is saying that because the recession didn't hit Australia he wasn't as aware of the how bad it was and what public opinion was in America. I don't see what he is saying as being out of touch with reality but an acknowledgement that as an outsider you will never have the same understanding as someone who experienced it.

 

Does it matter that this club was entirely responsible?

I don't think anyone is calling for something like this to be banned or the club members further taxed or fined but it is very poor taste for a club that includes several people who were involved in the financial crisis and many who have made out well on the taxpayers dime to be making light of the issue.

 

Execs at the highest levels at ALL major banks were implicated at worsening the crisis.

I suggest you read Too Big To Fail by Andrew Ross Sorkin if you want to parse out individual guilt (it is the one book that names names all the time).

As for your point on Fuld and Corzine---do you think the club was putting on a special show for the journalist?

Here's an excerpt on why these bankers deserve to be condemned:

Sickening.

And the bankers are singing about it.

http://www.nybooks.com/articles/arc...y-no-executive-prosecutions/?pagination=false

 

In a world where America's incarceration rate for common criminals has surpassed the gulags of the Soviet Union, and where Aaron Swartz alone gets more years in prison for trying to share scientific data than all of the Wall Street did for cratering the world economy, the bankers are singing about it. This is the most fundamental inequality in America's system.

I still can't f**king believe it.