Occupy Wall Street

The original protest was called for by Kalle Lasn, Micah White and others of Adbusters, a Canadian anti-consumerist publication, who conceived of a September 17 occupation in Lower Manhattan. The call for action reflected a lot of growing anger in the public after the 2008 financial crisis. Especially with the all the bank bailouts, corporate power, and a lot of economic inequality happening at the time. The first such proposal appeared on the Adbusters website on February 2, 2011, under the title "A Million Man March on Wall Street". This early framing showed that the protest was indented not only as a single demonstration, but also as a lot broader challenge when it came to the interesting relationship between finance and political authority in the U.S.A. The planning of the protest also used different tactics seen at other protest movements, this includes things such as the use of public assembly, symbolic occupation, and decentralized organizing. Lasn registered the OccupyWallStreet.org web address on June 9. In a blog post on July 13, 2011,creating a lot of distrust and anger. The protest was promoted with an image featuring a dancer atop Wall Street's iconic Charging Bull statue.Social media quickly became a major tool for the movement to gain more attention, it allowed organizers and supporters to share updates on what is happening almost live or live, by sharing updates, images, videos, and calls to action in real time. This digital presence helped this movement/protest reach a lot of different audiences who may not watch TV and are far beyond lower Manhattan and this also encouraged similar demonstrations in other cities. By mid-October, Facebook listed 125 Occupy-related pages. At a press conference held the same day the protests began, New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg explained, "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." Antecedent and subsequent OWS prototypes include the British student protests of 2010, 2009-2010 Iranian election protests, the Arab Spring protests, and, more closely related, protests in Chile, Greece, Spain and India. Occupy Wall Street, in turn, gave rise to the Occupy movement in the United States. ==Background==

"We are the 99%" The Occupy protesters' slogan "We are the 99%" referred to the income disparity in the US and economic inequality in general, which were main issues for OWS. The phrase gave the movement a very simple and very memorable way to show people and express a complex and critique of wealth concentration and a massively unequal political influence. By comparing most of the people in the United States with a small amount of economic elites, the slogan turned very abstract talking points about inequity into a different language that was widely understandable and politically very powerful. It derives from a "We the 99%" flyer calling for OWS's second General Assembly in August 2011. The variation "We are the 99%" originated from a Tumblr page of the same name.Huffington Post reporter Paul Taylor said the slogan was "arguably the most successful slogan since 'Hell no, we won't go!'" of the Vietnam War era, and that the vast majority of Americans saw the income gap as causing social friction. Because of this appeal, "We are the 99%" became a defining phrases in the movement Occupy Wall Street. This helped shape a lot of things like public discussion of inequality well beyond the protests themselves. Income and wealth inequality , who noted that "... Only after it became increasingly clear that the political process was unable to enact serious reforms to address the causes or consequences of the economic crisis did we see the emergence of the OWS movement." As a result, inequality became both an economic and democratic issue within the movement's rhetoric. Fear of dollar decline broadened interest in monetary reform. Goals OWS's goals included a reduction in the influence of corporations on politics, (especially to curtail speculative trading by banks), forgiveness of student loan debt Taken together, these goals can be reflected as the movement's bigger criticism of an economic system than a lot of people believed was favoring the financial institutions and wealthy elites over ordinary citizens. Rather than just focusing only on a single policy issue, Occupy Wall Street brought a very wide range of things together such as inequality, debt, unemployment, and political influence. Some media labeled the protests "anti-capitalist", while others disputed the relevance of this label. by protesters. Some protesters favored a fairly concrete set of national policy proposals. Main organization ' The assembly was the main OWS decision-making body and used a modified consensus process, where participants attempted to reach consensus and then dropped to a 9/10 vote if consensus was not reached. This process reflected the movement's commitments to horizontal, participatory democracy, this is compared to tradition top-down leadership. Some of the supporters viewed the General Assembly not only just as a practical way to make some difficult decisions, but also as a way to model the kind of more inclusive politics that the movement has been advocating for this whole time. Assembly meetings involved OWS working groups and affinity groups, and were open to the public for both attendance and speaking. Thus, while the engineering was centralized, content control was decentralized, with Group members, on the ground, selecting the individuals who would be administrators and moderators for the respective Groups. Volunteers included one of the BuddyPress Lead Developers, Boone Gorges and people as far away as Australia. The complete source code was uploaded to GitHub and used by occupations in a number of other cities. One year later, the same website was used during Hurricane Sandy for "Occupy Sandy" to organize disaster relief volunteers. The use of digital tools next to face-to-face assemblies demonstrated how the movement combined online coordination with in-person democratic participation. The People's Library The People's Library at Occupy Wall Street was started a few days after the protest when a pile of books was left in a cardboard box at Zuccotti Park. The books were passed around and organized, and as time passed, it received additional books and resources from readers, private citizens, authors and corporations. The library quickly became one of the most noticeable community institutions inside of the encampment, this reflects the movement's emphasis on education, mutual aid, and the open exchange if ideas. Its informal beginnings also symbolized some participatory spirit of Occupy Wall Street, since ordinary participants helped build and maintain a shared public resource. As of November 2011 the library had 5,554 books cataloged in LibraryThing and its collection was described as including some rare or unique articles of historical interest. According to American Libraries, the library's collection had "thousands of circulating volumes", which included "holy books of every faith, books reflecting the entire political spectrum, and works for all ages on a huge range of topics." Similarly, the City of New York has since begun settling cases with individual participants. The destruction of the collection drew a lot of attention from different librarians, some free speech advocates, and random supporters who viewed the raid as an attack not just on property but also on a shared cultural and educational project. There were already libraries in the encampments of Spain and Greece. Following the example of the OWS People's Library, protesters throughout North America and Europe formed sister libraries at their encampments. In this way, the People's Library was becoming a big part of a broader protest tradition in which libraries served as visible expressions of solidarity, learning, and even democratic participation. ==Zuccotti Park encampment==

