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Michael Moore claims he can be rich and part of ‘Occupy Wall Street’

The director and activist took his blog to explain his position on 'OWS' - VIDEO

KERRY O'SHEA,

IrishCentral Intern

Published Tuesday, November 1, 2011, 8:48 AM

Updated Tuesday, November 1, 2011, 11:28 AM

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Michael Moore photography with Tim Robbins at 'Occupy Wall Street'

Photo by Google Images

Despite being wealthy, Michael Moore believes he can still be part of the 99% that are protesting on Occupy Wall Street. The director and activist recently took to a blog to share his feelings about the movement that he’s been supportive of since its inception in September.

In his writing, Moore recalls how he too was once unemployed in Flint, Michigan. It was then that he created guidelines for himself and how he would handle his wealth. In the guidelines, Moore agreed with himself to pay his taxes, give to charity and avoid stock ownership and instead to rely on his own work to generate his own money.

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Moore went on to explain himself in his blog. “'How can you claim to be for the poor when you are the opposite of poor?!' It's like asking: 'You've never had sex with another man -- how can you be for gay marriage?!” He also drew comparisons to an all-male Congress giving women the right to vote, as well as white people who marched alongside Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The blog came after Moore’s appearance on Piers Morgan, where Morgan attempted to “discredit” Moore’s motives based on his apparent wealth.

“I am devoting my life to those who have less and who have been crapped upon by the system," Moore said on the show. "And that's how I spend my time, my energy, my money on trying to up-end this system that I think is a system of violence, it's a system that's unfair to the average working person of this country."

Moore also noted that the “1%” of the country is the percentage of those who made at least $1 million last year - a percentage he is not a part of.

To read the rest of Michael Moore’s blog, click here.

To see his appearance on Piers Morgan, watch below:

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17 Comments

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merefalow | Nov 03, 2011, 02:26 PM EDT

we need more michael moores,trouble is he occasionally causes people to think ,highly dangerous for americans..

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seanomelbourne | Nov 03, 2011, 02:21 AM EDT

Michael Moore the voice of the middle class(99%).

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Jen000006 | Nov 02, 2011, 07:37 PM EDT

Posted by newnation on Nov 01, 2011, 11:21 AM EDT wow! how quickly is everyone on the comment board jumping to conclusions without any facts? never heard the saying "don't believe everything you read!"? CAPITALISM DOESN'T WORK! he has helped get that point across. bring out all your facts without just jumping to conclusions on some simple propaganda! Capitalism is what made MM rich.

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jamthecat | Nov 01, 2011, 11:27 PM EDT

People think OWS is anti-wealth; it's not. It's anti-fraud and cheating to get that wealth. It's anti-theft. Michael Moore can be as much a part of it as he likes, because even though he's wealthy he's proven time and again he cares about the same things as the OWS crowd. As for those who disparage him, the word idiot is too complex for you, since you obviously want to help those who've looted this country of nearly half its wealth. I'd say you should be ashamed of yourselves, but you have no sense of what that word means.

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maryo137 | Nov 01, 2011, 09:26 PM EDT

Michael Moore is a fraud.

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seanomelbourne | Nov 01, 2011, 05:43 PM EDT

M.Moore champion of the poor and the middle classes.Hated by teahadists and the Koch brothers,Moore is a legend.

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CitizenWhy | Nov 01, 2011, 01:23 PM EDT

Of course wealthy Americans can support policies that mitigate the disparity between the 1& and the rest of us, including reforming the tax code to go back at least to the Reagan tax rates, which taxed the wealthy at a much higher rate than now. There are other policies that would expand the middle class, bringing in more of the poor. I personally favor the Nixon welfare reforms, called the negative income tax, which would have set a bottom and then madded federal payuals and families up at least to that bottom. This increased buying power and hekped businesses as well.

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sirpeter | Nov 01, 2011, 01:13 PM EDT

Wealth is relative.A starving African would see a wino on the street as been in a good position if the wino lived in a rich country.Specking up against injustice in the system is always a good thing.Oddly enough he made his money doing just that.A famous rich guy will get more media attention then a nobody.I wouldn't knock him too much.

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wjb1tex | Nov 01, 2011, 12:31 PM EDT

Interesting that he differntiates himself from other rich people. Does he know if they were ever unemployed ? How much they give to charity ? ( I notice he doesn't disclose how much or to what charities he gives to ) How hard they work to get rich ? No, he just claims he is different and they are all evil. What a shyster.

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newnation | Nov 01, 2011, 11:21 AM EDT

wow! how quickly is everyone on the comment board jumping to conclusions without any facts? never heard the saying "don't believe everything you read!"? CAPITALISM DOESN'T WORK! he has helped get that point across. bring out all your facts without just jumping to conclusions on some simple propaganda!

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FastEddy | Nov 01, 2011, 11:17 AM EDT

" ... Moore recalls how he too was once unemployed in Flint, Michigan. ..." but still managed to get fat.

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kevinhayes | Nov 01, 2011, 10:47 AM EDT

Michael Moore is a Great American. Rich people caring about their poor brethren has a long and noble tradition, in America and elsewhere. Other, different,examples are both the Bill Gates and Warren Buffett. It's called noblesse oblige. Unfortunately since the era of Saint Ronnie the elite, waging class warfare on the poor, have been unable to restrain themselves. OWS has begun the swing back against those selfish times.

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jamieLM | Nov 01, 2011, 10:38 AM EDT

Agree with PiperMac52. Why doesn't he spread his wealth around? Moore is only willing to spread a very small portion of his wealth that he obtained through the very system he likes to criticize. Having his cake and eating it, too.

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rgray222 | Nov 01, 2011, 10:23 AM EDT

Moore wants it both ways, if you are wealthy than how do you demonstrate against those with wealth. Typical of Hollywood, this is not a demonstration against only Wall Street this is a demonstration against everyone with wealth, no matter how you have it, it should be shared with those less fortunate! The crime here is that 1% have so much and Michael Moore is part of the 1%. Plain and simple!

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PiperMac52 | Nov 01, 2011, 10:17 AM EDT

Michael Moore is an idiot and a hypocrite. He criticizes the very system of which he took advantage to become a multimillionaire.

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