Occupy Wall Street Movement: Dead on Arrival, or History in the Making?

On September 17, 2011 an unorganized, rudimentary, and diffuse group of activists set up camp in New York’s Zuccotti Park, a privately owned green space in New York’s financial district. The group set out to battle social inequality, corporate greed, and the super power that financial institutions and multinational companies hold over the democratic process. What started out as a grass roots movement has since become a major hot button in media and politics alike. Newt Gingrich has called the “concept of the ninety-nine and the one” both divisive and “un-American.” (Stolarik) When asked about the OWS movement, former President Jimmy Carter has said “Helping the less fortunate should be viewed as a moral obligation and not an act of charity”. (Bluestien) The Georgia democrat also said, “That issue was basically ignored by the Congress and the news media a year ago. I believe they have achieved putting that back on the agenda.” (Bluestien) Whether you believe that the OWS movement is a short lived media phenomenon or the next turning point in American history, most agree it is far time to address the yawning gap of social and financial equality in this country.

In the beginning most democrats skeptically supported the movement. Republicans, although mostly in disagreement with the motives, agreed that the movement has opened a new public debate. Many say the movement is mimicking, though on a smaller scale, the recent uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia. Even with the OWS movement’s humble beginnings, the protests have spread to most major American cities and across Europe, Asia, and South America. College campuses across the nation have turned the movement into a way to battle tuition hikes. OWS office space has been ...

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...d out over and over throughout history and is being battled again right in front of our eyes. I am afraid though, that without some type of united, organized front it is doomed to the same fate as its previous throes.

Works Cited

Bluestien, Greg. "Jimmy Carter Casts Occupy Movement as Successful." ABC News 16 February 2012: http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/jimmy-carter-casts-occupy-movement-successful-15657455#.T0bdwoflOi4. Website.

Egelko, Bob. "Uc Davis students sue over pepper spray at protest." San Francisco Chronicle 23 Febuary 2012: C-2. Website.

Stewart, James B. "An Uprising With Plenty of Potential." The New York Times 19 November 2011: B1. Website.

Stolarik, Robert. "Occupy Movement (Occupy Wall Street)." The New York Times 13 Febuary 2012: http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/o/occupy_wall_street/index.html. Website.