How It All Started
The leaderless
Occupy Wall Street movement actually has its roots right here in Canada, where
its seeds where originally planted by Vancouver based nonprofit group the Adbusters Media Foundation.
They were
inspired by the protests that overturned notable governments in the Middle East, which grew from large social media followings.
The ongoing
demonstrations began more than a month ago on September 17 in New York’s Wall Street financial district, and has grown
into a worldwide movement since then
including Occupy Canada.
The Reasoning
The eclectic
group of protesters who continue to voice their anger and displeasure, are
protesting social and economic inequality, mainly targeting corporate greed which continues to perpetuate an
ever widening gap between the rich and the poor.
The Power of Social Media
The use of
social media has been prolific in this movement, incorporating all elements at
their disposal to successfully build a strong online presence. They currently have
more than 260,000 people “liking” their Occupy Wall Street Facebook page and more than 125,000 people “talking
about” the topic.
The movement also
has a Twitter page, but their most prominent use of
social media is in their blog, entitled “We Are the 99 Percent” on Tumblr. Their blog site features hundreds
of handwritten stories about the economy’s effect on ordinary citizens, and it
definitely tries to connect the reader on a more emotional and personal level
to the cause.
They have
also utilized mass media, with three issues released of the
newspaper called The Occupied Wall Street Journal.
Pros and Cons
There has
been similar uprisings before, but never has there been significant change. Nonetheless
there is a unique sentiment in the Occupy tents across the globe, that there
needs to an equilibrium between the social classes, instead of the drastic gap
that we currently have.
However a huge deterrent to their success is the lack of a unified demand, and a
goal orientated agenda which has caused much criticism. Violence also serves as another
deterring factor, since the whole point of protesting is to do it peacefully. Although their hasn’t been much
violence, except for the riots in Rome.
How Will It End?
To sum up
the eventual outcome at this point is difficult to do but one thing is
apparent, the people need to come together and possibly even elect a leader to
fill the absence of a clear direction to create any change. The cold is looming
and one does wonder how long can they sustain out there, and even if they believe
that real change is possible, is it likely...
Do you agree
with this movement? If so, what do you think the outcome will be?
