Occupy Wall Street: Now What?
Mon, Oct 10, 2011
Twitter trends in Brooklyn, NY at 2:08 p.m. on Oct. 10 (Visualization: Anna Codrea-Rado/ The Brooklyn Ink)
We checked out four Brooklyn neighborhoods, here are their thoughts on OWS:
When they began 23 days ago, the Occupy Wall Street protests seemed little more than a limited, informal gathering. A thousand people marched. A few hundred slept in Zuccotti Park. Questions arose thick and fast; Who was leading these protests? What do they want? And how long will they stay? Few famous faces voiced their opinions. Besides a smattering of sparse blurbs, the media stayed silent.
A lot can change in 23 days.
Today the protest has grown to an estimated 15,000 marchers. Media coverage increased dramatically, particularly after police arrested 700 protesters near the Brooklyn Bridge, with some using pepper spray and nightsticks to detain alleged perpetrators. Zuccotti Park has become the epicenter for an increasingly national movement. From Los Angeles to Miami to Casper, Wyoming, cities across the United States are becoming “occupied.”
The conversation, too, has gone national. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) likened the protestors to a “growing mob.” President Barack Obama acknowledged the movement after a protracted silence, saying that it “represents the frustrations American people feel.” Conservative commentator George Will told Chistiane Amanpour that he hopes the protests continue because he believes they will hurt Obama’s reelection chances. New York Times columnist Paul Krugman has come out in support of the movement. The movement supports him back. Rosanne Barr, Lupe Fiasco, Yoko Ono, and a host of other celebrities have expressed support for the protestors. Social media has exploded with activity – usage of the #occupywallstreet and #ows hashtags on Twitter have increased steadily since the start of the protests.
Most used words in the list of demands of OWS. (Visualization: Anna Codrea-Rado/ The Brooklyn Ink)
People are angry. With the economy. With corporate influence in politics. With the general state of affairs in the United States of America today. This is a steadily-growing, leader-less conversation, both within and outside of the protests.
This conversation needs Brooklyn’s voice. Your voice. We want to hear about it. After all, Wall Street is only a bridge away.
Words by Alexander Abnos
We checked out four Brooklyn neighborhoods, here are their thoughts on OWS:
How do you connect to the Occupy Wall Street protests? Are you angry? Why? Where should the movement go from here?
Check out more coverage of Occupy Wall Street by The Brooklyn Ink
Occupy Wall Street: Seeing Signs
Brooklyn Remains in Sights of Wall Street Protesters After Arrests for Crossing Bridge
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Tags: occupy, Occupy Wall Street, ows
Nice, comprehensive reporting.
The person you interviewed who said about the protests, “I think the 60s are over…” I think a variation of that type of dismissive trope has been around for ages, and was probably flying around during the actual 60s.
I’m a journalist, older now, but when I was in college and writing for my school newspaper there was a student protest and I ripped it apart in sone of my coverage just like an Andrea Peyser or a Bill O’Reilly would/does today because I don’t know green hair, trust funds, they were just there for the music, whatever it was. A wise professor I had checked me, constructively explained to me that no matter the protest, no matter how just, righteous or frivolous, you need bodies in mass for people to listen and when there are those bodies in mass there are always going to be some who are silly, spoiled, unfocused, dope smoking, lazy, angry for the sake of being angry, etc. He taught me and I never wrote that dismissively and broadly and easily again about a mass movement or an organization.
Speaking of professors, I went where you guys are going now (1990/91) and I had Michael Shapiro for magazine writing. I would have had no career at all if it weren’t for him — true story — so, trust me, listen hard to whatever he tells you.
Kevin Heldman
Matt here from parkslope. I’ve been going down daily and helping as I can because I see the structure of this movement as the core of its power. They’re working democratically – a rarity in our time – to figure out how to make life better for the bottom 99%. Hopefully coming to brooklyn soon.