Against The One Percent
Occupy Wall Street is one of the largest movements fighting social and economic inequality on a worldwide scale. Starting in a small park in the financial district of New York and expanding to over 80 countries. It started off as the Occupy Wall Street movement and is now called the “Occupy Movement” since it is also now an international movement. This movement started in the west and has expanded.This will continue as more and more fed up citizens finally fight for equality throughout their own countries. The reason this has such potential to expand even more is due to their common goals, the leader structure, and the techniques used to rebel against the upper class.
To begin, who is the head of the Occupy Movement and who is involved? This international movement is leaderless. It includes all races, colours, genders and political persuasions. It is the 99% going against the 1%.They are no longer tolerating the greed and corruption of the wealthy 1%. Although there is no leader, Micah White co-created the Occupy Wall Street. He is “widely recognized as a pioneer of social movement creation”(Occupy Solidarity). Even though he helped create the movement, it is the people as a whole who truly lead, with their unified voice, they stand for what they believe in, no matter where they are. So, because of this giant unified voice they will be able to keep spreading to different areas and countries, bringing their ideas with them.
As you can see from the following world map, the occupy movements have begun to be more and more frequent since 2011, and this only the beginning.
Secondly, even though every person has different backgrounds, different ethnicity, and different interpretations, there are common goals that every person agrees upon. These are:
- Free and fair elections
- Get the corporate money out of elections
- After election there should be no financial or gifting requirements to meet privately with electing officials
- Televised, public and transparent investigations into the financial meltdown, mortgage derivatives, who knew what, when and why the decisions were made to bail out private institutions
- Televised, public and transparent investigations into social security funding, history of their funding, how those funds were managed and borrowed from, and a truthful assessment of how much actual liquid assets are available to continue dividend payments
*As stated by www.occupywallst.org
The reason for these being the common goals of such a large collection of people is because it represents equality for everyone of every class, race, or ethnicity. If these common goals were put into practice in every country around the world, there would be nothing other than equality for everyone. This is why they are able to stand unified, with one voice, why the movement keeps expanding more and more. To have equality everywhere, and make the world a better place, where there is no longer privilege.
Lastly, the Occupy Movement uses a method called the “Arab Spring” to peacefully achieve what they believe is right. Occupy Wall Street was a non-violent protest that showed millions around the globe that it is possible to achieve one's goals without the means of violence. The reason this method is called the “Arab Spring” is because it was used previously in the Tunisian Revolution when the people revolted against the president at the time. This is the way that the Movement fights back. It uses its voice and it's unity to create a change. The change started in one country but since then it has grown tremendously, originating in the west of the world and growing larger and larger until one day it has touched every part of the world.
Now, to finally conclude this blog. Occupy Wall Street started as the population of a large city finally fighting back against the 1% and growing into an international movement. Affecting not only 1 country, but over 87 countries worldwide, and this number can only keep increasing. This has all been made possible due to the peaceful tactics they use, the fact that there is no leader since everyone is equal, and finally the strong unified voice that the 99% have.
Works Cited
"Happy Birthday, Occupy Wall Street." RELEVANT Magazine. N.p., 17 Sept. 2012. Web. 25 Jan. 2016. <http://www.relevantmagazine.com/slices/happy-birthday-occupy-wall-street>.
"How Did the Occupy Movement Gain Momentum?" OCCUPYing the Media. N.p., 23 June 2012. Web. 25 Jan. 2016.
<https://nicoleborocci.wordpress.com/posts/how-did-the-occupy-movement-gain-momentum/>.
"International Assembly: Global May Manifesto." OccupyWallStreet. N.p., 11 May 2012. Web. 25 Jan. 2016. <http://occupywallst.org/article/international-assembly-globay-may/>.
"#Occupy Wall Street." Principles of Solidarity. N.p., 2011. Web. 25 Jan. 2016. <http://www.nycga.net/resources/documents/principles-of-solidarity/>. 
