Occupy Wall Street

This article is about the protests in New York City. For the wider movement, see "Occupy" protests.

Occupy Wall Street
Part of the "Occupy" protests
Adbusters poster promoting the start date of the occupation, September 17.
Date	September 17, 2011 (2011-09-17) – ongoing (4633 days)
Location	Worldwide
Caused by	Wealth inequality, Corporate influence of government, Social Democracy, inter alia.
Methods	Non violent protest Civil disobedience Occupation Picketing Demonstrations Internet activism
Status	Ongoing with "occupy" movements having formed in other cities. See: List of "Occupy" protest locations.
Number
Zuccotti Park Other activity in NYC: 2,000+ marchers (march on police headquarters, October 2, 2011) 700+ marchers (crossing Brooklyn Bridge, October 3, 2011) 15,000+ marchers (Lower Manhattan solidarity march, October 5, 2011) 6,000+ marchers (Times Square recruitment center march, October 15, 2011)
Casualties and losses
Arrests: 992

Occupy Wall Street (OWS) is an ongoing series of demonstrations in New York City based in Zuccotti Park in the Wall Street financial district. The protests were initiated by the Canadian activist group Adbusters. They are mainly protesting social and economic inequality, corporate greed, corruption and influence over government - particularly from the financial services sector - and lobbyists. The protesters' slogan "We are the 99%," refers to the difference in wealth between the wealthiest 1% and the rest of the population.

The original protest began on September 17, 2011, and by October 9, similar demonstrations were either ongoing or had been held in 70 major cities and over 600 communities in the U.S.. Internationally, other "Occupy" protests have modeled themselves after Occupy Wall Street, in over 900 cities worldwide.

Background

A chart showing the disparity in income distribution in the United States. Wealth inequality and income inequality have been central concerns among OWS protesters. CBO data shows that in 1980, the top 1% earned 9.1% of all income, while in 2006 they earned 18.8% of all income.

In mid-2011, the Canadian-based group Adbusters Media Foundation, best known for its advertisement-free anti-consumerist magazine Adbusters, proposed a peaceful occupation of Wall Street to protest corporate influence on democracy, address a growing disparity in wealth, and the absence of legal repercussions behind the recent global financial crisis. According to Adbusters' senior editor Micah White, Adbusters suggested the idea on their email list in mid-July and “it was spontaneously taken up by all the people of the world.” They promoted the protest with a poster featuring a dancer atop Wall Street's iconic Charging Bull. Also in July, they stated that, "Beginning from one simple demand – a presidential commission to separate money from politics – we start setting the agenda for a new America." Activists from Anonymous also encouraged its followers to take part in the protest which increased the attention it received calling protesters to "flood lower Manhattan, set up tents, kitchens, peaceful barricades and occupy Wall Street."

Adbusters' Kalle Lasn, when asked why it took three years after Lehman Brothers' implosion for people to storm the streets said:

When the financial meltdown happened, there was a feeling that, "Wow, things are going to change. Obama is going to pass all kinds of laws, and we are going to have a different kind of banking system, and we are going to take these financial fraudsters and bring them to justice." There was a feeling like, "Hey, we just elected a guy who may actually do this." In a way, there wasn't this desperate edge. Among the young people there was a very positive feeling. And then slowly this feeling that he's a bit of a gutless wonder slowly crept in, and now we're despondent again.

Although it was originally proposed by Adbusters magazine, the demonstration is leaderless. Other groups began to join the protest, including the NYC General Assembly and U.S. Day of Rage. The protests have brought together people of many political positions. Professor Dorian Warren from Columbia University has described the movement as the first anti-authoritarian populist movement in the United States. A report in CNN said that protesters "got really lucky" when gathering at Zuccotti Park since it was private property and police could not legally force them to move off it; in contrast, police have authority to remove protesters without permits from city parks.

Prior to the protest's beginning on September 17, New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg said in a press conference, "People have a right to protest, and if they want to protest, we'll be happy to make sure they have locations to do it." The protests have been compared to "the movements that sprang up against corporate globalization at the end of 1990s, most visibly at the World Trade Organization summit in Seattle," and also to the World Social Forum, a series in opposition to the World Economic Forum, sharing similar origins.

The use of the slogan, "We are the 99%," is a protest of the trend since the 1970s for wealth and income to be concentrated in the top 1% of the United States population. According to the Congressional Budget Office, between 1979 and 2007, incomes of the top 1% of Americans have grown by an average of 275%, versus just 40% for the 60 percent of Americans who are in the middle of the income scale. Since 1979, average pre-tax income for the bottom 90% of households decreased by $900, and that of the top 1% increased by over $700,000, as federal taxation became less progressive. Over the last 30 years, the top 1% bore a smaller percentage of the tax burden and the 400 taxpayers with the highest incomes saw their income increase by 392% and their tax rate go down 37%.

Demands and goals

Initially journalists such as Shannon Bond for the Financial Times had said it was hard to discern a unified aim for the movement, though by later October Adbusters had been trying to "rally it around a single, clear demand" for a Robin Hood tax, with a global march in support of the tax planned for October 29th. They have also called for the the reinstatement of the Glass-Steagall Act. Adbusters have been encouraging protestors to use Tactical frivolity by improvising theatrics , pranks and "subversive performances". The movement has been compared to the Situationists and the Protests of 1968, although according to Adbusters co-founder Kalle Lasn, this time the "stakes are much higher". Activists have used web technologies and social media like mIRC, Facebook, Twitter, and Meetup to coordinate the events. Indymedia have been helping the movement with communications, saying there have been conference calls on skype with participants from up to 80 locations. Many of the movements decisions are taken by "working groups" composed of whoever wants to turn up, with more important decisions taken at "General assemblies". Shannon Bond reports the movement has been trying to create more efficient forms of organisation, but that no universal consensus for doing so has yet emerged. Although the movement is not in complete agreement on its message and goals, it does have a message which is fairly coherent. According to Bloomberg Businessweek:

They want more and better jobs, more equal distribution of income, less profit (or no profit) for banks, lower compensation for bankers, and more strictures on banks with regard to negotiating consumer services such as mortgages and debit cards. They also want to reduce the influence that corporations—financial firms in particular—wield in politics, and they want a more populist set of government priorities: bailouts for student debtors and mortgage holders, not just for banks.

