ATTENTION RAMAPO:
If you've managed to stay away from all forms of news media, including our own school newspaper, over the past two months, here's the deal about the Occupy (Wall Street) Movement:
Over two months ago a diverse group of Americans took to the streets in nonviolent protest of the gross inequalities and wealth mal-distribution that have come to characterize our country. The original encampment, at Liberty Square (Zuccotti Park) in Manhattan, has served a model of community organizing, direct democracy and nonviolent insistence that something is wrong and our world needs to change. The catchy slogan of "We are the 99%" has spread across the country and around the world.
No, there is not a central list of demands. No, there are not "Occupy" political candidates. That's part of the point. The Occupy Movement, especially in light of recent evictions and worldwide solidarity protests, proves that the anger is global - the problem is structural - and the answer must be as well. We will not stop until how we think about wealth, about community action, about governmental responsibility and about personal restraint for the good of all (do you really need that fourth Porche?) has radically changed to match the needs of all people. The Occupy movement is bigger than any one movement - bigger than environmentalism, bigger than feminism, bigger than the push for true LGBTQ+ equality, bigger than immigration rights, bigger than healthcare reform, bigger even than financial regulation. The Occupy Movement is about building a better world where people matter more than profits and common respect for all individuals replaces divisive identity politics on the right and the left.
Check out these additional resources about OWS:
The Guardian: OWS and wealth distribution in the U.S.
OWS.org: Day of Action 11/17
OWS.org: The World is With Us!
- One of the 99%
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