The Occupy Wall Street Movement has been growing since it first began on September 17th. I have to admit that at first I did not pay much attention to the protests and wasn’t really sure about what their demands were. I think confusion was most Americans reaction. However, the movement has become more organized and after learning more about what their issues are I have become more and more inspired to join the protests myself. I haven’t done so yet, mostly because my mom says she doesn’t want me to get arrested, I really do admire them for what they doing. It is interesting to hear politicians speak out about the protests because many were mum about it in the beginning. I am still a bit confused about what their main issue is because when I walked by the protestors I have seen signs with very different messages. However, from what I gather the main issue Occupy Wall Street is concerned with is the economic disparity in our country. The wealth distribution has become too great and as most of the signs are pointing out the top 1% is controlling most of the wealth. In recent years the unemployment and poverty rate have been growing, so it’s easy to understand how this frustration manifested itself into a movement.
Until very recently, I have not heard any politician speak out about the movement. In my opinion, I think that’s because of how unorganized it was and nobody knew exactly how they should react. However, as their message became clearer, I think it became easier for politicians to express their opinion. As expected the Democratic politicians have expressed their understanding for the movement. Nancy Pelosi, the House Minority Leader, has recently said, “God bless them for their spontaneity. It’s young, it’s spontaneous, it’s focused and it’s going to be effective”(Kim). I find this a little funny since Pelosi herself is a multi-millionaire and part of the 1%. President Obama also commented on the situation saying, "I think it expresses the frustrations the American people feel, that we had the biggest financial crisis since the Great Depression, huge collateral damage all throughout the country ... and yet you're still seeing some of the same folks who acted irresponsibly trying to fight efforts to crack down on the abusive practices that got us into this in the first place”( Oliphant).On the other hand, the Republican side had some less than nice and in my opinion hypocritical things to say. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor had the following to say “I, for one, am increasingly concerned about the growing mobs occupying Wall Street and the other cities across the country” (Martinez). This is funny since he is the House leader of the party that launched the Tea Party and I’m pretty sure that the Tea Party has a habit of organizing in mobs. I loved Pelosi’s counter attack on Cantors statement saying “I didn’t hear him say anything when the tea party was out demonstrating, actually spitting on members of Congress right here in the Capitol, and he and his colleagues were putting signs in the windows encouraging them”(Oliphant). The most offensive remark about the movement has come from Herman Cain. On CBS’s “Face the Nation” Herman Cain called the protestors “a distraction.” Also according to Cain the fact that people are protesting against Wall Street and the bankers makes them“anti-American” and “anti-capitalist” (CBS News).
It’s interesting that these protests get compared to the Tea Party. I agree that both of these movements started with the frustration of people towards the government. However, as much as I hate to admit it the Tea Party has been more organized and actually had goals they hoped to achieve from the beginning. Another thing that helped the Tea Party be successful is the fact that they had candidates running on a Tea Party platform. The Occupy Wall Street movement has not really outlined a specific plan about how to fix the wealth inequality. Also, they have not endorsed any politicians. I’m interested to see if this movement will cause the left to be more progressive in their politics.
Works Cited
""Face the Nation" Transcript: October 9, 2011 - CBS News." Breaking News Headlines: Business, Entertainment & World News - CBS News. Web. 10 Oct. 2011. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/10/02/ftn/main20117827.shtml.
Kim, Seung. "Nancy Pelosi: ‘God Bless’ Wall Street Protesters - Seung Min Kim - POLITICO.com." Politics, Political News - POLITICO.com. Web. 10 Oct. 2011. http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1011/65368.html#ixzz1aEVbwncE.
Martinez, Jose. "Occupy Wall Street: House Majority Leader Eric Cantor Blames Obama Administration for Protests." New York News, Traffic, Sports, Weather, Photos, Entertainment, and Gossip - NY Daily News. Web. 10 Oct. 2011. http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2011/10/07/2011-10-07_occupy_wall_street_house_majority_leader_eric_cantor_blames_obama_administration.html.
Oliphant, James. "Herman Cain Steps up Attacks on Occupy Wall Street Protests - Latimes.com." Los Angeles Times - California, National and World News - Latimes.com. Web. 10 Oct. 2011. <http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-pn-cain-occupy-wall-street-20111009,0,972806.story>.
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