Participants

Leadership

According to Fordham University communications professor Paul Levinson, "Occupy Wall Street" and similar movements, symbolize another rise of direct democracy [where people collectively make decisions for themselves without having elected leaders] that has not actually been seen since ancient times. Academics have compared Occupy Wall Street to other leaderless movements in history. According to Fordham University sociologist Heather Gautney, while the organization calls itself leaderless, the protest in Zuccotti Park has discernible "organizers."

Demographics

The protesters include persons of a variety of political orientations, including liberals, political independents, anarchists, socialists, libertarians, and environmentalists. At the protest's start, the majority of the demonstrators were young; however, as the protest grew the age of the protesters became more diverse, mostly related to the use of social networks. Religious beliefs are diverse as well, with both Muslim and Jewish services and events held at the OWS location. . On October 10 the Associated Press reported that "there’s a diversity of age, gender and race" at the protest. Some news organizations have compared the protest to a left-leaning version of the Tea Party protests. Some left-leaning academics and activists expressed concern that it may become co-opted by the Democratic party.

A crowd of protesters engaging in the 'human microphone' on September 30

According to a survey of Zucotti Park protesters by the Baruch College School of Public Affairs published on October 19, of 1,619 web respondents, 1/3 were older than 35, half were employed full-time, 13% were unemployed and 13% earned over $75,000. 27.3% of the respondents called themselves Democrats, 2.4% called themselves Republicans, while the rest, 70%, called themselves independents

On Oct. 10 and 11, the polling firm Penn, Schoen & Berland interviewed nearly 200 protesters. Half (52%) have participated in a political movement before, 98% would support civil disobedience to achieve their goals, and 31% would support violence to advance their agenda. Most are employed; 15% are unemployed. Most had supported Obama; now they are evenly divided. 65% say government has a responsibility to guarantee access to affordable health care, a college education, and a secure retirement. They support raising taxes on the wealthiest Americans, and are divided on whether the bank bailouts were necessary. In the Wall Street Journal, Douglas Schoen wrote that the protesters reflect "values that are dangerously out of touch with the broad mass of the American people" and have "a deep commitment to left-wing policies: opposition to free-market capitalism and support for radical redistribution of wealth, intense regulation of the private sector, and protectionist policies to keep American jobs from going overseas," and that politicians who support them will be hurt in the 2012 elections. However, other authors said Schoen misrepresented his results. When asked, "What frustrates you the most about the political process in the United States?," 30% said, "Influence of corporate/moneyed/special interests." Only 6% said "Income inequality" and 3% said, "Our democratic/capitalist system." When asked, "What would you like to see the Occupy Wall Street movement achieve?," 35% said "Influence the Democratic Party the way the Tea Party has influenced the GOP" and 11% said, "Break the two-party duopoly." Only 4% said "Radical redistribution of wealth."

New York City General Assembly

The General Assembly meets in Washington Square Park on October 8

The New York City General Assembly (NYCGA) is OWS' governing body. At its meetings the various OWS committees discuss their thoughts and needs, and the meetings are open to the public for both attendance and speaking. The meetings are without formal leadership, although certain members routinely act as moderators. Volunteers take minutes of the meetings so that organizers who are not in attendance can be kept up-to-date.

A Fox News posting reported that according to an OWS protester/observer named Lori, people wishing to speak before the General Assembly must get in line, with women and members of "traditionally marginalized groups" being given priority over men—especially over white men, who are encouraged to "step back" in acknowledgement of "the privilege they have lived in their entire lives".

Sound system

New York City requires a permit to use "amplified sound," including electric bullhorns. Since Occupy Wall Street does not have such a permit, the protesters created the "human microphone" in which a speaker pauses while the nearby members of the audience repeats the phrase (somewhat) in unison. The effect has been called "comic or exhilarating—often all at once." Some feel this provided a further unifying effect for the crowd.

People working at the media center

Funds

Various sources report that OWS has received as much as $500,000 in donations as of October 27, 2011. According to The Wall Street Journal, "A few weeks ago, the Alliance for Global Justice, a Washington-based nonprofit, agreed to sponsor Occupy Wall Street and lend it its tax-exempt status, so donors could write off contributions. That means the Alliance for Global Justice's board has final say on spending, though it says it's not involved in decisions and will only step in if the protesters want to spend money on something that might violate their tax-exempt status." Presently, the Finance Committee works with a lawyer and an accountant to track finances; the group has a substantial amount of money deposited at the Amalgamated Bank nearby, after first making deposits at the Lower East Side People's Federal Credit Union.

Media center

A separate section is set aside for an information/media area which contains laptop computers, cameras, gas-powered generators, and several wireless routers. The generators also provide power for cell phones, and Internet access is available throughout Zucotti Park via these wireless routers. According to the Columbia Journalism Review's New Frontier Database, the media team, while unofficial, runs websites like Occupytogether.org, video livestream, a "steady flow of updates on Twitter, Facebook, and Tumblr" as well as Skype sessions with other demonstrators.

Library

The library provides free access to a collection of books, magazines, newspapers, zines, pamphlets and other materials that have been donated, collected, gathered and discovered during the occupation. In addition to the physical collection, the library maintains a web site and an online catalog that is updated as materials are received, and posts updates on Twitter, Facebook, and Tumblr.

