People of America have always been proud of being a part of a democratic nation. But what does that really mean? Democracy is defined as a form of government in which all people have an equal say in making decisions that affect them. Unfortunately, for those who are following the “Occupy Wall Street” movement can easily tell that a democracy is not properly being demonstrated in America today, and it is only getting worse. Occupy Wall Street is a series of protests and demonstrations to argue against economic inequality, corporate greed, and corruption in government. My purpose is to educate people particularly of my age group on what Occupy Wall Street really is and discuss how it can be defined as not only a typical protest movement, but also an occupation and a shot at a refined democracy.

            Occupy Wall Street was started by the Canadian activist group named “Adbusters.” These demonstrations began in New York City at Zucotti Park in the Wall Street District.  But regardless of where it started, the movement caught on and spread rapidly. Occupy Wall Street is now being displayed in cities not just countrywide, but a total of 900 cities worldwide. People everywhere are fighting for their rights to be an equal part of a democracy. The main concern of the protesters is that the wealth in America is highly concentrated in the top 1% of America’s population.  Because of this, the top 1% of the population can much more easily influence decisions made by the government. Adding to this, in the past 30 years, incomes of this top percentile have increased by an astonishing 275%, compared to the 60% of those in the middle class who only saw an income raise of 40%.  Something even more upsetting is the fact that this 1% of our country controls 40% of all our countries wealth, and the wealthiest 10% controls 73% of our nations wealth. (foreignaffairs.com) These statistics are startling to say the least, and people are finally beginning to take a stand against corporate America. Protesters all over the country are living by the slogan “we are the 99%” and starting to take action in hopes that changes will be made.

            Occupy Wall Street shares characteristics of many protests and demonstrations that have come before. The idea was to set up tents on Wall Street and begin occupying this area peacefully and legally. This demonstration is very similar to those seen earlier in 2011 in multiple places such as Spain, Egypt, and Israel.  Like the others, occupy wall street was intended to be an exercise of non-violence, but as more and more people began to jump on the bandwagon the easier it is for something like this to spiral out of control. Not to mention, police forces never take kindly to groups of protesters, and with the combination of these two things violence began to erupt on Wall Street. Shocking images of police brutality, and mosh pits are seen all over the nation, but this is not necessarily a bad thing. In a twisted way, this is exactly what the movement needed. All of this violence began to catch people’s attention countrywide and from then on the movement spread like wildfire. This is the same thing that was seen in the protests in Egypt, Spain and Israel, leading to a dramatic increase in protest demonstrations all over the world. But do not get me wrong; I am not one to say that violence is the answer in the means of getting your point across. This is because truly all of the violence is distracting people of Occupy Wall Street’s true purpose, to put an end to the current form of democracy promoting social inequality and corruption. These are real people with real families who want nothing more than to be recognized.  Recognized as “the people” that our government is supposed to be working for! These are the people who were promised equality, and were told that they would have a say in what goes on in this country. These are the people that are tired of being controlled by the media, and greedy corporations, and are ready to take the power back in hopes of ending this downhill spiral our country is seeing. These demonstrations were put together seeking fairness and justice. Professor Sidney Tarrow defines this as a “we are here” movement. Meaning we (the people) are here to take back what is rightfully ours.  Tarrow compares this movement closely to the new women’s movement of the 1970’s. These women fought for equality, their god given right as a human being. They wanted nothing more but to be recognized as equal members of society, as people who share common wants and needs. This is not a ridiculous demand, nor is that of the Occupy Wall Street movement.  The public is simply speaking up in order to reconstruct a broken system that has failed its people.

            Now I’m sure standing outside and picketing all day in the cold is not the most enjoyable thing one can be doing with their time, but then again, close to no work is fun. These demonstrations have become somewhat of a job for some people, working towards something that they really care about. In many different ways the actions seen in this movement can be defined as an occupation. To help prove this point, here is a five-part definition of the word occupation.  (Dictionary.com)

