OccupyWallstreet - Report And Summary Of Recent Events

Before reading: This is the translation of a German article. Even two weeks after the demonstrations started, it was nearly impossible to find any kind of information about OccupyWallstreet in European media and news. Therefore, I decided to sum up the main events, facts and ideas. 

Original article: Today I asked some of my friends and family members, what they think about "OccupyWallstreet". Unfortunately, hardly anyone knew what I was actually talking about. How is it possible that there are no reports about giant demonstrations taking place in a prominent city like New York? The answer is pretty simple - the media is afraid and under pressure because the wave of protest may spread all over the Western world. 

What is OccupyWallstreet?

OccupyWallstreet started as a non-violent protest movement without an actual leader. It was initiated by a Canadian consumer protection organisation called Adbusters. The very first attempts to occupy Wall Street were made on September 17th and started as organised event. Until today, men and women with different social and educational background joined the movement. 

The demonstraters set camp in Zuccoti Park, near Wall Street. They even installed a kitchen and a small library. Apparently this is necessary - regarding the fact, that they plan to spend all winter there. 

What is the aim of OccupyWallstreet?

The movement critisices the financial lobby's great impact on politics and points at the social injustice in the USA resulting out of this. For example, it denounces the bailouts of many banks during the year 2008. It is the fight of the "lower 99%" against the "upper 1%".

How did OccupyWallstreet develop?

Originally, the occupation of Wall Street was an officialy anounced event on September 17th. It was estimated that 200,000-90,000 demonstrators would show up. However, only a few thousand actually came on the very first day, OccupyWallstreet was regarded as a flop. Eventually, the small number of protesters did not move from Liberty Square for days. By the time they had spent several nights there, more and more people joined. Until now, OccupyWallstreet became a giant protest movement.  

Example: Schedule for October 1st

• 12:00 Rally for a Nuclear-Free Future
• 12:00 SlutWalk NYC
• 13:00 General Assembly
• 13:00 NJC: The Campaign to End the New Jim Crow
• 15:00 We are the 99% Solidarity March
• 19:00 General Assembly

What does New York's mayor say? 

New York's major Michael Bloomberg announced in his own weekly broadcast that people would have the right to demonstrate- unless other citizens are not negatively affected. It is stil uncertain, how long Wall Street can be occupied without governmental intervention. 

Who helps occupy Wall Street? 

OccupyWallstreet's biggest supportert is Anonymous - a worldwide hacker movement. Also, famous celebrities like Michael Moore and Susan Sarandon visited the OccupyWallstreet camp to show their solidarity with the protest movement. 

How did OccupyWallstreet expand?

Out of OccupyWallstreet developed the movement OccupyTogether, which builds a base for any kind of occupy-event in the US or on an international level.

A list with current occupations:

• Occupy Adelaide
• Occupy Brisbane
• Occupy Cologne
• Occupy Cork, Ireland
• OCCUPY DEN HAAG (NL)
• Occupy Finland
• Occupy Frankfurt Germany
• Occupy Hamburg Germany
• Occupy Manchester | March on the Tory Party Conference
• Occupy Melbourne Australia
• Occupy Montreal
• Occupy Norwich, Norfolk, UK
• Occupy Nova Scotia
• Occupy Perth
• Occupy Stockholm
• Occupy Sydney
• Occupy the London Stock Exchange
• Occupy Tijuana
• Occupy Toronto Market Exchange
• Occupy Vancouver

What are the last events?

During the past weekend (01. & 02. 10. 2011) over 700 people were arrested by the NYPD. Funny, they got a million dollar bribe from wallstreet before that.

How can I support OccupyWallstreet?

If there aren't any events near your living place, you can show your solidarity online.

Follow OccupyWallstreet on Twitter or Facebook.

Furthermore, you can get (new) information at various websites, such as occupytogether.org or occupywallst.org.

Talk with your friends and family about OccupyWallstreet, try to inform people. Our media certainly lacks in doing so. Share comments and articels about the ongoing occupy-events. 

last time modified: Oct. 3, 2011, 9:54 a.m.