The Occupy Movement is a social protest led by the ninety-nine percent. Globally, one percent of the world's elite owns and controls everything. Protesters of this movement decry the severe social, political and economic inequities. The worldwide economic downturn has highlighted the plight of the ninety-nine percent. As a popular slogan of the movement illustrates, “Banks got bailed out, we got sold out” highlights, the most recent struggle of the ninety-nine percent has been the exponential increase in home foreclosures. What began at the heart of New York's financial district has spread across continents. The Occupy Movement has been embraced across cultures, languages and religions because everyone can understand injustice; the ninety-nine percent are fed up.
In this digital age, technology has made us more interconnected than ever. It is befitting then that the Occupy Movement began as a blog post on Tumblr. “Mother Jones” (www.motherjones.com/politics/2011/10/we-are-the-99-percent-creators) recently met with some of the creators of the movement. One of the leaders, Chris, a twenty-eight year old activist from New York, wanted to know how the economic crisis had affected real people. His idea was to then, “"Get a bunch of people to submit their pictures with a hand-written sign explaining how these harsh financial times have been affecting them, have them identify themselves as the '99 percent', and then write 'occupywallst.org' at the end."
The stories that Chris captured became the face and spirit of the Occupy Movement because, as Chris points out, “it's an empowering message, letting people know that they are not alone." The blog told the stories of a couple, one is a college professor and the other is a business owner that is forced to accept Medicaid and WIC for their baby girl. The couple has insurance; yet, the company refuses to “pay for the $600/month formula to keep her alive.” The blog shared how students could not afford to go to the dentist, parents being forced to move back home with their grown children, and families dumpster diving to get a meal.
The spirit of solidarity that the blog encapsulated eventually evolved into a physical movement. Many describe it as an organic and living progression. In September 2011, the first occupation occurred in Zuccotti Park, which the 2000 protesters would eventually dub Liberty Square. According to Occupy Wall Street, on one day in October 2011, there were “1500 protests in 82 countries.”
Media coverage, police brutality, arrests and lawsuits across cities and countries have forced the Occupy Movement to morph once again. A new frontier of the protest is to occupy foreclosed homes. Those who are the ninety nine percent and are ridden with debt and rely on cash advances and payday loans uk in order to keep food on the table will continue to protest. The Occupy Movement will remain in motion as long as members of the ninety-nine percent want it to. It is an organic movement made by the people, and for the people.
