What has driven hundreds of people to gather in the streets of New York’s financial district?
Occupy Wall Street, being a prominent topic in the news lately has inspired offshoots in over 100 cities across the United States and action in over 1500 cities globally. But despite its prevalence in the media, the movement has many scratching their heads. What exactly are the protests all about?
Initiated by the Canadian activist group Adbusters, the demonstrations in Zuccotti Park, located in New York City’s financial district, began on September 17th, 2011. The forces behind Occupy Wall Street believe that Wall Street has played a major role in causing the greatest recession in generations by creating an economic collapse. Inspired by the uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia, the protestors are objecting to the power of large banks and corporations and the sway they hold over political processes in America – as well as social and economic inequality in general. According to the unofficial website of the growing movement, Occupy Wall Street “aims to expose how the richest 1% of people are writing the rules of an unfair global economy.” This explains the slogan of the movement, “We are the 99%.”
From the description above, it may seem the goals of the protest are slightly confused. And they are, in a way; when confronted with the question of what they would like to see the movement achieve, 35% of protestors sought to influence the Democratic Party the way the Tea Party has influenced the GOP, 11% wanted to break the two-party duopoly, and only 4% replied a radical redistribution of wealth. Their aim may not be clearly constrained to one particular target, but the message is coherent enough: they want change.
Even those who do not agree with the cause must admit that the determination of the protestors in Zucotti Park is admirable. The protestors who choose to spend the night must stay in sleeping bags or simply blankets, as tents are forbidden in the park. Fortunately for the movement, they have received over $500 000 in donations as of October 27th, and have had access to food, washrooms, and water.
Interestingly enough, media coverage of the protests was scarce until the police became heavily involved. Tales of police brutality have ignited anger and outrage among many, and have made the movement all the more newsworthy. Online videos of police roughing up protestors, and even spraying mace at a group of females, have gone viral. Since then, the demonstration has gained sympathy worldwide and global press attention.
It will be fascinating to see what these protests accomplish; could significant change to society and political processes be looming on the horizon? Only time will tell.
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