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{{About|the Protests in New York City|The Wider Movement|Occupy Movement}} {{About|the protests in New York City|the wider movement|Occupy movement}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2011}} {{Use mdy dates|date=October 2011}}
{{ Underconstruction }}
<!-- When Referencing a Source, Please Refer Here to Misplaced Pages Referencing Help Page, Thank You. Remove Any Remaining "<ref name>" references. It's causing a big problem in understanding of the code at hand, and makes it difficult to read the text to edit for contributors -->
{{Infobox civil conflict {{Infobox civil conflict
| title = Occupy Wall Street | title = Occupy Wall Street
| image = ]
| image = ]
|partof = the ] |partof = the ]
| caption = ''Adbusters'' poster for the first protest, September 17, 2011.
| caption =
| date = {{Start date|2011|09|17}}&nbsp;– ''ongoing''<br>({{Age in months, weeks and days|year1=2011|month1=9|day1=17}})
| date = September 17, 2011 to Present Day
| place= ] | place= ]
| coordinates = | coordinates =
| causes = ], ] | causes = ], ], ], (in support of) ], ''inter alia''.
| status = Slowly in Decline, Circa Feb. 2012 CE. | status = Ongoing
| goals = ] | goals =
| result = To Be Announced | result =
| methods = <nowiki></nowiki> | methods = <nowiki></nowiki>
* ] * ]
* ] * ]
* ] * ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
| side1= Marxist Advocates
* ]
| side2= ]
| side1=
| side2=
| side3= | side3=
| leadfigures1 = No Central Leadership | leadfigures1 =
| leadfigures2 = ] | leadfigures2 =
| leadfigures3 = | leadfigures3 =
| howmany1 = Roughly 1,000 to 50,000 | howmany1 =
| howmany2 =
| howmany2 = 36,000 in Total <ref> Anonymous., ''Misplaced Pages.org'', United States, Unknown Date. Retrieved on 11 March 2012.</ref>
| howmany3 = | howmany3 = Zuccotti Park


'''Other Activity in NYC: ''' '''Other activity in NYC: '''
* 2,000+ Protesters Added <br />(March Towards Police Headquarters, October 2, 2011)<ref>Anonymous., United Kingdom, BBC News, 2 October 2011. Retrieved on 11 March 2012.</ref> * 2,000+ marchers <br />(march on police headquarters, October 2, 2011)<ref name="Arrests-BBC">{{cite news|title=Hundreds of Occupy Wall Street protesters arrested|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-15140671|accessdate=October 2, 2011|newspaper=BBC News |date=October 2, 2011}}</ref>
* 700+ Protesters Arrested <br />(Crossing the Brooklyn Bridge, October 3, 2011)<ref>Anonymous., Fox News, United States, 1 October 2011. Retrieved on 11 March 2012.</ref> * 700+ marchers arrested<br />(crossing Brooklyn Bridge, October 3, 2011)<ref name="700arrest">{{cite news|title=700 Arrested After Wall Street Protest on N.Y.'s Brooklyn Bridge|url=http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/10/01/500-arrested-after-wall-street-protest-on-nys-brooklyn-bridge/?test=latestnews|accessdate=October 1, 2011|date=October 1, 2011|publisher=Fox News Channel}}</ref>
* 15,000+ Protesters Added <br />(Lower Manhattan Solidarity March, October 5, 2011)<ref>Gabatt, Adam., The Guardian, United Kingdom, 6 October 2011. Retrieved on 11 March 2012.</ref> * 15,000+ marchers <br />(Lower Manhattan solidarity march, October 5, 2011)<ref name="Occupy Wall Street: protests and reaction Thursday October 6">{{cite news |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/blog/2011/oct/06/occupy-wall-street-protests-live |accessdate=October 7, 2011 |newspaper=Guardian |title=Occupy Wall Street: protests and reaction Thursday 6 October |first=Adam |last=Gabbatt |date=October 6, 2011 |location=London}}</ref>
