Nobody better try to protest these shoes. Photo by Jean Thornton.
I had a terrifying thought the other day and it has caused me some great concern. Now I am not one to push a political agenda on this blog unless that agenda has to do with banning Uggs. I believe that a ballot box is where those issues most belong and if you don’t have the time to vote, I don’t have the time to listen to you. But I have to admit that I am one to voice an opinion when requested or amongst friends.
However, my fear has to do with The Occupy Movement. See, I had a brief flash of terror when I thought this movement might spread to my shoe closet. I figure I just might be in the 1% of shoe owners (please note that this is the only 1% I am in) and what if the other 99% of shoe owners decide that they should have some of my shoes? Could the other 99% of shoe owners see my shoe collection as an unequal distribution of shoes?
If Occupy Shoes continues to gain momentum I might wake up one day to find protestors occupying my shoe closet. They might be marching around carrying signs that read “We are the 99% who wear flat shoes.” A group wearing Birkenstock sandals might set up a drum circle near my designer heels, while another cluster begins one of those annoying chants where everyone repeats what the leader says.
Having a group of protestors in my shoe closet would surely drive my dog crazy, not to mention put a serious strain on the one bathroom in my apartment. My landlord might not be too happy either as the extra traffic could cause unintentional damage. Plus my apartment is a place where you can relax quietly, read a book, or perhaps toss a tennis ball to my dog. I would likely have to remove the Occupy Shoes protestors; of course I am not violent but I might have to spray Febreze on them to get them out. I am sure that somewhere along the way I will have to give a press conference explaining that, while I support everyone’s right to shoes, blocking my right to shoes is not the way to go about it.
I of course believe everyone has a right to shoes, I don’t think that in our society, which is so shoe rich, that anybody should be barefoot. Yet at the same time I have to point out that I paid for all of my shoes. I worked many hours for my shoe collection, sometimes working two jobs just to get a pair of Manolo Blahnik’s. I was not born with a silver shoe on my feet. My parents did not own a shoe store which I had unending access to; I only had hard work to get my feet in shoes. So why all the sudden am I supposed to share my shoe wealth with others who perhaps have never worked a 12 hour shift just to buy Prada pumps?
Yes, I understand that very little in life is free (except living in a park apparently) and it can be expected that a person might gather some financial baggage along the way. While financial baggage might not be as cute a Kate Spade tote, it does not mean you don’t have carry it. If you earned a college degree you cannot cry foul if that degree does not come with a six figure salary that makes your student loans magically disappear in a year. And if you earned a college degree in something that does not have a corresponding career field, may I suggest looking into a wait service job in the meantime. I am sure you are working on the great American novel, but until then you can recite the specials.
I don’t mean to sound harsh and uncaring. I do care. I care a lot which is why I work at a job where I actually get to the change my community and the lives of others. I do this by helping people find work, teaching them how to budget and manage their money, and hopefully they will be prepared for the hard times ahead. And I hope that they will be able to buy as many shoes as they can afford to. Those that I help might not be able to make it into the top 1%, but they surely will not stay in the bottom 1%.
Dear Occupy Movement, please do not occupy my shoe closet. I might be in the top 1% of shoes but I got here the old fashioned way… a lot of hard work and waiting patiently to earn to earn my shoes. And if you still think you should occupy my shoe closet a word of caution: I have been wearing heels my entire life and I can stand in stilettos much longer than you can.