" with over 5,000 books, wi-fi internet, and a reference service, often staffed by professional librarians, procuring material through the interlibrary loan system Prior to being closed to overnight use and during the occupation of the space, somewhere between 100 and 200 people slept in Zuccotti Park. Initially tents were not allowed and protesters slept in sleeping bags or under blankets. == Occupy media ==

Occupy Wall Street activists disseminated their movement updates through a variety of mediums, including social media, print magazines, newspapers, film, radio and live stream. Like much of Occupy, many of these alternative media projects were collectively managed, while autonomous from the decision-making bodies of Occupy Wall Street. The Occupied Wall Street Journal (OWSJ) was a free newspaper founded in October 2011 by independent journalists Arun Gupta, Jed Brandt and Michael Levitin. The first issue had a total print run of 70,000 copies, along with an unspecified number in Spanish. Its last article appeared in February 2012. The Occuprint collective, founded by Jesse Goldstein and Josh MacPhee, formed through the curation of the fourth and special edition of The Occupied Wall Street Journal (OWSJ). Afterwards, it continued to collect and publish images under the Creative Commons for non commercial use license, to spread the artwork throughout the movement. The Occupy! Gazette was founded by editors Astra Taylor, Keith Gessen of n+1 and Sarah Leonard of Dissent Magazine. It published five issues from October 2011 to September 2012, with a commemorative sixth issue published in May 2014, to support OWS activist Cecily McMillan during the sentencing phase of her trial. Tidal: Occupy Theory, Occupy Strategy magazine was published twice a year, with its first release in December 2011, the fourth and final issue in March 2013. It consisted of long essays, poetry and art within thirty pages. Each issue had a circulation of 12,000 to 50,000. In Front and Center: Critical Voices in the 99% was a fully-online publication managed by an editorial collective of OWS participants. It featured critical essays and reflections from within OWS, aiming to put the voices, experiences and issues of oppressed and marginalized communities in the front and center of the Occupy movement. It is still available online. ==Security, crime and legal issues==

OWS demonstrators complained of thefts of assorted items such as cell phones and laptops; thieves also stole $2,500 of donations that were stored in a makeshift kitchen. == Government crackdowns ==

