--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Critics say the OWS protesters hate the…" description: "\"Critics say the OWS protesters hate the rich. Come on! Success is the national religion, and almost everyone is a believer. Americans love winners. But..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f07/matt-taibbi-2257_believer_critics-say-the-ows-protesters-hate-the_1504876.jpg" --- # Critics say the OWS protesters hate the rich. Come on!… ![“Critics say the OWS protesters hate the rich. Come on! Success is the national religion, and almost everyone is a believer. Americans love winners. But that's just the problem. These guys on Wall Street are not winning - they're cheating. And as much as we love the self-made success story, we hate…” quote by Matt Taibbi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f07/matt-taibbi-2257_believer_critics-say-the-ows-protesters-hate-the_1504876.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f07/matt-taibbi-2257_believer_critics-say-the-ows-protesters-hate-the_1504876.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f07/matt-taibbi-2257_believer_critics-say-the-ows-protesters-hate-the_1504876.jpg) > “Critics say the OWS protesters hate the rich. Come on! Success is the national religion, and almost everyone is a believer. Americans love winners. But that's just the problem. These guys on Wall Street are not winning - they're cheating. And as much as we love the self-made success story, we hate the cheater that much more.” [Matt Taibbi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-taibbi/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote critiques the cultural glorification of wealth and success while condemning cheating and inequality, highlighting a paradox in American values. **In simple terms:** America praises success but despises those who cheat to get it. Key Takeaway Recognize and challenge unfair advantage. Themes wealth success inequality culture hypocrisy Mood critical reflective Type analytical commentary When to use this quote - political discourse - media analysis - public policy - personal ethics Key Concepts social critique economic disparity moral paradox Questions to Reflect On - How do we balance admiration for achievement with condemnation of cheating? - What reforms could reduce cheating in finance? A Different Perspective The focus on winners can obscure systemic injustice. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Believer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believer/) [Believer Americans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believer-americans-5525174/) [Cheater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cheater/) [Cheating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cheating/) [Critics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/critics/) [Critics Say](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/critics-say/) [Guy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guy/) [Hate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hate/) [Hate Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hate-rich-284321/) [Made](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/made/) [Ows Protesters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ows-protesters-3184100/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) [Protesters Hate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/protesters-hate-5525176/) [Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rich/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Self made](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-made/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Streets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/streets/) [Success stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success-stories/) [Success story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success-story/) [Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wall/) [Wall St](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wall-st/) [Wall street](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wall-street/) [Winner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/winner/) [Winning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/winning/) ## Related quotes > [So far, the only major accomplishment of the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) protesters is that they have finally put an end to their previous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-coulter/so-far-the-only-major-accomplishment-of-the-occupy-wall-street-ows/) [Ann Coulter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-coulter/) > [It is no exaggeration to say that rising inequality has driven many of the 99 percent into a financial ditch. It also helped spawn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-h-frank/it-is-no-exaggeration-to-say-that-rising-inequality-has-driven-many/) [Robert H. Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-h-frank/) > [I have a question, a question for the president: Do you hate all rich people, or just rich people who don't contribute to your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rand-paul/i-have-a-question-a-question-for-the-president-do-you-hate-all-rich/) [Rand Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rand-paul/) > [I lived in Beverly Hills for years. I always had a line, 'I hate the rich.' From what I witnessed after living there for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-dice-clay/i-lived-in-beverly-hills-for-years-i-always-had-a-line-i-hate-the/) [Andrew Dice Clay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-dice-clay/) > [“She had a new bracelet on, stacked with emeralds brighter than her eyes. I hate rich people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-oyeyemi/she-had-a-new-bracelet-on-stacked-with-emeralds-brighter-than-her/) [Helen Oyeyemi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-oyeyemi/) > [I hate almost all rich people, but I think I’d be darling at it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/i-hate-almost-all-rich-people-but-i-think-i-d-be-darling-at-it/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [People with less money do not hate the rich like many claim;what the less fortunate do hate is when the rich begin to brag…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/people-with-less-money-do-not-hate-the-rich-like-many-claim-what-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“It's odd, isn't it? The poor hate the rich for having a life they think is easy and for the fact that they think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/it-s-odd-isn-t-it-the-poor-hate-the-rich-for-having-a-life-they-think/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [You have to lead your life according to your ideas. Spend all your money and live life in line with what you are fighting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-lagerfeld/you-have-to-lead-your-life-according-to-your-ideas-spend-all-your/) [Karl Lagerfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-lagerfeld/) > [The poor folks hate the rich folks, and the rich folks hate the poor folks. All of my folks hate all of your folks,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/the-poor-folks-hate-the-rich-folks-and-the-rich-folks-hate-the-poor/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [I hate the rich snots here with a fervent passion I usually reserve only for dental work and my father.