A leaderless movement has arisen inthe United States. It began in Wall Street and has moved from the east coast to the west coast. It has even left American shores. Thousands of people are gathering in city parks, pitching tents and staying put for as long is it takes to get their point across. It started on Sept. 17, when the Canadian anti-consumerism magazine “Adbusters” organized an event known as “Occupy Wall Street,” sending out a press release statement on July 13.
“Our nation, our species and our world are in crisis,” the press release said. “The U.S. has an important role to play in the solution, but we can no longer afford to let corporate greed and corrupt politics set the policies of our nation.”
While Adbusters sparked the campaign of Occupy Wall Street, it is by no means the leader. There is no central leader, masterminding organization or political party holding the reins of Occupy Wall Street. It is entirely organized by the masses. The movement has been criticized for having a lack of focus and the absence of specific political demands, according to Oct. 16 article in the New York Times.
The first protests began in Zuccotti Park in New York City’s financial district, with people pitching tents and protesting corporate greed and corruption, who they refer to as the wealthy “1 percent” and the protestors refer to themselves as the “99 percent” or as the “Occupiers.” According to occupywallst.org, the Occupiers’ goal is to empower people to create real change in society and end the domination of the “1 percent” over the government.
“Americans have always feared what they think of as ‘unchecked’ power,” said Kevin Klein, associate professor and chair of Harding’s history department. “OWS group seems to believe a handful of people have too much wealth and influence over society. “
Since Occupy Wall Street has gotten notice and publicity, more “Occupations” are popping up in major cities across the nation, including Little Rock.
According to the Arkansas Times website, Occupy Little Rock began on Oct. 12 at the Riverfront Park amphitheater near the River Market area in the downtown area. According to Arkansas News, the group marched through downtown Little Rock with 400 people chanting and holding up signs in protest of corporate greed.
“The people who are Occupying do not expect the rich to hand anyone anything,” said Jared Abelson, a former Harding student who was involved in Occupy Nashville. “What the 99 percent are protesting engulfs a lot more than just student loans … These people are not lazy. Many of us do indeed have jobs (some more than one). We seek to call attention to the rampant greed and corruption that has been going on in this country for a very long time.”
While the Occupiers continually strive for peaceful protest, conflict between Occupiers and the police has resulted in some of the other “Occupations” across the country. In Occupy Oakland, city officials had ordered protestors to vacate their encampment at Frank Ogawa Plaza and when Occupiers refused, the police tried to force them out with tear gas, according to a Huffington Post article. Occupiers retaliated by throwing bottles and rocks.
“At this point, the occupation has no intentions of ceasing their peaceful protests,” Abelson said. “They will not leave their locations, even as police and politicians evict them and arrest them.”
-by Gina Cielo and J.M. Adkison