* 6,000+ Protesters Added <br />(Times Square Recruitment Center, October 15, 2011)<ref>Anonymous., Crains New York, 17 October 2011. Retrieved on 11 March 2012.</ref> * 6,000+ marchers <br />(Times Square recruitment center march, October 15, 2011)<ref>, ''Crain's New York Business'', October 17, 2011.</ref>
| notes = | notes =
}} }}


<!-- Definition : name, location, date -->
<!-- Remain Objectively Non-Partisan As Possible. Remember, an Introduction is Equivalent to an Abstract.-->
'''Occupy Wall Street''' (OWS) is a ] that began September 17, 2011 in ], located in ] ] financial district. OWS was initiated by the Canadian activist group ] and has led to ] around the world. The OWS protests are against social and ], greed, corruption and the undue ] on government—particularly from the ] sector. Their slogan, '']'', addresses the growing ] in the U.S. between the wealthiest 1% and the rest of the population. To effect change OWS engages in "]" instead of ]ing authorities.<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://chronicle.com/article/Intellectual-Roots-of-Wall/129428/| title=Intellectual Roots of Wall St. Protest Lie in Academe - Movement's principles arise from scholarship on anarchy| accessdate=2012-23-2| publisher=The Chronicle of Higher Education}}</ref>
Occupy Wall Street (OWS) is an awareness movement that may be considered to be a 'protest' to the common man; it all began on September 17, 2011 in Zuccotti Park which is located in New York City Financial District. This movement has been initiated by the Canadian Activist Group, "Adbusters" that is investigated to have anarchist, anti-consumerist and alleged Communistic ties; it has played an important but not crucial role in the Occupy Movement in the United States. There have been protests sharing the same title in the Continent of Europe but would be inappropriate to associate with the movement that is present in the United States, due to conflicting causes of the protests. The Occupy Movement in the United States based upon investigated journalism, critical observance and critically analytic information gathering and inferring; this movement seem to be perceived strongly but factually moderately against the ] that the United States of America currently has in place, which is a form of ]<ref>Anonymous.,''About.com'', United States, Unknown Date. Retrieved on 10 March 2012.</ref>. This movement's slogan, ''We Are the 99%'' addresses the perceived and possibly growing income inequality and wealth distribution in the United States, after the ]<ref>Johnston, David., ''Reuters'', United States, 25 October 2011. Retrieved on 10 March 2012.</ref>. This slogan is considered to be, by critics, a public relations stunt where the originators, who remain to be anonymous, sole Intent and Purpose was to gather support for the movement to establish a connection with the majority of the American People. This movement is infamous in their ] approach to raise awareness without addressing clear, concise and possibly educated demands, in the form of a petition which is granted as a Right in the ]. There has been increasing internal conflicts within this movement from its peak in October of 2011 where the lack of leadership affected the movement's stability and "protection" from alleged radicals. These supposed radicals are considered to be Marxists, who are looking to fulfill the second to last stage to a Communistic Utopia as introduced in ] and ]<ref>Wolff, Jonathan., ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', United States, Summer 2011. Retrieved on 10 March 2012.</ref><ref>Blunden Andy, Clayton Chris, Harris Mark., Marxists.org, United States, 2008 and 2010. Retrieved on 10 March 2012.</ref>.