Sanitation

The protesters' sanitation department on October 16

On October 6, Brookfield Office Properties, which owns Zuccotti Park, issued a statement that "Sanitation is a growing concern... Normally the park is cleaned and inspected every weeknight[, but] because the protesters refuse to cooperate ... the park has not been cleaned since Friday, September 16 and as a result, sanitary conditions have reached unacceptable levels."

Bloomberg News reported on October 10 that "[t]he ground is mostly free of litter" and committees had formed to handle sanitation and comfort issues. As of October 11, a special 311 hotline set up by the Department of Sanitation had not received a single complaint about sanitation at the park.

Many protesters have taken to using the bathrooms of nearby business establishments; one nearby McDonald's restaurant "has become the movement's unofficial latrine." Supporters in New York have also donated use of their bathrooms for showers and the sanitary needs of protesters.

The greywater treatment system used by the protesters to collect water for the park's plants

The protesters have constructed a greywater treatment system to recycle dishwater contaminants. The filtered water is used for the park's plants and flowers.

On October 13, New York City's mayor Bloomberg and Zuccotti Park owner Brookfield Properties announced that the park must be vacated for cleaning the following morning at 7 am. However, protestors vowed to "defend the occupation" after police said they wouldn’t allow them to return with sleeping bags and other gear following the cleaning, under rules set by the private park’s owner—and many protestors spent the night sweeping and mopping the park. The next morning, the property owner postponed its cleaning effort.

Sleeping arrangements, food, and clothing

Somewhere between 100 and 200 people sleep in Zuccotti Park. Because tents are not allowed at Zucotti Park, the protesters that do decide to spend the night sleep in sleeping bags or under blankets. Some blankets and other supplies have been donated.

The Occupied Kitchen costs about $1,000 a day. Volunteers have a Costco account and buy food in the Red Hook Fairway. There are homeless hangers-on, but they're not typical. Some visitors are eating in fast-food restaurants, but local vendors have fared badly. Volunteers dole out sleeping bags and clothes. The contribution boxes raise $5,000 a day, and supplies come in from around the country. One morning, 90 shipments arrived from around the country, of supplies like rain ponchos and tents. Eric Smith, a chef who was laid off at the Sheraton in Midtown, said that he was running a five-star restaurant in the park. Kitchen workers have complained about working 18 hour days to feed professional homeless people and ex-cons that mix in as protesters. Due to the complaints kitchen workers have planned to serve brown rice, basic sandwiches, and potato chips for three days.

Crime

Demonstrators at Occupy Wall Street have complained of thefts of assorted items such as cameras, phones, and laptops. Thieves also stole $2500 of donations that were stored in a makeshift kitchen. On October 10, a man was arrested for groping a woman. Two people were arrested at Occupy Boston for selling heroin while they had a 6 year old child living in their tent. An Occupy Denver demonstrator was arrested for groping a reporter. The police are investigating sexual assaults in Cleveland , Dallas , and Portand At Occupy Baltimore, a pamphlet was distributed to members that victim's advocates say discourages victims of sex crimes to report them to police.

Reaction

Local complaints

Local residents of the area surrounding Zucotti Park have voiced various complaints about the demonstrations. A caller to a radio show complained that the park has been rendered "unusable" by the protestors, and that "a general atmosphere of incivility," together with loud shouting and drums, prevailed; another complained that the drums from the protest, which he said "start in the morning" and get louder in the evening until 11:30 pm, made it difficult for his children to sleep or do their homework. Another resident complained that protestors had been vandalizing and urinating in the vestibule to his apartment building. Responding to a caller to his radio show complaining about noise and incivility at the park, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said "we couldn't agree more."

Protesters and community residents clashed at a standing room only Community Board 1 meeting October 20. Residents complained about inadequate sanitation, verbal taunts and harassment, noise, and related issues. One resident angrily complained that the protesters "[a]re defecating on our doorsteps"; board member Tricia Joyce said, "They have to have some parameters. That doesn't mean the protests have to stop. I'm hoping we can strike a balance on parameters because this could be a long term stay."

New York City police and overtime costs

The police department has assigned Rick Lee, a community relations detective assigned to the First Precinct to duty at the demonstration. His duties are to communicate with the protestors on behalf of the police department and to gather information regarding their planned activities.

New York City Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly reported on October 7 that Occupy Wall Street has cost the Police Department $1.9 million in overtime. As of October 12, the overtime cost had risen to $3.2 million.

Public opinion

An October 13 survey by Time Magazine found that 54 percent of Americans have a favorable impression of the protests, while 23 percent have a negative impression. An NBC/Wall Street Journal survey found that 37 percent of respondents "tend to support" the movement, while 18 percent "tend to oppose" it. An October United Technologies/National Journal Congressional poll found that 59 percent of Americans agree with the movement while 31 percent disagree.

An October Quinnipiac University poll of New York City voters found that 67 percent of New Yorkers approved of the movement with 23 percent disapproving. The results also found 87 percent of New Yorkers find it OK that they are protesting. Despite media criticism that the protestors views are incoherent, the poll also found that 72 percent of New York City voters understand their views. An October CBS News/New York Times polls found 43% of Americans agree with Occupy Wall Street while 27% disagree. An October Rasmussen poll found a plurality of Americans approved of the movement with 33 percent favorable, 27 percent unfavorable and 40 percent with no opinion.

