Let me pose a question to the Occupy Wall Street supporters out there: Just what have you done?

I’ll tell you what you’ve done. You’ve broken windows at small businesses across the country. You’ve lit fires in trashcans on city streets and made the lives of policemen much, much harder. You’ve attempted to shut down the Brooklyn Bridge, a lifeline for countless New Yorkers – many poor – that must cross the Hudson River to get to work. You’ve pushed a 78-year-old lady down the front steps of a Washington, D.C. building. You’ve left half of Oakland in shambles.

Congratulations. You’ve thrown a temper tantrum. Now, let me ask a few more questions.

You claim to represent the 99% of Americans supposedly oppressed by our nation’s wealthy. Did you stop to think that the top 1% of income earners provide 36.73% of federal tax revenues? That’s about $794 billion of the $2.162 trillion the IRS brought in last year. By comparison, the Medicare/Medicaid budget is $793 billion, the Social Security budget is $701 billion and the defense budget is $689 billion.

Do you really believe you represent 99% of Americans? Stop kidding yourselves. I grew up in a fairly populous blue-collar Texas county. 99% of the people back home aren’t up in arms calling for bankers’ heads. Heck, on this college campus of 31,000 students, the one protest I could find has about forty people protesting a few hours a day and one guy in a tent. Ironically, that’s about 1% of the student body.

Why am I asking you these questions? The better question is, why aren’t you asking yourselves these questions? Look around. 99% of America doesn’t identify with the anarchy symbol. Why? Because 99% of Americans have enough common sense to do something constructive when they want reform.

Andrew Parks is a freshman majoring in civil engineering.