Luke, I totally agree with the movement against the one percent, but find it hard to believe it is completely achievable. The reason I find this idealistic concept of equality for all classes, races and genders almost unachievable is because of the motivation for almost everything on earth, money. People who are in aims of being elected must first have wealth and status. Although you state that we must get the money out of elections, I would argue that even if this did occur, once in power, it will distort their perception of reality. Politicians can promise to do many things, but if it goes against their best interest, I guarantee their promises will be broken. With Donald Trump leading the polls for the republicans in America, this may be a significant setback for the goal of economic equality. But what do you think will be the future for this movement? How much impact will it have on us in our lifetimes?
ReplyDeleteA very nice and informative blog on the wall street movement Luke, I liked how you were clear cut on exactly what the Wall street movement is, what it stands for, and what it strives towards. I however have a multitude of questions that spring from your blog. First, if the movement is leaderless, wouldn’t that not necessarily be a good thing and more of a bad one? If the movement is for changing the government, that will need compromise not, “These are our demands follow them to the letter.” This leads me to my question, how do you come to an agreement with no one to lead the opposing party? No successful groups in history have gone without a leader without failing. There would be no way to actually contact one another.
ReplyDeleteMy second question is what the Wall street movement strives for, the full disclosure of financials. Most people don’t usually like to disclose things that have to do with their money, especially televised and open to the public. My question is that wouldn’t this be infringing on the company's rights a little bit? My last question is why do you think that the wall street movement is more seen in western first world countries than it is in the east? Other than a bit of nitpicking and genuine curiosity about your topic in the form of questions, this was a well written blog and a pleasure to read.
This is a very interesting blog but, I fell that it could use some more information when it comes to how each countries occupy movements. Regardless I agree with you that "more and more people will fight for their equality in different countries" but, on the map you can see that most of the occupy movements are in first world countries and in western parts of the world. Why do you think that eastern countries have not started as many movements? Furthermore, do you think that this same type of occupy movement can be used in other countries that are not first world to help oppressed citizens? Overall though it was a interesting blog post.
ReplyDeleteI overall enjoyed this post, however I believe there are some areas that it could be improved in. Whilst the general ideas are good, they could use some more detailed information. On the topic of total equality, is it really possible in a capitalistic society? Would this not be more possible in a socialist regime? Overall a good post, enjoyed reading it :0
ReplyDeleteI overall enjoyed this post, however I believe there are some areas that it could be improved in. Whilst the general ideas are good, they could use some more detailed information. On the topic of total equality, is it really possible in a capitalistic society? Would this not be more possible in a socialist regime? Overall a good post, enjoyed reading it :0
ReplyDeleteLuke, you did a good job at clearly expressing what the Occupy Movement is and what is seeks to achieve. I do wonder why these movements are becoming increasingly popular. I can understand that people seek equality for all, but don’t see why most of these movements are occurring in the western countries. Most western countries are led by a democratic government who are supposed to be for the people, so are these movements favoring a change in the type of government. The movement's goals seem very communist based as they seek equality in all aspects of life. Also, like Jayden asked earlier why do these occupants demand economic disclosure from companies wouldn’t that cause drastic demand for price drop which would impact the global economy? Overall your blog was quite informative and provided great detail on the Occupy Wall Street Movement.
ReplyDeleteFor this movement having the five common goals to fight against the government, I agree that they can be achieve over time but, in a paragraph you stated that "This is why they are able to stand unified, with one voice, why the movement keeps expanding more and more. To have equality everywhere, and make the world a better place, where there is no longer privilege." To have 100% no equality and privilege is nearly impossible to complete. For this to actually work a vast majority of the population has to be involved in the movement. Yes, this may be expanding but, if this stops, which it might since the government has a lot of power, this will fail. Currently there is a cure for cancer but they have no released it yet or covered it on the news because having a cure will make doctors lose a lot of money. A lot of people still do not know there is a cure for cancer and the Terry Fox Run still occurs to raise money for the cause. They rather people suffer than change the ways they have been running the country, that's how much power they have. Since this whole period of the movement have they actually made a difference? You are only writing about what they are doing but the only outcome is the they influence others to do it in their own country. What effects did it make on the government? Did it change the minds of ignorant people in the community?
ReplyDelete