What Happened to the Occupy Movement?
don’t have a television so I don’t know if they are in the news or not. Just had a feeling to investigate them. It seems they are still going. I recall a friend of mine who joined the protest in New York from Australia noticing her name came up in Time Square on a screen. She showed me I was impressed to see how instantly the supporter was acknowledged, internationally. People are more savvy these days. People are aware of what is going on. There are more becoming aware and with the internet, it is unlikely the momentum will slow. I think the times are a chang’n.
What I found interesting about their philosophy is that they have no leaders. It is about self responsibility and a joined concern about power in the hands of the wealthy. There is a dissatisfaction that governments no longer represent their citizens. The Occupy Movement is giving voice to grievances. I wonder if governments are listening to problem solve or to surveil them more, perceiving social unrest as a threat or an opportunity to create transparent governance. I will observe with interest. The central question is – ‘do the people have power?’ Perhaps more succinctly ‘do the people believe they have power?’. If things are to change, in what way do they change, do people have ideas on what that change will look like or is it to vent? What about inspired change? I have many quetions as I ponder this. Life is never dull in this world.
This is some information from the home page.
http://www.occupytogether.org/aboutoccupy/#background
LEARN ABOUT #OCCUPY
BACKGROUND & TIMELINE
the #occupy movement
is an international movement driven by individuals like you. All of us have many different backgrounds and political beliefs but feel that, since we can no longer trust our elected officials to represent anyone other than their wealthiest donors, we need real people to create real change from the bottom up. Organized in over 100 cities in the United States, #occupy aims to fight back against the system that has allowed the rich to get richer and the poor to get poorer. We no longer want the wealthiest to hold all the power, to write the rules governing an unbalanced and inequitable global economy, and thus foreclosing on our future.
how did #occupy start?
The #occupy movement, originally initiated by a call from Adbusters to “Occupy Wall Street,” was inspired by several international protests, most notably, the Arab Spring protests. Thousands answered the call and arrived in Zuccotti Park, at the heart of New York City’s financial district, to protest the damaging influence of corporations on politics as well as social and economic inequality. Hundreds stayed every night for two months and created an encampment in the park, a model that was adopted by people all over the country as the movement spread to well over 500 cities.
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Tunisia
December 17, 2010
Twenty-six-year old produce vendor Mohammed Bouazizi sets himself on fire in response to years of petty police harassment in Sidi Bouzid, Tunisia. His self-immolation sparks a wave of protests against the decades-long autocratic rule of President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali. After four weeks, Ben Ali is forced to dissolve parliament and flees to Saudi Arabia.
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Egypt & the Arab Spring
January 25, 2011
Using door-to-door canvassing and social networking, the people of Cairo organize a mass protest on Police Day demanding an end to harassment, repression and torture. What follows is an 18-day uprising against President Hosni Mubarak’s dictatorship. Hundreds of thousands of Egyptians stream into Tahrir Square after the regime blocks internet traffic and send thugs to attack protesters, swinging world opinion against Mubarak. On February 11, the regime falls, inspiring an Arab Spring of pro-democracy activism from Yemen to Bahrain to Syria.
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Wisconsin & Ohio
February 17, 2011
More than 20,000 Wisconsinites protest Gov. Scott Walker’s austerity budget and his attack on collective bargaining Carrying signs and Egyptian flags, protests draw a parallel between their struggles. In the weeks long rebellion, hundreds of thousands occupy the state capitol in Madison; hundreds of students are arrested. In Columbus, Ohio, nearly 4,000 protest against similar attacks on the public sector and workers’ rights.
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Spain
May 15, 2011
Protests against austerity and unemployment erupt in 58 Spanish cities, beginning the 15-M Movement. More than 1,000 indignados, occupy the central square, Puerta del Sol; in the weeks that follow, hundreds of thousands gather in public spaces, holding mass assemblies and peaceful sit-ins to demand greater say in the political process. Embracing participatory democracy, they reject traditional parties and the rule of finance that imploded the country’s economy.
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Greece
May 25, 2011
Tens of thousands gather in Athens after plans are announced to dramatically cut public spending and raise taxes in exchange for a €110 billion bailout. Sustained Strike and demonstrations many of them organized on Facebook, rage across the country. The aganaktismenoi, or indignants, are met with tear gas and police violence.