Political reaction

The White House

During an October 6 news conference, President Obama said "I think it expresses the frustrations the American people feel, that we had the biggest financial crisis since the Great Depression, huge collateral damage all throughout the country ... and yet you're still seeing some of the same folks who acted irresponsibly trying to fight efforts to crack down on the abusive practices that got us into this in the first place." When Jake Tapper of ABC News pushed Obama to explain the fact that his administration hasn't prosecuted any Wall Street executives who didn't play by the rules, he replied, "One of the biggest problems about the collapse of Lehman's and the subsequent financial crisis and the whole subprime lending fiasco is that a lot of that stuff wasn't necessarily illegal; it was just immoral or inappropriate or reckless." On October 18, when interviewed by ABC news, he said "in some ways, they’re not that different from some of the protests that we saw coming from the Tea Party. Both on the left and the right, I think people feel separated from their government. They feel that their institutions aren’t looking out for them."

Vice President Joe Biden likened the protest to the Tea Party, saying, "What are the people up there on the other end of the political spectrum saying? The same thing: 'Look guys, the bargain is not on the level anymore.' In the minds of the vast majority of the American – the middle class is being screwed."

Congress

House Democratic Leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi, said she supports the growing nationwide Occupy Wall Street movement. Pelosi said she includes herself in the group of Americans dissatisfied with Congress and stated, "I support the message to the establishment, whether it's Wall Street or the political establishment and the rest, that change has to happen. We cannot continue in a way (that) is not relevant to their lives."

Independent Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who caucuses with the Democratic Party, appeared on Countdown with Keith Olbermann and supported the protests saying, "We desperately need a coming together of working people to stand up to Wall Street. We need to rebuild the middle-class in this country and you guys can't have it all."

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va), in a speech to a Values Voter Summit, characterized the movement as "growing mobs" and said that President Barack Obama's "failed policies" and rhetoric "condon[ing] the pitting of Americans against Americans" were to blame. In response, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney claimed that Cantor's comments were hypocritical, given the Majority Leader's support of the Tea Party Protests, adding, "I can't understand how one man's mob is another man's democracy. I think both are expressions that are totally consistent with the American democratic tradition."

The Democratic co-chairs of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, Representatives Raúl Grijalva and Keith Ellison announced their solidarity with the movement on October 4. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is asking for 100,000 names on its website which will subsequently be added to 100,000 letters to Speaker of the House John Boehner and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor expressing support for the Occupy Wall Street protesters, the middle class, and condemnation of millionaires, big oil, and big bankers.

2012 Presidential candidates

2012 Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain accused the movement of being "anti-capitalist" and argued "Don't blame Wall Street, don't blame the big banks, if you don't have a job and you're not rich, blame yourself!" Republican Ron Paul came out to refute Cain by saying, "the system has been biased against the middle class and the poor...the people losing jobs, it wasn't their fault that we've followed a deeply flawed economic system." In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Cain also expressed his belief that Occupy Wall Street was "planned and orchestrated to distract from the failed policies of the Obama administration," but admitted that he "[didn't] have facts" to back up his accusation.

Former Speaker Newt Gingrich was quoted as saying at the 2012 Bloomberg Washington Post Debate, "Let me draw a distinction. Virtually every American has a reason to be angry. I think virtually very American has a reason to be worried. I think the people who are protesting in Wall Street break into two groups: one is left-wing agitators who would be happy to show up next week on any other topic, and the other is sincere middle-class people who frankly are very close to the Tea Party people who care. And actually...you can tell which are which. The people who are decent, responsible citizens pick up after themselves. The people who are just out there as activists trash the place and walk off and are proud of having trashed it, so let’s draw that distinction."

U.S. Congressman and 2012 Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul (R-TX) stated, "If they were demonstrating peacefully, and making a point, and arguing our case, and drawing attention to the Fed – I would say, 'good!'"

2012 Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney did admit that there were 'bad actors,' and the need for them to be 'found and plucked out.' Yet, he believes to aim at one industry or region of America is a mistake and views encouraging the Occupy Wall Street protests as "dangerous" and inciting "class warfare." Romney later expressed sympathy for the movement, saying, "I look at what's happening on Wall Street and my view is, boy, I understand how those people feel."

2012 Republican presidential candidate Buddy Roemer expressed support for the movement, saying, "We have almost permanent unemployment. They say it’s nine percent, but the real unemployment rate is more like 16 percent. These are people there are no jobs for, or they have to work part time to try to make ends meet. It’s disturbing. The Wall Street protest is unshaped, unfocused, but there’s a lot of power in it."

On October 18, 2012 Republican presidential candidate Gary Johnson visited with the protesters in New York, expressing his support for the movement, stating, "I just have to express my solidarity with everyone there that expresses the notion that we have a country that doles it out unfairly. Corporatism is alive and well in this country."

Other politicians

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said that the protests "aren't productive," although he also expressed sympathy for some of their complaints. On October 8, during his weekly radio show, Bloomberg complained that the protestors are trying to "take the jobs from the people working in the city," and said that although "[t]here are some people with legitimate complaints, there are some people who just like to protest." In an interview with The Washington Post, Former Democratic U.S. Senator Russ Feingold endorsed the movement on October 5 stating, "This is like the Tea Party – only it's real... By the time this is over, it will make the Tea Party look like ... a tea party."

Federal Reserve and Bank of Canada

During a hearing before the Joint Economic Committee October 4, 2011, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said, "[P]eople are quite unhappy with the state of the economy and what’s happening. They blame, with some justification, the problems in the financial sector for getting us into this mess, and they’re dissatisfied with the policy response here in Washington. And at some level, I can’t blame them. Certainly, 9 percent unemployment and very slow growth is not a good situation." Dallas Federal Reserve President Richard W. Fisher said that he was "somewhat sympathetic" to the views of the protestors, and added, "We have too many people out of work. We have a very uneven distribution of income. We have a very frustrated people, and I can understand their frustration." Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney cited income inequality and economic performance as the main motivators, calling the protests "entirely constructive."

