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Occupy Wall Street – An Expanding Movement

Occupy Wall Street (OWS) 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 so-called 1 %. What is exciting about this movement is that unlike, the Tea Party, Occupy Wall Street has liberal leanings which are focused on creating a certain financial fairness that benefits all Americans including the 99% who are not wealthy or filthy rich!

Media coverage of this movement ranges from a thumbs up, hip hip hurrah, primarily expressed by such liberal media as the Wall Street Journal (somewhat surprising since this is now a Murdoch property), NPR and the New York Times to “throw-all-the-bums-in-jail” sentiments of more conservative print media such as NewsMax, WorldNet Daily and Fox News. (Media Bias.www.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 OWS’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 (www.adbusters.org/). 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 gaining 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. (Ramanaraine.http://www.cecilram.com). 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 OWS demonstrations have lasted longer and are more widespread. Therefore, one might conclude that they are no effective. The media’s reaction to the Occupy Wall Street demonstrators has been mixed. For example, according to Jason Easley, PoliticusUSA, 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” (Easley. PoliticusUSA). 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” (Stelter. The New York Times). 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 (OWS) is loosely organized. The Tea Party Movement (TTP) is strongly organized although their leadership is sometimes hard to publicly identify. OWS 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 OWS participants. TTP seems to be more rigid in their thought processes, older and less diverse. The OWS sees Wall Street and corporate greed as the enemy. TTP sees government as the enemy. The TTP seems to be breed hatred and advocate violence as a means to an end (www.HuffingtonPost.com) The OWS movement seems to embrace respect for individuals and non-violence techniques. In conclusion, Occupy Wall Street is a growing and popular movement that has a social justice agenda. It has earned both praise and ridicule, primarily depending on the value system and beliefs of the person making the judgment. Depending on where you are in the over all scheme of things, the Occupy Wall Street movement has varying degrees of appeal. The Occupy Wall Street Movement does advocate for positive change that looks forward. From the perspective of this writer, that kind of change is good!