Surveillance showed that the U.S. government was closely monitoring protesters. As the movement spread across the United States, the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) began keeping tabs on protesters, under the pretext that the protest was a potential locus of violence. Following this, there was a DHS report entitled "SPECIAL COVERAGE: Occupy Wall Street", dated October 2011, observed that "mass gatherings associated with public protest movements can have disruptive effects on transportation, commercial, and government services, especially when staged in major metropolitan areas." The DHS keeps a file on the movement and monitors social media for information. On December 21, 2012, Partnership for Civil Justice obtained and published U.S. government documents revealing that over a dozen local FBI field offices, DHS and other federal agencies monitored Occupy Wall Street, despite labeling it a peaceful movement. The New York Times reported in May 2014 that declassified documents showed extensive surveillance of OWS-related groups across the country. Arrests The first person arrested was Alexander Arbuckle, a student videographer from New York University engaged in a class project. The police department alleged he was blocking the street. However, video shown at his trial showed the protesters including Arbuckle, had followed police orders and withdrew to the sidewalk. Nationally, a little under 8,000 Occupy-affiliated arrests have been documented by tallying numbers published in local newspapers. The scale of these arrests was showing just how policing became one of the central experiences of the Occupy movement. Especially because demonstrators were spreading not just in Zuccotti Park but beyond Aswell, turning into marches, bridge crossings, and actions at banks, universities, and a lot of other public spaces. A major amount of mass arrests also help draw a lot more media converge to the movements benefit. In some cases, generated sympathy among observers who saw what these police responses looked like and as disproportionate. In a report that followed an eight-month study, researchers at the law schools of NYU and Fordham accuse the NYPD of deploying unnecessarily aggressive force, obstructing press freedoms and making arbitrary and baseless arrests. Brooklyn Bridge arrests On October 1, 2011, a large group of protesters set out to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge resulting in 768 arrests, the largest number of arrests in one day at any Occupy event. 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. In June 2012, a federal judge ruled that the protesters had not received sufficient warning. Court cases Video of his arrest was convincing evidence in Alexander Arbuckle's acquittal. In 2011, eight men associated with Occupy Wall Street were found guilty of trespassing, having intended to set up a camp on property controlled by Trinity Church. One was also convicted of attempted criminal mischief and attempted criminal possession of burglar's tools for trying to slice a lock on a chain-link fence with bolt cutters, spending a month in prison. The rest were sentenced to community service. In May 2012, three cases in a row were thrown out of court, the most recent one for "insufficient summons". One defendant, Michael Premo, charged with assaulting an officer, was found not guilty after the defense presented video evidence which "showed officers charging into the defendant unprovoked", contradicting the sworn testimony of NYPD officers. In April 2014, the final Occupy court case, the Trial of Cecily McMillan began. Cecily McMillan was charged with and convicted of assaulting a police officer and sentenced to 90 days in Rikers Island Penitentiary. McMillan claimed the assault was an accident and a response to what she claimed to be a sexual assault at the hands of said officer. The jury that found her guilty recommended no jail time. She was released after serving 60 days. ==Notable responses==

, members of National Nurses United labor union supporting OWS During an October 6 news conference, President Barack 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." Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney said that while there were "bad actors" that needed to be "found and plucked out", he believes that targeting one industry or region of America is a mistake, and said the Occupy Wall Street protests are "dangerous" and inciting "class warfare". In January 2012, a survey was released by Rasmussen Reports, in which 51% of likely voters found protesters to be a public nuisance, while 39% saw it as a valid protest movement representing the people. Many notable figures joined the occupation, including David Crosby, Kanye West, Russell Simmons, Alec Baldwin, Susan Sarandon, Don King, Noam Chomsky, Jesse Jackson, Cornel West, Judith Butler, and Michael Moore. OWS was mentioned by Time magazine in its 2011 selection of "The Protester" as Person of the Year. ==Criticism==

The Occupy Movement has been criticized for not having a set of clear demands that could be used to prompt formal policy change. This lack of agenda has been cited as the reason why the Occupy Movement fizzled before achieving any specific legislative changes. Although the lack of demands has simultaneously been argued as one of the advantages of the movement, the protesters in Occupy rejected the idea of having only one demand, or a set of demands, and instead represented a host of broad demands that did not specifically allude to a desired policy agenda. Although the movement's primary slogan was "We are the 99%", it was criticized for not encompassing the voice of the entire 99%, specifically lower-class individuals and minorities. For example, it was characterized as being "overwhelmingly white". The lack of African-American presence was especially notable, with the movement being criticized in several news outlets and journal articles for its lack of black protestors. Some publications mentioned that the Occupy Wall Street Movement failed to spark any true institutional changes in banks and in Corporate America. This idea is supported by the scandals that continued to emerge following the 2008 financial crisis such as the London whale incident, the Libor scandal, and the HSBC money laundering - all publicized in 2012. Furthermore, the idea of excess compensation through salaries and bonuses at Wall Street banks continued to be a contentious topic following the Occupy protests, especially as bonuses increased during a period of falling bank profits. The movement was also criticized for not building a sustainable base of support and instead fading quickly after its initial spark in late 2011 through early 2012. This may be attributed to Occupy's lack of legislative victories, which left the protestors with a lack of measurable goals. It was also argued that the movement was too tied to its base, Zuccotti Park. Evidence of this lies in the fact that when the police evicted the protestors on November 15, the movement largely dissipated. While there is evidence that the movement had an enduring impact, protests and direct mentions of the Occupy movement quickly became uncommon. A 2017 book released by Brookings Institution senior fellow Richard V. Reeves called Dream Hoarders: How the American Upper Middle Class Is Leaving Everyone Else in the Dust, Why That Is a Problem, and What to Do about It, presented data which showed that "more than a third of the demonstrators on the May Day 'Occupy' march in 2011 had annual earnings of more than $100,000. But, rather than looking up in envy and resentment, the upper middle class would do well to look at their own position compared to those falling further and further behind." ==Subsequent activity==

