Occupy Wall Street

Someone explain it to me.

 

Something about how Keynesian economics is not working and the government keeps spending a lot of money to keep the economy going while the businesses are slacking off and not being wise about money, which is how the recession happened, and so the people are tired of being pinched for money to help out businesses that suck. Something like that. It may either be somewhat close or way off. I'm not entirely sure.

 

Hah, funny, I'm writing a sociology paper about it.

Occupy Wall Street is a people-powered movement that began on September 17, 2011 in Liberty Square in Manhattan’s Financial District, and has spread to over 100 cities in the United States and actions in over 1,500 cities globally. #ows is fighting back against the corrosive power of major banks and multinational corporations over the democratic process, and the role of Wall Street in creating an economic collapse that has caused the greatest recession in generations. The movement is inspired by popular uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia, and aims to expose how the richest 1% of people are writing the rules of an unfair global economy that is foreclosing on our future.

tl;dr
It's a bunch of people who believe that only 1% of the US earn money, and the reason for the recession is the banks.
They are the "99%" with no money, job, etc.

My opinion: They are wrong, but also right.
Thing is, there are always ups and downs (its inevitable), and they try to push it off onto banks for their own failure.

 

That's what I keep hearing. People who think they are entitled to the same amount of stuff because someone else gets it.

 

Which is like saying all Muslims are potential threats. It's a generalization and mostly a demonizing tactic.

 

There is more to it though, but that's the baseline, I'd say.

 

I'm a Canadian teen with little interest in foreign affairs. I don't care enough to explain it to you.

 

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I'll direct you guys to this graph:


Basically, the top 1% of the populations have made huuuuuge gains in the past years, while the 99% are facing this huge economic downturn. Government policy has turned to favoring corporations, because that's where the money comes from, and because the general public are either uninformed or don't speak up--and if they do, it's in the form of just a few voices.

To my understanding, the Occupy Wall Street protests are not just about economic policy and bank bailouts and what have you--it's about putting power back into the hands of the people. Joining together to create a world that we all can be successful in.

 

Which is the problem with the public opinion of Occupy Wall Street. Because they don't have one set goal and no direct leader, the uninformed masses see the protestors as unorganized, lazy, indecisive, and jobless.

 

Willing to occupy on such a large scale while facing police brutality, and lazy at the same time?

Please.

 

Unfortunately he's right; that's what many people see them as, no doubt aided by the smear campaigns of the mainstream media.

 

On the other side, this is the first time I have seen the media against the police.

 

Well, if any news channel was reporting against the police I'm not shocked it's NBC. Not to say they're without fault, or that they don't present biased reports, but I prefer them generally. Democracy Now is where it's at, though.

 

It is still my first time seeing it done so thoroughly. Amazed me.

 

Misty, this thread is getting more attention than the one you posted in Discussion.

 

I know, which upsets me on many levels. :C

But, hey, as long as we're talking about. xD

 

I'd like to point out a couple of things though; people may react to police brutality, but it can't all be put on the police. They react the way they must, and if one person screws up, it gets blown out of proportion. I still believe that the 1% is blown out of proportions, but that may be because according to them, I am the 1%.

 

Kindly watch the video I posted.