This essay discussed the history of the Occupy Wall Street and the objectives of OWS. OWS is the 2011 nonviolent protest movement organized to address the perceived inequalities of the US financial system, following the recession of 2007-2010. On September 17th, protestors set up tents and sleeping bags at Zuccotti Park in Lower Manhattan. The objectives of OWS were framed as a class conflict between the ultra-wealthy 1%, and the remaining 99% of Americans. The civil rights movement quickly gained attention through mainstream media. On November 15th, New York City Police raided the OWS Camp, removed the protestors, ending the OWS movement.
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OBJECTIVES OF OWS MOVEMENT AND STRATEGIES
The Occupy Wall Street movement began as a reaction to the effects of the 2007-2010 financial recession in America. Generally, it addressed social justice, democratic decision-making processes, inequalities of the US financial system, resistance to formal organizational hierarchies, and an insistence on openness and dialogue between people of different classes, genders, races, and sexual orientations. Technology provided the platform for OWS members’ concerns by creating a “virtual space” for public dialogue. The OWS movement also provides a template for modern social protests. It employs the use of large scale occupation of public spaces and the use of technology and social media. This helps to unite people in common causes despite traditional cultural differences.
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ACHIEVEMENTS AND CRITICS OF OWS MOVEMENT
Though critics argue that the Occupy Wall Streets movement did not accomplish any concrete political goals, the participants argue they were only seeking to establish a public conversation around the issue of economic injustice. By drawing attention to the deepening inequalities in the US financial system and income system in America, protestors considered OWS a success. Moreover, Occupy prompted a grassroots anti-fracking movement that enacted bans on the controversial drilling process. Occupy also drew mainstream attention to the corrosive influence of wealth on the political process, that helped spur nationwide movements for the constitutional amendment. Moreover, the objectives of the OWS movement have charted the course for concrete legislative reforms. It’s now up to elected officials to achieve much bigger results—and for the grassroots movements to continue driving those policies into being.
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