Occupy Wall Street mounted an ambitious call for a citywide general strike and day of action on May 1, 2012. Tens of thousands of people participated in a march through New York City, demonstrating continued support for Occupy Wall Street's cause and concerns. Occupy Sandy was an organized relief effort created to assist the victims of Hurricane Sandy in the northeastern United States, made up of former and present Occupy Wall Street protesters, other members of the Occupy movement, and former non-Occupy volunteers. To celebrate the third anniversary of the occupation of Zuccotti Park, an Occupy Wall Street campaign called "Strike Debt" announced it had wiped out almost $4 million in student loans, amounting to the indebtedness of 2,761 students. The loans were all held by students of Everest College, a for profit college that operates Corinthian Colleges, Inc. which in turn owns Everest University, Everest Institute, Heald College, and WyoTech. Strike Debt, and a successor organization, The Debt Collective, were active in organizing the Corinthian 100 students who struck against Corinthian college, a for-profit school that was shut down by the U.S. Department of Education. Occupy the SEC came together during the occupation. The group seeks to represent the 99% in the regulatory process. They first attracted attention in 2012 when they submitted a 325-page comment letter on the Volcker Rule portion of Dodd Frank. Another offshoot of the Occupy Movement, calling itself the OWS Alternative Banking Group, was established during the occupation of Zuccotti Park in 2011. Influences Writing in Salon, David Sirota, a progressive political commentator, compared The Dark Knight Rises (2012) and the game Call of Duty to 1980s popular culture reflecting the political period of the time, accusing them of perpetuating a conservative agenda: "Just as so many 1980s pop culture products reflected the spirit of the Reagan Revolution's conservative backlash, we are now seeing two blockbuster, genre-shaping products not-so-subtly reflect the Tea Party's rhetorical backlash to the powerful Occupy Wall Street zeitgeist." This supposed conservatism was also noted by Occupy Wall Street leader David Graeber who stated that the film "really is a piece of anti-Occupy propaganda". An article in Variety reported Chuck Dixon, the cocreator of the Bane character, as saying that Bane is "far more akin to an Occupy Wall Street type if you're looking to cast him politically." In 2013, commentators described Occupy Wall Street as having influenced the fast food worker strikes. Occupy Wall Street organizers also contributed to a worker campaign at Hot & Crusty cafe in New York City, helping them obtain higher wages and the right to form a union by working with a worker center; the collaboration between the striking workers and Occupy Wall Street protestors is documented in the 2014 film The Hand That Feeds. Occupy Wall Street has been credited with reintroducing a strong emphasis on income inequality into broad political discourse and, relatedly, for inspiring the fight for a $15 minimum wage. In 2014, the movement inspired two former debt collections executives Craig Antico and Jerry Ashton to create Undue Medical Debt, a charity that buys up delinquent medical debt at pennies on the dollar, just as debt collectors do – meaning even small donations to the charity have a big impact. In 2021, on the 10th anniversary of Occupy Wall Street, The Atlantic listed several long-term influences of the protests, including "Reinventing Activism" by encouraging "a generation to take to the streets and demand systemic reforms", influencing the Green New Deal, influencing activism for higher minimum wages, and "shifting the window of what is deemed politically acceptable discourse and pulling the nation to the left." In April of 2024, Columbia University student protestors, including those from Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace, set up the "Gaza Solidarity Encampment" in solidarity with Palestinians in the ongoing Gaza genocide. Parallels have been and can be drawn between the tactical and organizational choices in both protests, including the teach-ins, sit-ins, People's Libraries, and art events, as well as the incorporation of direct democracy. At one of the teach-ins, former Occupy organizer Marisa Holmes spoke. ==See also==