Union reaction

On October 5 members of the National Nurses United union march to Foley Square in solidarity with OWS

Various unions, including the Transport Workers Union of America Local 100 and the New York Metro 32BJ Service Employees International Union have pledged their support for demonstrators. The Industrial Workers of the World announced on September 28, 2011, that its General Executive Board (GEB), and the General Defense Committee (GDC) had issued statements of support for Occupy Wall Street. On October 3, Transport Workers Union bus drivers sued the New York Police Department for ordering their buses to drive to the Brooklyn Bridge to pick up detained protesters. Union President John Samuelsen said, "We're down with these protesters. We support the notion that rich folk are not paying their fair share. Our bus operators are not going to be pressed into service to arrest protesters anywhere." However, after numerous arrests of protesters on the Brooklyn Bridge, city buses were indeed commandeered by police to pick up detained protesters, and drivers later sued the New York Police Department. On October 5, representatives from more than 14 of the country's largest labor unions intended to join the protesters for a mass rally and march.

Noting the growing union support, an article in the liberal Mother Jones magazine said that union support could splinter and derail the protests rather than sustain them because while unions are tightly organized, hierarchical, and run with a clear chain of command, Occupy Wall Street is the opposite in that they are "a horizontal, autonomous, leaderless, modified-consensus-based system with roots in anarchist thought." However, the article went on to suggest that if the unions and OWS joined together they could work to create a progressive movement that "effectively taps into the rising feeling among many Americans that economic opportunity has been squashed by corporate greed and the influence of the very rich in politics."

Business leaders

John Paulson, founder of the hedge fund Paulson & Co., criticized the protesters for "vilifying our most successful businesses," citing that "The top 1% of New Yorkers pay over 40% of all income taxes, providing huge benefits to everyone in our city and state." Vikram Pandit, head of Citigroup, called the protesters' sentiments "completely understandable" and that Wall Street had broken the trust of its clients. Bill Gross, manager of PIMCO's Total Return Fund, the world's largest mutual fund, stated "Class warfare by the 99%? Of course, they're fighting back after 30 years of being shot at." PIMCO's co-CEO Mohamed El-Erian argued that people should "listen to Occupy Wall Street."

Karl Denninger, former CEO and one of the original co-founders of the Tea Party movement, expressed support for the movement, saying "The problem with protests and the political process is that it is very easy, no matter how big the protest is, for the politicians to simply wait until the people go home, and then they can ignore you. Well, Occupy Wall Street was a little different, and back in 2008, I wrote that when we will actually see change is when the people come, they set up camp, and they refuse to go home. That appears to be happening now." Jeff Immelt, CEO of General Electric and a member of President Obama's Economic Recovery Advisory Board, stated "It is natural to assume that people are angry, and I think we have to be empathetic and understand that people are not feeling great." Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater Associates, the world's largest hedge fund, stated in an interview with Charlie Rose, "I think the number one problem is that we're not having a quality dialogue...I certainly understand the frustration, I understand the dilemma, I understand the discontent."

Other business leaders lending their support include George Soros and Russell Simmons.

Peter Schiff, CEO of Euro Pacific Capital, said to a protestor, "I employ 150 people, how many do you employ?" Schiff also wrote an opinion column where he stated, "I own a brokerage firm, but I didn't receive any bailout money... Yes, I am the 1% - but I've earned every penny. Instead of trying to take my wealth away, I hope they learn from my example."

Individuals within the "wealthiest 1%"

Several wealthy supporters have joined the protest, and have started a blog, westandwiththe99percent in which they say, "I am the 1%. I stand with the 99%," and give their stories. The granddaughter of oil tycoon H.L. Hunt, Leah Hunt-Hendrix, 28, was quoted as saying “We should acknowledge our privilege and claim the responsibilities that come with it.” Farhad Ebrahimi, 33, has been participating in the Occupy Boston protest wearing a T-shirt that says, "Tax me. I'm good for it."

Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine playing a set on Day 28 in New York; Morello previously played for the Los Angeles protests. Morello, wearing an IWW cap in the photo, is a member of a Los Angeles musicians union and also of the Industrial Workers of the World.

Celebrity reaction and involvement

On September 19, Roseanne Barr, the first celebrity to endorse the protest, spoke to protesters calling for a combination of capitalism and socialism and a system not based on "bloated talk radio hosts and that goddamn Ayn Rand book."

Filmmaker Michael Moore spoke against Wall Street, saying, "They have tried to take our democracy and turn it into a kleptocracy." Rapper Lupe Fiasco, one of the initial supporters of Occupy Wall Street, wrote a poem, "Moneyman," for the protest. Susan Sarandon spoke at the demonstration saying, "I came down here to educate myself.... There's a huge void between the rich and the poor in this country." Actor and activist Mark Ruffalo has supported the Occupy Wall Street protest saying, "Peaceful Resistance. That is what changes the world. We must be peaceful. This movement is about decency."

Jeff Mangum of Neutral Milk Hotel played a solo acoustic set for the protesters on October 4, and Tom Morello performed on October 13. Folk singer Pete Seeger led a group of several hundred protesters on a march through the streets on October 22, singing several songs, including "This Land Is Your Land" and "We Shall Overcome." Other musicians joining them included Arlo Guthrie, Tao Rodríguez-Seeger, Tom Chapin, David Amram, and Guy Davis.

On October 23, Asmaa Mahfouz, whose video blog helped spark the 2011 uprising in Egypt, held a teach-in at Liberty Plaza. When asked why she came to the OWS protest she replied, "Many of U.S. residents was in solidarity with us. So, we have to keep going all over the world, because another world is possible for all of us."

Other celebrities lending their support include John Carlos, Anti-Flag, Radiohead, and Kanye West.