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-hate-the-rich-snots-here-with-a-fervent-passion-i-usually-reserve/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“She had no ambition to write a good book, but was painfully anxious to write a book that the critics should say was good.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-trollope/she-had-no-ambition-to-write-a-good-book-but-was-painfully-anxious-to/) [Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/) > [Pay no attention to what the critics say. A statue has never been erected in honor of a critic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-sibelius/pay-no-attention-to-what-the-critics-say-a-statue-has-never-been/) [Jean Sibelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-sibelius/) > [It would have more meaning for me to hear what critics have to say if their values and their ways of living were deeper…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rei-kawakubo/it-would-have-more-meaning-for-me-to-hear-what-critics-have-to-say-if/) [Rei Kawakubo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rei-kawakubo/) > [“Critics of the system say they want to get enough people involved to dilute the handful of wealthy donors and big-money groups who are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/critics-of-the-system-say-they-want-to-get-enough-people-involved-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Matt Taibbi > [ The Congressional Record will forever show that \[Obamacare\] was passed in a romper room of overgrown children seemingly barely old enough to keep from… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-taibbi/the-congressional-record-will-forever-show-that-obamacare-was-passed/) [Matt Taibbi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-taibbi/) > [Sniper is a movie whose politics are so ludicrous and idiotic that under normal circumstances it would be beneath criticism. 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This is the mantra of the financial-crisis era, one that saw virtually every major bank and financial company on Wall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-taibbi/nobody-goes-to-jail-this-is-the-mantra-of-the-financial-crisis-era/) [Matt Taibbi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-taibbi/) > [The basic scam in the Internet age is pretty easy even for the financially illiterate to grasp. It was as if banks like Goldman…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-taibbi/the-basic-scam-in-the-internet-age-is-pretty-easy-even-for-the/) [Matt Taibbi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-taibbi/) > [For the broadcast business to be successful, viewers need to be not merely interested in our political melodramas, they have to be in an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-taibbi/for-the-broadcast-business-to-be-successful-viewers-need-to-be-not/) [Matt Taibbi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-taibbi/) > [It's not a stretch to say the whole financial industry revolves around the compass point of the absolutely safe AAA rating. But the financial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-taibbi/it-s-not-a-stretch-to-say-the-whole-financial-industry-revolves/) [Matt Taibbi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-taibbi/) > [You know what an effective deterrent to crime is? Jail! 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They're mad because a tiny group of crooks on Wall Street built themselves beach houses in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-taibbi/people-aren-t-pissed-just-to-be-pissed-they-re-mad-because-a-tiny/) [Matt Taibbi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-taibbi/) [Explore all 175 Matt Taibbi quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-taibbi/) ## More Believer quotes > [I'm a true believer in prayer, a big believer in prayer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-jackson/i-m-a-true-believer-in-prayer-a-big-believer-in-prayer/) [Janet Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-jackson/) > [I've always been a believer in research. It's great to have an instinctual human reaction to a character, too, of course, but it has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chiwetel-ejiofor/i-ve-always-been-a-believer-in-research-it-s-great-to-have-an/) [Chiwetel Ejiofor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chiwetel-ejiofor/) > [God has given believers the responsibility of spreading the Gospel to all the world, and we need to use all at our disposal to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-epp/god-has-given-believers-the-responsibility-of-spreading-the-gospel-to/) [Theodore Epp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-epp/) > [I am not a great believer in dialectical struggle. I am much more of a fusion person. I see it as a dialogue, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-warner/i-am-not-a-great-believer-in-dialectical-struggle-i-am-much-more-of-a/) [Marina Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-warner/) > [Oh, I'm a great believer in the power of the pause. Radio is a bit brasher now. My style was slower. I just used…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-wogan/oh-i-m-a-great-believer-in-the-power-of-the-pause-radio-is-a-bit/) [Terry Wogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-wogan/) > [Jesus taught that the mark of the Christian is the observable love shown among all true believers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-schaeffer/jesus-taught-that-the-mark-of-the-christian-is-the-observable-love/) [Francis Schaeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-schaeffer/) > [I'm a great believer in people and their untapped potential.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-bester/i-m-a-great-believer-in-people-and-their-untapped-potential/) [Alfred Bester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-bester/) > [Revival is the Spirit's passion within the believer to know and to obey the total will of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-ravenhill/revival-is-the-spirit-s-passion-within-the-believer-to-know-and-to/) [Leonard Ravenhill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-ravenhill/) > [I'm not a great believer in awards-of course the fact that I've never won one has nothing to do with it at all!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-banks/i-m-not-a-great-believer-in-awards-of-course-the-fact-that-i-ve-never/) [Iain Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-banks/) > [Intuitionists think that there are cases in which, say, some identity statement between real numbers is neither true nor false, even though we know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-f-heck/intuitionists-think-that-there-are-cases-in-which-say-some-identity/) [Richard F. 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