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Occupy Wall Street – An Expanding Movement

Occupy Wall Street is a popular movement that seems to have a life of its own. It started in early summer 2011 and has continued to expand at light-speed rate. This is not surprising since its major vehicle of export is social media like Facebook. This movement has as its central theme the need for Wall Street to become more socially conscious and less centered on making money for the more financially secure, the so-called 1 %. According to an article by Joseph Stiglitz, Vanity Fair Magazine, “ the upper 1 percent of Americans are now taking in nearly a quarter of the nation’s income every year”. This fact continues to fuel the Occupy Wall Street movement as it expands to other cities within the United States.

Media coverage of this movement is mixed. Support for the Movement is primarily expressed by such liberal media as the Wall Street Journal, NPR and the New York Times. Other media such as NewsMax, WorldNet Daily and Fox News tend to be less supportive, and in some instances rather dismissive of the whole Occupy Wall Street effort (Media Bias.Wikipedia.com). This paper will explore the brief history of the Occupy Wall Street Movement, discuss previous demonstrations on Wall Street and conclude with a discussion of Occupy Wall Street’s similarities and differences to the Tea Party Movement.

The Occupy Wall Street Movement began with demonstrations organized by a non-US group, the Adbusters. This organization’s stated goal is to “…topple existing power structures and forge a major shift in the way w live in the 25th century”. The Occupy Wall Street Movement has gained strength and can best be described as a series of peaceful demonstrations whose purpose is to denounce corporate greed among other things. The Movement uses the non-violence principles of Mahatma Ghandi and Martin Luther King. . It has expanded rapidly including nationally and internationally through masterful use of social media like Facebook. Demonstrations have occurred in such diverse places as Atlanta, Philadelphia and the small county town of Martinsville, VA. Wall Street demonstrations are not unique to this Century. In fact, Wall Street came under assault during protests of the robber barons in the late 1800’s (Weidner. wst.com). According to Wikipedia.com, the term robber baron was “used to attack any businessman who used questionable practices to become wealthy. It combines the sense of criminal ("robber") and illegitimate aristocracy ("baron")” (Robber Baron.wikipedia.com). In today’s environment, Occupy Wall Street is protesting similar conditions as what existed in the 1890’s. The major difference is the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations have lasted longer and are more widespread. Therefore, one might conclude that the Occupy Wall Street protects are more effective that those of the distant past. The media’s reaction to the Occupy Wall Street demonstrators has been mixed. For example, according to Jason Easley,, Fox News “moved from anger and attacks against Occupy Wall Street to the denial stage by claiming that the movement won’t amount to anything”. In fact, according Brian Stelter’s New York Times article, October 12, 2011, a study conducted by Pew’s Project for Excellence in Journalism showed “cable news and radio, which had initially ignored the protests almost entirely, started to give the protests significant coverage last week, often with a heavy dose or positive or negative opinion attached”. Occupy Wall Street is not the only mass movement around. Another popular, more politically focused movement is known as the Tea Party Movement. While their stated objectives are significantly different, there are a few similarities. Both movements are grass roots in nature and both are fueled by the ideologies of its members. However, there also are some significant differences between the two. Occupy Wall Street is loosely organized. The Tea Party Movement is strongly organized although their leadership is sometimes hard to publicly identify. Wikipedia describes The Tea Party movement as having no central leadership but, rather “is composed of a loose affiliation of national and local groups that determine their own platforms and agendas” (The Tea Party. Wikipedia.com). Occupy Wall Street activists are usually college educated, young and currently feeling harmed in some way by Wall Street. There appears to be a more racially and ethnically diverse cross section of Occupy Wall Street participants. The Tea Party seems to be more rigid in their thought processes, older and less diverse. The Occupy Wall Street protesters see Wall Street and corporate greed as the enemy. The Tea Party members see government as the enemy. The Tea Party seems to be breed hatred and advocate violence as a means to an end. In fact, Jesse Washington, Huffington Post, reported on April 13, 2011, an incident in which 3 Black Congressmen, were referred by the dreadful “N” word while they walked outside the US capitol Building in Washington, DC In conclusion, Occupy Wall Street is a growing and popular movement that has a social justice agenda. The Occupy Wall Street movement has varying degrees of appeal. It has earned both praise and ridicule, primarily depending on the value system and beliefs of the person making the judgment. Unlike, the Tea Party Movement which is focused on changes in the Government, the Occupy Wall Street Movement advocates for changes on Wall Street and in Wall Street’s financial dealings. The Occupy Wall Street Movement is still an expanding movement!