Authors and academics

Naomi Klein leading an open forum on October 6

Canadian writer Naomi Klein has spoken at the protest several times. Writing in the New York Times she said she is "delighted" that OWS has not given in to issuing a list of demands. "This is a young movement still in the process of determining just how powerful it is, and that power will determine what demands are possible. Small movements have to settle for small reforms: big ones have the freedom to dream."

Educator and author Cornel West addressed the frustrations that some critics have expressed at the protest’s lack of a clear and unified message, saying, "It’s impossible to translate the issue of the greed of Wall Street into one demand, or two demands. We’re talking about a democratic awakening."

Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Žižek gave a speech on Wall Street in which he expressed support for the protests saying, "They tell you we are dreamers. The true dreamers are those who think things can go on indefinitely the way they are. We are not dreamers. We are awakening from a dream which is turning into a nightmare."

Over one thousand authors have announced their support for the movement via “Occupy Writers”, an online petition that states “We, the undersigned writers and all who will join us, support Occupy Wall Street and the Occupy Movement around the world.” The initiative began when Jeff Sharlet e-mailed Salman Rushdie to suggest a petition for writers who support Occupy Wall Street, and signatories range the spectrum of literary genres and include Margaret Atwood, Noam Chomsky, Neil Gaiman, Lemony Snicket, and Alice Walker. The site also features original work from the writers expressing their take on the Occupy movement.

Other authors and academics lending their support include David Graeber, Chris Hedges, Stéphane Hessel, Jeff Madrick, Paul Krugman, Joseph Stiglitz, Richard D. Wolff and Jimmy Wales.

International reaction

• Brazil - President Dilma Rousseff said, "We agree with some of the expressions that some movements have used around the world [in] demonstrations like the ones we see in the US and other countries."

• Canada - Prime Minister Stephen Harper said that because there was nothing like a Canadian TARP program, he did not think Canadians were as angry as Americans. Finance Minister Jim Flaherty expressed sympathy with the protests, citing high unemployment amongst the youth.

• People's Republic of China - The P. R. Chinese state news agency Xinhua said the protests had exposed "fundamental problems" with the US economic and political systems, and that it showed "a clear need for Washington, which habitually rushes to demand other governments to change when there are popular protests in their countries, to put its own house in order."

• Greece - Prime Minister George Papandreou supported the U.S. protests saying, "We fight for changing the global economic system, like many anti-Wall Street citizens who rightly protest against the inequalities and injustices of the system."

• India - Prime Minister Manmohan Singh stated, "There are reasons why people are protesting. People are protesting in Wall Street, in Europe about the fat salaries that the bankers are getting when people are being asked to tighten their belts. There is problem of growing unemployment in the United States. There is also worry in Europe. So there are problems which the system must have credible answers to take them on board."

• Iran - Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei commented that the protests are because a "corrupt foundation has been exposed to the American people."

• North Korea - The Korean Central News Agency of DPRK commented that the Occupy Wall Street movement were "in protest against exploitation and oppression by capital, shaking all fabrics of society."

• Poland - Lech Wałęsa, former president of Poland and cofounder of the Polish Solidarity Movement has expressed his support for Occupy Wall Street and is considering a visit to the site.

• Template:Russia - Former Soviet Union President Mikhail Gorbachev compared it to the perestroika period and the collapse of a superpower, calling the protests justified. He said Americans should put their own house in order before attempting to do such with other countries.

• United Kingdom - Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the protests were about fairness. "There are voices in the middle who say, ‘Look, we can build a better financial system that is more sustainable, that is based on a better and proportionate sense of what’s just and fair and where people don’t take reckless risks or, if they do, they’re penalized for doing so.’"

• Vatican City - Cardinal Peter Turkson, a senior Vatican official, defended the protests: "Do people at a certain time have a right to say: 'Do business differently, look at the way you are doing business because this is not leading to our welfare, to our good'? Can people demand this of the people of Wall Street? I think people can and should be able to." The comment was in light of a new publication the Vatican released entitled Towards Reforming the International Financial and Monetary Systems in the Context of Global Public Authority, which agreed with many of the protesters' issues.

• Venezuela - Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez condemned the "horrible repression" of the Occupy Wall Street activists and expressed solidarity with the movement.

Criticism

On October 5, 2011, conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh told his listening audience: "When I was 10 years old I was more self-sufficient than this parade of human debris calling itself Occupy Wall Street." Glenn Beck said on his internet television network GBTV, "Capitalists, if you think that you can play footsies with these people, you are wrong. They will come for you and drag you into the streets and kill you. They will do it. They’re not messing around." A group of politically conservative bloggers, led by political commentator Erick Erickson, organized a website criticizing the movement entitled "We Are the 53%," referring to the 53% of Americans who pay federal income taxes.

In October 2011, Mike Brownfield of The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, argued that rejection of the capitalist system and the policies that OWS protesters advocate, including limits on trade and student loan forgiveness, would not lead to improved economic conditions for unemployed Americans. According to Brownfield, the Foundation believes it is "right to decry out-of-control bailouts and corporate subsidies" and there are valid concerns regarding the economy, unemployment rates and low job creation. However, Heritage argued that capitalism is key to improving the economy and that the movement is focusing on the wrong solutions to the problems they protest: it should be protesting the expansion of government instead of calling for more government intervention.

Mark Tooley of the Institute on Religion and Democracy, stated that "while Occupy Wall Street has succeed in getting attention, it's limited because it's only attracting religious support from the left." He said that a call for the government redistribution of wealth and reliance on street activism did not appeal to those with conservative political or religious leanings. The protest has been criticized for tolerating anti-Semitic activists. The Emergency Committee for Israel ran an ad condemning anti-Semitic remarks and calling on Barack Obama and other political officials to do likewise. Other journalists have disputed allegations of anti-Semitism as not reflecting the movement as a whole.

