"We Are the 99 Percent" - A Photo Diary

DailyKos.com


The devastatingly powerful photos below are housed on a testimonial site – We Are the 99 Percent – managed by activists at occupywallst.org. It's a site to which I will soon be adding my own photo testimony.

Nothing more needs to be said. They speak for themselves...

I am aged, old and frail. I worked and paid taxes all my adult life. Now, I have to choose between medicine and food. It feels like a very slow death. I am the 99%.

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I am scared. I am 37 with no job prospects and only Navy disability to survive on with two children. I want to work but no one will hire me. I want to learn but no one will teach me. I spend my days online trying to find some way to earn more than $845 a month, to teach myself new skills, to find a new way of life.

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I am a 19-year-old college sophomore. I go to the flagship university in my state, and I can barely afford it.  (Like thousands of others in my state, I was promised full tuition if I kept my grades up.  I held up my end of the bargain, but apparently that means nothing.) I’m lucky enough to have a job on campus to cover some of my fees.
Even though I work 20 hours/wk, I will still be $8000 in debt by the end of the school year. I want to go to law school.  If I get into my first choice, I will be $136,000 in debt by my 25th birthday.  (I just want to fight for human rights!) I no longer believe in the “American Dream.” I am the 99%.

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My mother is drowning in debt so I can earn a degree that offers no financial security. We are the 99%.

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I am a realtor. I do not get unemployment. Last year B of A told my clients they did not quoalify for a loan mod, so they listed with me to sell their homes. Two months later, in Nov of 2010, B of A called all of my clients without telling me promising them they could keep their homes if they paid $2500. B of A LIED and took the houses back anyway, thereby costing me $30,000 in commissions which in turn caused me to default on all of my debt- including my home. I was forced to move in with my parents at the age of 32. I am the 99%.

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I bought my house on a “fixed rate” mortgage.  My payments go up every 6 months because of adjustments in interest and escrow payments.  I’m afraid that I won’t be able to afford my house soon.  I am the 99%

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If you too are the 99 percent, the #occupywallstreet movement is expanding by the day into cities and states across the country.

To learn if there's an occupation movement in your city or state, see this real-time guide of Twitter accounts and livestreams for movements.

Here's a visual taste:

We are the 99%.