I Am The One Percent Part II

I wrote a piece a bit ago titled I am the one percent. That post generated more traffic and comments, including our only trolls ever, than anything else any of us here have yet written. It's sill generating comments from time to time. Recently we got this one from HammerHead:

HammerHead said...



I came across this blog, and am incredibly impressed by this. I am going to check out the other topics I'm interested in here. In response to all of this 1% stuff, up until a couple years ago I was one of those outlaw criminal "scum" types. I spent about a decade in prison, and during that time I did something I never thought I'd do; I read, I observed my "fellow" convicts, and I made my peace with the good Lord. What I realized most was that I love my country. I LOVE riding my pig, I LOVE a big dip of Cope, I LOVE freedom. I read about the founding of our country, our initial governmental development in response to Britainic tyranny. I got out of prison with NOTHING of material value, but a firm sense of morals, ethics, and values. I was honest about being a former man of violence and drugs, and was willing to take ANY job. From third shift in a plastic company making $9/hr, and living in a half-way house. I now own a very nice home, a big Ford truck, a custom Harley, I have a beautiful wife, children, and a great career in the trades...all in three years of working, paying my dues in shitty jobs, and earning a living AS WELL AS the respect of my employers.


Now, I am PROUD to say that I am a different type of 1%er.


Oh, and I'm not swamped in debt because I was smart enough to know that a trade from a trade school was better for me than to have a BA.


Thank you all for your time.

I was deeply moved, both by his story and the fact that he chose to share it here with us. I wanted to make sure his words were as widely read as I could within the confines of this very modest blog so I asked if I could share them in a fresh post. HammerHead readily agreed.
 
This is a prime example of what I've always viewed as the American Spirit. Note that he didn't take me to task for my representation of the motorcycle 1%ers. He didn't make excuses. He didn't ask for pity or handouts. He didn't blame society or corporations or anyone at all. He paid his debt, put on his grown up clothes and made a successful life with nothing more than a can do attitude, a willingness to work hard and make his own breaks and an understanding that we are indeed masters of our own fate.
 
It irritates me to no end to see and read the nonsense that passes for thought amongst the occupy crowd and their supporters. Nothing I've read or heard yet comes within light years of this mans journey. None of them is worth the price of this mans spit cup. Morals, ethics, values, family, belief in his God, love of freedom and pride in self and in America.
 
Success stories are not written in a tent on Wall Street by the craven, who have no more agenda than greed and hatred and violence toward anyone who doesn't agree with them. Sometimes success stories are written in prison, in blood, by brave men who have seen Hell and found there strength instead of despair. And rather than be destroyed by it they have come through with a better understanding of what makes a man a man, indeed what makes anyone a human being, full of wisdom and pride and love.
 
We as a nation, as a people, cannot be beaten by forces from without. It is only the rot within that can fell us. We are Americans. We are still the land of the free and the home of the brave and we can still produce greatness on every scale. If the Occupy crowd and their handlers want to take this country away from us they're going to have to take it from those of us who refuse to surrender or quit. I don't think they can because we have love, devotion and hard work as our weapons and they have nothing to compare. Read the comments to this post and compare the words of Moth and Art of War with HammerHead and take heart. We are not the One Percent, no not by a very long shot. We are Legion and we're making ourselves heard throughout the land.
 
God bless you HammerHead and thank you from the bottom of my heart for sharing part of your journey with us. I'm glad you're out there and we're proud to have you here with us. It's a long road and a rocky one but if you're of a mind we'll share a bit of it together.
 
Saddle Up my friends.
 
Six