Parodies

A CNBC correspondent reported that Occupy Wall Street movement sparked parodies which aim to expand the movement to Star Wars and Lord of the Rings. An image of Luke Skywalker holding a protest sign was published: "It wasn't glamorous but I had a steady living working on my uncle's moisture farm. My aunt and uncle were unjustly murdered and the farm destroyed. I was forced to leave my home and join an extinct cult just to survive. I am now a member of an upstart movement to take down a greedy corrupt establishment. I AM THE 99%." Skywalker's enemies, the Imperial Storm Troopers joined the protest on another image circulating on the Internet holding signs: "End Galactic Corporate Greed", "Get Our Troops Off Tantooine" and "Keep Your Empirical Hands Off My Healthcare". Parodies relating to the Middle Earth include a woman which written her complaint in Elvish, allegedly translated: "I spend every waking hour fighting orcs while Elrond and Galadriel eat lembas bread all day. I am the 99%".

Media coverage

Comparison of news coverage of the initial Occupy Wall Street and Tea Party protests.

The protests began on Saturday, September 17. The following Wednesday, The New York Observer reported on the nascent protests in Zuccotti Park. On Friday, September 23, Ginia Bellafante panned the movement in The New York Times. Five days into the protest, Keith Olbermann criticized the media for failing to cover the protests. Joanna Weiss of The Boston Globe found it difficult to take the protests seriously, criticizing Occupy Wall Street for its "circus" atmosphere." In a September 27 article, Lauren Ellis of Mother Jones magazine criticized the movement's lack of a clear message.

A man's sign on Day 12 references that the protesters considered the lack of news coverage to be a 'media blackout'

Media theorist Douglas Rushkoff criticized the mainstream media for dismissing the protesters. "Anyone who says he has no idea what these folks are protesting is not being truthful. Whether we agree with them or not, we all know what they are upset about, and we all know that there are investment bankers working on Wall Street getting richer while things for most of the rest of us are getting tougher." Rushkoff says that Occupy Wall Street is the first true Internet-era movement, and as such, it does not have a charismatic leader or particular endpoint. Unlike a traditional protest which identifies the enemy and fights for a particular solution, Rushkoff concludes that the protest is less about victory than sustainability, inclusion and consensus.

File:Nytimes occupywallstreet.jpg

The New York Times had changed its media coverage of the event on October 6th

By October 4, economist Richard Wolff commented that the unclear shape of the movement is "mostly irrelevant" at this early stage and the priority should be to invite all interested parties. Kalle Lasn, co-founder of Adbusters, believed that the protests had gone mainstream and expressed the opinion that "it's become kind of a political left movement in the U.S., hopefully to rival the Tea Party." Michael Daly, of Newsweek and The Daily Beast characterized the position of the protestors as a "feeling that there is just a fundamental unfairness. From their point of view, the very people who almost wrecked the U.S. economy on Wall Street continue to get wealthy while working people are struggling to pay their bills." On October 11, Katrina vanden Heuvel, who writes a weekly column for The Post and is the editor and publisher of The Nation, said "most understand that the main task ahead is growing the movement," and pointing to recent legislation, she suggests that the movement has already influenced public dialogue.

MSNBC's Technolog noted that policymakers had failed to address economic problems, and news media had failed to cover the unemployment crisis: "Tracking CNN, MSNBC and Fox, ThinkProgress found 7,583 mentions of the word 'debt,' compared to 427 mentions of 'unemployment' on all three networks combined." NM Incite said 22% of tweets using the #OccupyWallStreet hashtag voiced general support for the movement, 11% indicated participation in it, 5% described celebrity support, 11% were complaints against the movement, 13% shared news, 6% shared videos, 4% blamed government, 2% blamed President Obama, and 1% blamed capitalism. Douglas Rushkoff calls Occupy Wall Street, "America's first true Internet-era movement."

Chronology of events

Main article: Timeline of Occupy Wall Street

The protesters march toward a police station and various other targets

Week 1 (September 17–23)

On September 17, 1,000 protesters marched through the streets, with an estimated 100 to 200 staying overnight in cardboard boxes. By September 19, seven people had been arrested.

Week 2 (September 24–30)

September 24: Street marches, mesh nets, and first pepper-spraying

At least 80 arrests were made on September 24, after protesters started marching uptown and forcing the closure of several streets. Most of the 80 arrests were for blocking traffic, though some were also charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. Police officers have also been using a technique called kettling which involves using orange nets to isolate protesters into smaller groups.

Videos which showed several penned-in female demonstrators being hit with pepper spray by a police official were widely disseminated, sparking controversy. That police official, later identified as Deputy Inspector Anthony Bologna, was shown in other videos hitting a photographer with a burst of spray.

Protesters rallying near New York police headquarters, St. Andrew's Church in the background.

Initially Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly and a representative for Bologna defended his actions, while decrying the disclosure of his personal information. After growing public furor, Kelly announced that Internal Affairs and the Civilian Complaint Review Board were opening investigations, again criticizing Anonymous for "[trying] to intimidate, putting the names of children, where children go to school," and adding that this tactic was "totally inappropriate, despicable." Meanwhile, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, Jr. started his own inquiry.

Public attention to the pepper-sprayings resulted in a spike of news media coverage, a pattern that was to be repeated in the coming weeks following confrontations with police. Clyde Haberman, writing in The New York Times, said that "If the Occupy Wall Street protesters ever choose to recognize a person who gave their cause its biggest boost, they may want to pay tribute to Anthony Bologna," calling the event "vital" for the still nascent movement.

