Occupy Wall Street has been called many things including: unfocused, ungrounded, and silly. Others coin it as “America’s first internet-era movement” (Rushkoff). In quintessence, Occupy Wall Street is a series of protests and demonstrations that oppose the influence that corporate greed has on American Democracy. The protestors manipulate marches and nonviolent demonstrations to express their dissatisfaction with the state of American Politics and economy. This relates to the political science concepts of power, performance democracy, and protective democracy.
The Occupy Wall Street movement is a succession of protests that have no formal leader and no formal demands. The concept behind this form of movement is that each person
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The 99 percent consists of average Americans whose homes are being foreclosed upon, who have accrued colossal student loan debt and are most affected by economic setbacks. A definition of power is the “ownership, control, and distribution of resources”. In this way, the 99 percent is powerless in America because they lack the ability to exist independently of the one percent who has the power over the nation’s resources. The one percent has an advantage in its ability to influence the government and public policy. The protestors point to many societal problems as evidence of this inequality. Some of these examples are unequal access to healthcare, poverty, exorbitant student loan debt, unemployment, and unfair practices in the housing market. These are all indicators of the unequal distribution of resources and subsequently power that Occupy Wall Street denounces.
Performance democracy is characterized by “governmental outputs in the form of laws and policies that are a reflection of a self-governing people’s desire for well-being” (Grigsby). The protestors of Occupy Wall Street contend that American laws and policies do not reflect the interests of the majority of the population. The current laws and policies, according to members of the movement, only benefit the wealthy one percent of the population. The protestors stand against the elitist nature of capitalism that inhibits adequate performance in the form of laws and
The Occupy New Hampshire movement stemmed from Occupy Wall Street, which began in September 2011. Tr.:16. The occupy movement generally consisted of staying in one place until the grievances of the participants are addressed. Tr.:33. Occupy Wall Street sought to address problems such as economic disparity, the growing gap between the classes, and the influence of money on politics. Tr.:13. Every Occupy movement focused on different issues and grievances, usually determined at the first general assembly. Tr.:111.
The protests that occurred after the elections consist of people with a narrative and collective identity. The protesters mostly identified as minorities who were and are still affected by Trump’s victory due to their own personal circumstance, such as being LGBTQ or undocumented. According to Polletta and Gardner, a protest or social movement typically
When considering this, it is wholly possible to understand the saying that “the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer”, as it is true. This was brought into the spotlight by the Occupy Movement, and the slogan of “We are the 99%”. This, in turn, begs the question; who are the one percent?
“As they fathom injustice, organize to protest, craft a tactics, and engage in action, these bodies read what is happening and articulate their imaginative rebuttal. In so doing they demonstrate to themselves and all those watching that something can be done. Could this be why they are called political ‘movements’?”
However, one of the several strategies activists used were speeches, marches, boycotts, protests, riots, and court cases. Speeches is the interpretation of or the ability to express thoughts and feelings by acruiculate sounds. Marches is the meaning to walk or proceed quickly and with determination. Boycott is the take away from commercial or social relations with a country, organization, or person as disciplinary
Occupy Wall Street is a political movement that was created in 2011 to address income inequality in the United States. Protesters involved in this movement hoped to bring attention to the unfair distribution of power and influence that the wealthiest 1% of
Occupy Wall Street symbolizes their frustrations through the various occupying demonstrations, signs, and most notably, their slogan: “We are the 99%” representing the growing inequality of the wealthiest 1% of America’s population and the rest of the country’s citizens. The top 1% has more than doubled their income over the last thirty years according to a Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report. In 2007, the richest 1% owned 34.6% of the country’s total wealth. After the Great Recession and economic crisis the amount of the country’s total wealth owned by the 1% grew from 34.6% to 37.1%.
Herman Melville’s “Bartleby the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street” is compared to the article “Occupy Wall Street in perspective” by Craig Calhoun. Both writings share a common idea of protest by “preferring not to”. The purpose of “Bartleby the Scrivener” is to give insight on the life of ordinary people on Wall Street. While the purpose of “OWS” is to give insight on ordinary peoples lives during the protest. The article “OWS” shows why Bartleby in “Bartleby, the Scrivener” prefers not to and makes him a protestor through four main relations being setting, the 99% vs. 1% contrast, passive resistance, and how both were encouraged through police interference.
One of the most renowned social movements since the civil rights movement was the “Occupy Movement”. This movement helped people see how big of a fraud the financial system was, at the the time. These occupiers demanded that there be a change towards the lack of real democracy and social inequality that was displayed within the economy during this time. Occupiers wanted economical justice, and through their protests they earned the economical rights they deserved. For example, “The occupy movement started as result of the great recession from 2007-2011. Due to the Subprime mortgage crisis, the stock market crashed and people on wall street began to rage with protest which led to this movement. Occupiers were resolute to make a change towards
These people protest on Wall Street in New York on an everyday basis. They sleep there, eat there and basically do whatever they want. This protest does not have a unified cause, but the general conclusion that can be drawn from everyone is
September 17, 2011 is the day the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement began in Zuccotti Park, located in New York City. The main issues include social and economic inequality, greed, corruption and the undue influence of corporations on government according to The New York Times. The mix of moral foundations based on ideas from the anthropologist Richard Shweder, outline six clusters of moral concern - care, fairness, liberty, loyalty, authority, or sanctity. OWS main moral issues include: fairness, care, and liberty. Fairness – the rich (the “1” percent) got rich by taking without giving. OWS protesters viewed the
On September 17, 2011, in the shadow of the 2008 financial crisis, thousands of protestors amassed in Zuccotti Park, New York City to protest against wealth inequality and economic injustice. “We are the 99%” was suddenly a phrase traced onto pieces of cardboard, printed on front pages of newspapers, and rolling off the tongues of both sympathizers and critics alike. The newest unwelcome tenants in Manhattan’s Wall Street financial district began amassing something akin to Hoovervilles out of tarps, tents, and cardboard. Seemingly overnight, a social movement was born.
Occupy Wall Street’s opposing expression of the disparity between the wealthy and the poor may have begun in good faith by utilizing the Freedom of Speech and General Assembly amendment rights, but the strategies some of the protestors have demonstrated are resulting in adverse reactions against themselves. The Occupy Wall Street movement will assuredly cost affected cities in the double digits of millions of dollars. Increases in payroll, overtime, and business expenses will inadvertently backfire and increase layoffs. The burden the protestors physically place on a city is weighing down an already financially stressed situation. The mass of people and their tent lifestyle is causing a drain on city finances, and alas, the money is coming
Protests are a way that many citizens have historically exercised their right to freedom of speech and as to voice their opinions on current matters in the U.S. as well as other nations. Protests help the uninformed get informed on specific issues, and try to persuade fellow citizens. What were some of the effective aspects of the protests that were portrayed in “The Matrix”, “Battle in Seattle” as well as those in “The Letter from Birmingham Jail”? What were the downfalls? An effective protest is one where an advocated idea gets across to the intended audience. Peaceful protests tend to have a better outcome than those that lead to violence.
The impact of the occupy movement leads to a police state team being formed . Authority around the world actively shares information about control tactics perceived to be effective against the innovative tactical repertoire of a “new breed” protester ( Gillham 98). After the 9/11 incident, the police became more strict with the risen of the movement; police had to come up with different techniques to handle the movement. These tactics lead to the concession of the movement. The Occupy Movement also lead to a revised image of the public class and public space ( Brown 410). While that fight against neoliberalism power has not been diminish the resurface of the public voice and opinions have prevailed and now more movement can progress to keep