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Occupy Wall St.
September 17, 2011
Occupy Wall Street begins as 2,000 people respond to the Canadian magazine Adbusters’ call for an end to corporate influence in the political process. After police block them from Wall Street, then One Chase Manhattan Plaza, a few dozen occupiers regroup at Zuccotti Park several blocks north of the New York Stock Exchange. They rename it Liberty Square as an homage to the Egyptian uprising that began in Tahrir Square in January.
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Declaration
September 29, 2011
Through a consensus-based process, the New York General Assembly approves the Declaration of the Occupation, a founding document that speaks to the “feeling of mass injustice” that brought people together. Calling out illegal foreclosures, exorbitant student debt and the outsourcing of labor, the document of grievances is delivered “at a time when corporations, which place profit over people, self-interest over justice, and oppression over equality, run our governments.” In San Francisco, protesters attempt to occupy Citibank, Chase and Charles Schwab; the Transport Workers Union urges members to join the movement.
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The Sweep
October 14—15, 2011
Following Mayor Bloomberg’s announcement that the NYPD would enforce a “cleaning” of Liberty Square starting at 7 a.m., occupiers rally by the thousands in the dawn hours to protect the park. At 6:15, Bloomberg backs down. Occupiers celebrate with a rousing victory lap through the financial District. The next day millions rally in an international day of solidarity in more than 900 cities, including Hong Kong, Athens, Rome, Nairobi, and Johannesburg. In the U.S., Occupy Wall Street spreads from coast to coast.
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Police Violence
October 25, 2011
Police raid Occupy Atlanta and arrest 53. In Oakland, police fire tear gas, rubber bullets, and flash bang grenades at peaceful occupiers, fracturing the skull of a two-tour Iraq War veteran. Thousands rally at the renamed Oscar Grant Plaza to protest police brutality, and retake their encampment. Occupations in Denver, Los Angeles, Atlanta and San Francisco all successfully resist eviction by local police.
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General Strike
November 2, 2011
Building for a general strike, Oakland occupiers call to “Liberate Oakland, Shut Down the 1%.” Teachers and students strike. With a bike bloc trailblazing the way, thousand march to the nation’s fifth largest port, climbing on signs and big rigs. The Port of Oakland issues a statement calling the port “effectively shut down.” Thousands march in solidarity across the country.
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The 1% Attacks
November 15, 2011
Hours after the Portland and Oakland encampments are again raided, NYPD, including officers from the Counter-Terrorism Bureau, stage a federally coordinated raid on Liberty Square at 1 a.m. Sporting riot gear and brandishing pepper spray and a ‘sound cannon’ about 1,000 cops descend on the park and toss books, laptops and tents into dumpsters, forcibly clearing the encampment. Bridges and subways are shut down as lower Manhattan is deemed a “frozen zone.” More than 200 arrested. Oakland Mayor Jean Quan admits later that day that she was on a conference call strategizing with mayors of 18 cities, while and official from the Department of Justice indicated that each action was coordinated with help from the DHS and the FBI along with other federal agencies.
Copy & photos courtesy of the Occupied Wall Street Journal
how is #occupy organized?
The #occupy movement has no official leaders. Anyone can be involved in the process and pick up the flag to address the problems they face in their community. We do not believe in placing the power of the movement in the hands of the few, but rather empowering everyone to be involved and share the responsibility together.
what does #occupy want?
#occupy wants to end the relationship built on money and donations between our elected officials and corporate interests. We believe this relationship has lead to rampant corruption and criminal activities that undermine our economic and political system. We simply want a system that operates in the interest of the people and to empower people to be a part of the process.
how does the movement work to achieve these goals?
RESIST
In the spirit and tradition of civil disobedience #occupy takes to the streets to protest corporate greed, abuse of power, and growing economic disparity.
RESTRUCTURE
#occupy empowers individuals to lead others into action by gathering in the commons (public spaces, parks and online) as engaged citizens to demonstrate a culture based on community and mutual aid. We will be the change we are seeking in the world.
REMIX
Work to make fundamental changes in the system.