Week 3 (October 1–7)

October 1: March on Brooklyn Bridge and mass arrests

On October 1, 2011, protesters set out to march across the Brooklyn Bridge. The New York Times reported that more than 700 arrests were made. The police used ten buses to carry protesters off the bridge. Some said the police had tricked protestors, allowing them onto the bridge, and even escorting them partway across. Jesse A. Myerson, a media coordinator for Occupy Wall Street said, “The cops watched and did nothing, indeed, seemed to guide us onto the roadway.” However, some statements by protestors supported descriptions of the event given by police: for example, one protestor Tweeted that "The police didn't lead us on to the bridge. They were backing the [expletive] up." A spokesman for the New York Police Department, Paul Browne, said that protesters were given multiple warnings to stay on the sidewalk and not block the street, and were arrested when they refused. By October 2, all but 20 of the arrestees had been released with citations for disorderly conduct and a criminal court summons. On October 4, a group of protesters who were arrested on the bridge filed a lawsuit against the city, alleging that officers had violated their constitutional rights by luring them into a trap and then arresting them; Mayor Bloomberg, commenting previously on the incident, had said that "[t]he police did exactly what they were supposed to do."

October 5: Rushing of barricades and second pepper-spraying

On October 5, joined by union members, students, and the unemployed, the demonstration swelled to the largest yet with an estimated 15,000 marchers joining the protest. Smaller protests continue in cities and on college campuses across the country.

Thousands of union workers joined protesters marching through the Financial District. The march was mostly peaceful – until after nightfall, when scuffles erupted. About 200 protesters tried to storm barricades blocking them from Wall Street and the Stock Exchange. Police responded with pepper spray and penned the protesters in with orange netting.

Week 4 (October 8–14)

Occupy Wall Street protesters in Portland, Oregon.

Inspired by Occupy Wall Street, British protesters organized an occupation of the London Stock Exchange to bring attention to what they saw as unethical behavior on the part of banks. One of the organizers of the protest said the protests are focused against "increasing social and economic injustice in this country." In his opinion, "the Government has made sure to maintain the status quo and let the people who caused this crisis get off scot-free, whilst conversely ensuring that the people of this country pay the price, in particular those most vulnerable."

Week 5 (October 15–21)

See also: "Occupy" protests

On October 15, tens of thousands of demonstrators staged rallies in 900 cities around the world, including Auckland, Sydney, Hong Kong, Taipei, Tokyo, São Paulo, Paris, Madrid, Berlin, Hamburg, Leipzig, and many other cities. In Frankfurt, 5,000 people protested at the European Central Bank and in Zurich, Switzerland's financial hub, protesters carried banners reading "We won't bail you out yet again" and "We are the 99 percent." Protests were largely peaceful, however a protest in Rome that drew thousands turned violent when "a few thousand thugs from all over Italy, and possibly from all over Europe" caused extensive damage. Thousands of Occupy Wall Street protesters gathered in Times Square in New York City and rallied for several hours. Several hundred protesters were arrested across the U.S., mostly for refusing to obey police orders to leave public areas. In Chicago there were 175 arrests, about 100 arrests in Arizona (53 in Tucson, 46 in Phoenix), and more than 70 in New York City, including at least 40 in Times Square. Multiple arrests were reported in Chicago, and about 150 people camped out by city hall in Minneapolis. A person or persons unknown stabbed many of the drums which have irritated local residents, rendering them inoperable.

Week 6 (October 22–28)

On October 25, Scott Olsen, a former Marine and Iraq War veteran, and a member of Veterans for Peace, is critically injured and with a skull fracture caused by a tear-gas projectile or smoke canister fired by San Francisco Bay Area law enforcement officers acting in Oakland. Police officers in riot gear were attempting to clear the Occupy Oakland encampment early before dawn. The raid was described as "violent and chaotic" and resulted in over 102 arrests.

See also

Occupy articles

• List of global "Occupy" protest locations
• "Occupy" protests
• Timeline of Occupy Wall Street
• We are the 99%

Global 'Occupy' protest articles
• Occupy Canada
• Occupy Toronto
• Occupy London
• Occupy Rome

Other U.S. protests

• Tea Party protests
• 1971 May Day Protests
• 2011 United States public employee protests
• 2011 Wisconsin protests

Related articles

• Arab Spring
• Bank Transfer Day
• Corporatocracy
• Corruption Perceptions Index
• Empowered democracy

• Grassroots movement
• Impact of the Arab Spring
• Income inequality in the United States
• Income tax rates in the United States (1913–2010)
• List of countries by inequality-adjusted HDI
• Plutocracy
• Social peer-to-peer processes
• Tea Party protests
• The One Percent— documentary about the growing wealth gap between America's wealthy elite compared to the overall citizenry
• Wealth inequality in the United States

External links

Occupy websites

• NYC General Assembly– The official website of the General Assembly at #OccupyWallStreet
• Unofficial website– backed by Adbusters
• Adbusters page– A listing of websites and updates
• Occupy Together– A hub for events occurring across the U.S.

• Occupy Together Meetups Everywhere– (Meetup)

• OccupyTV's YouTube Channel

Related websites

• WikiOccupy.org– Wiki on the Occupy movement
• OccupyWiki.org– Directory and information
• Occupy Directory– Google Documents spreadsheet
• FirstGameWorld.com– Media Network "Occupy" support site
• American Rattlesnake Archive Of Photo Essays Relating to Occupy Wall Street
• Charts: Here's What The Wall Street Protesters Are So Angry About...– from Business Insider
• Occupy Wall Street Videos– The growing and expanding movement captured on video
• "Occupy" photographs from around the nation– from the Denver Post
• Inequality.org– from Program on Inequality and the Common Good, an Institute for Policy Studies project
• The Equality Trust (UK)