1. A person's usual or principal work or business, especially as a means of earning a living

    2. An activity in which a person is engaged.

    3. Possession, settlement, or use of land or property.

    4. The act of occupying.

    5. The state of being occupied.

     Each of these definitions correlate with what is going on today in Wall Street as well as other cities all over the world. Wall Street is certainly being “occupied” by thousands of people physically being at that location. Although they do not have possession of this land, these protesters are most definitely settling or using this property in a totally legal way. As said by a group named anonymous, “On September 17 anonymous will flood into lower Manhattan, set up tents, kitchens, peaceful barricades, and occupy wall street for a few months. Once there, we shall repeat one simple demand in a plurality of voices. We want freedom.” And so it happened, on the 17^th tons of New Yorkers set out to occupy Wall Street. In this case, occupying Wall Street is an activity that these people are engaging in, making that their current occupation according to definition 4. The first definition of occupation proves to be more challenging to make the connection to the Occupy Wall Street movement. Again, it states that an occupation is defined as “A person’s usual or principal work or business, especially as a means of earning a living.” Now these protesters are certainly not getting paid for what they are doing, but that does not necessarily mean that they are not “earning a living”. After all, what is a better reward to be earned than living in a free, fair, and equal country? If this movement is to go as far as changing the government, I would certainly say that what these people have earned is far more valuable than money. They will have earned respect and recognition as people of the United States of America, and the fact that their voices can be heard. They will also have earned the mental capacity and confidence to stand up against what is wrong with the world because truly it is human kind that can change these things. In the real world, people work for pay, but what better pay off than to see all of your hard work actually make the changes that were desired. Occupying Wall Street is a “job” to some, because there is nothing they want more than to see good triumph over corruption, and prove that there still is such a thing as fairness in a broken world.

            Further exploring this idea of participating in these demonstrations as an “occupation” or “job” I would like to more closely examine the Internet group named Anonymous. This internet group can be viewed in many different ways, as a group of people setting out to make change, as one single person courageously leading this movement, or even all people who share the common interest of taking back what is rightfully ours. However you look at it “Anonymous” is making a huge impact on this movement primarily by putting up videos on the ever-popular video sharing sight Youtube.com. In many of these videos, you see a character dressed in a Guy Fawkes mask, and speaking in a computerized voice. For those who do not know who Guy Fawkes is, in the movie V for Vendetta, the main character wanted to remain anonymous so he would have on this very same mask at all times. It is clear to me that they picked this mask as a gesture of symbolism, seeing as how the main character in this movie that appeared in this mask also was working towards starting a revolution of the same magnitude. After looking more into this Internet group “Anonymous” I realized that this thing was bigger than I thought. Without Anonymous, this movement would be no where near where it is today, they are the ones that are getting this message to occupy out to the world. Therefore I would definitely consider this as a job, or occupation for those people that are a part of this group. I have even seen this idea of Anonymous travel as far as to Wayne State’s campus. Each day when I am walking to class I see a white spray painted V symbol from V for Vendetta in two different locations. Underneath each V it says “11-5”. For those who have seen the movie, the phrase “Remember, remember the 5^th of November” comes to mind. At first I was skeptical as to why they would mark that date under the V symbol, so I looked into it. Turns out on November 5^th, Anonymous was planning to shut down Face Book to send a message to the government. He argues that Face Book is a way for the government to constantly be watching us, and that we are not safe using this sight due to how easy it is for our information to be attained. Unfortunately this operation was unsuccessful, but this is only a small speed bump in anonymous’ campaign to change this country. I suggest to anyone who has to see the movie V  Vendetta that they put it on their list of things to watch. I believe this film will give viewers a better understanding of the underlying message that Occupy Wall Street is striving to have heard. This message is that under no circumstances are we as humans powerless, and it is us as a race who have the potential to change the world.

            Revolution is upon us ladies and gentleman, at the rate that this movement is spreading across the country it is not crazy to say that there is true potential to move towards a new democracy. Even if not a completely new democracy, I feel that it is safe to say that at least some changes must be made to start fixing problems like economic inequality, corporate greed, and government corruption. Authors Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri made a point that “If the movement does continue and grow, of course, it may force the White House or Congress to take new action, and it may even become a significant point of contention during the next presidential election cycle.” (www.foreignaffairs.com) This is a very valid statement; people are beginning to get very sick and even dying on the streets, but yet are still not leaving. If these unsafe conditions continue and it becomes a more severe issue, the government could not just stand by and watch this happen to our people, they would have to give them something. People feel so passionately about this issue, they are willing to risk even their health in order to see some change. But the government is viewed as bad enough already, if they were to ignore our own people dying and do nothing about it then these demonstrations would get a hell of a lot more nasty. The banking system will need to be adjusted first. What is good for the American people and what is good for Wall Street are two totally different things, and the government needs to understand that it is the American People that should become the priority. It cannot be stressed enough that the people that are participating in these demonstrations are the very same people that are protected by the Constitution. The first line stated in the Preamble to the Constitution begins with “We the people of the United States of America, in order to form a more perfect union…” If you think about it, this statement directly relates to what we are seeing today with Occupy Wall Street. The people of the United States of America are gathering together in protest in order to put an end to this failed democratic system and form a more perfect union.

            Concluding, Occupy Wall Street is a revolutionary movement that will go down in history as some of the most powerfully moving demonstrations we have seen in our time. It is more than just a group of angry protesters, for them this is an occupation in which the reward is a chance a making a real difference and reforming America’s governing system. I believe that this is a very important topic for people to be educated on, especially those in my age group. After all, we are the generation that Occupy Wall Street will have the most affect on. I would like to finish on a high note and ask for all of my readers to view the video I have posted below. The time for change is now my friends, so I ask you… What can you do to make a difference?