==Earlier Origins== ==Origins==
Occupy Wall Street has alleged roots in the British Student Protests of 2010, Greece's and Spain's anti-austerity (Socialist Revolution) Protests of the Indignants, as well as alleged roots from the Arab Spring of 2011.<ref>Apps, Peter., Reuters, United States, 11 October 2011. Retrieved on 11 March 2012.</ref> An immediate series of events which lead to the protest started with email conversations between Kalle Lasn, founder of the Canadian-based ] and Micah White, Adbuster's Senior Editor.<ref name="preoccupied"/> The two had the idea for an occupation of lower Manhattan in early June 2011. Lasn registered the ''OccupyWallSteet.org'' web address on June 9th.<ref name="preoccupied">{{cite web|last=Schwartz|first=Mattathias|title=Pre-Occupied|url=http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/11/28/111128fa_fact_schwartz?currentPage=all|date=2011-11-28|accessdate=2012-01-19 Occupy Wall Street has roots in the British student protests of 2010, Greece's and Spain's anti-austerity protests of the "indignados" (indignants), as well as the ] protests.<ref name="Reutersmalfeasant">{{cite news|last=Apps |first=Peter |url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/11/uk-global-politics-protest-idUSLNE79A03Z20111011 |title=Wall Street action part of global Arab Spring? |publisher=Reuters |date= October 11, 2011|accessdate=2011-11-24}} "What they all share in common is a feeling that the youth and middle class are paying a high price for mismanagement and malfeasance by an out-of-touch corporate, financial and political elite...they took on slogans from U.S. protesters who describe themselves as the "99 percent" paying the price for mistakes by a tiny minority."</ref> But the more immediate series of events which lead to the protest started with email conversations between Kalle Lasn, founder of the Canadian-based ] and Micah White, Adbuster's senior editor.<ref name="preoccupied"/> The two had the idea for an occupation of lower Manhattan in early June 2011. Lasn registered the ''OccupyWallSteet.org'' web address on June 9th.<ref name="preoccupied">{{cite web|last=Schwartz|first=Mattathias|title=Pre-Occupied|url=http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/11/28/111128fa_fact_schwartz?currentPage=all
|date=2011-11-28
}}</ref> Early in June of 2011, Adbusters sent its subscribers an email saying that “America needs its own Tahrir” and according to Micah White the idea "was spontaneously taken up by all the people of the world.”<ref>Anonymous., Adbusters.org, Canada, 13 March 2011. Retrieved on 11 March 2012.</ref> Adbusters proposed an alleged "peaceful" occupation of the financial center in New York City, Wall Street to "protest" corporate on the United States Government, the lack of legal consequences for those who brought about the global crisis of monetary insolvency, and the alleged increasing disparity in wealth distribution.<ref>Fleming, Andrew., Van Courier, Canada, 27 September 2011. Retrieved on 11 March 2012.</ref> The "protest" was promoted with an image featuring a dancer atop Wall Street's iconic ] statue.<ref>Schneider, Nathan., The Nation, United States, 12 October 2011. Retrieved on 11 March 2012.</ref>
|accessdate=2012-01-19
}}</ref> Early in June, Adbusters sent its subscribers an email saying that “America needs its own Tahrir,” and according to Micah White the idea "was spontaneously taken up by all the people of the world.”<ref name="Fleming"/><ref name="preoccupied" /> In a blog post on July 13 of 2011<ref>{{cite web|title=#OCCUPYWALLSTREET: A shift in revolutionary tactics|url=http://www.adbusters.org/blogs/adbusters-blog/occupywallstreet.html|publisher=Adbusters|accessdate=8 March 2012}}</ref> , Adbusters proposed a peaceful occupation of Wall Street to protest ] on democracy, the lack of legal consequences for those who brought about the global crisis of monetary insolvency, and an increasing disparity in wealth.<ref name="Fleming">{{cite web|last=Fleming|first=Andrew|title=Adbusters sparks Wall Street protest Vancouver-based activists behind street actions in the U.S|url=http://www.vancourier.com/Adbusters+sparks+Wall+Street+protest/5466332/story.html|publisher=The Vancouver Courier|date=September 27, 2011|accessdate=September 30, 2011}}</ref> The protest was promoted with an image featuring a dancer atop Wall Street's iconic ] statue.<ref name="inline.poster">{{cite journal|journal=]|title=The Ballerina and the Bull: Adbusters' Micah White on 'The Last Great Social Movement'|first=Laura|last=Beeston|date=October 11, 2011|url=http://thelinknewspaper.ca/article/1951|accessdate=October 12, 2011}}</ref><ref name="nation.FAQ">{{cite web|title=Occupy Wall Street: FAQ|first=Nathan|last=Schneider|date=September 29, 2011|work=The Nation|url=http://www.thenation.com/article/163719/occupy-wall-street-faq|accessdate=October 12, 2011}}</ref><ref name="The Tyee&nbsp;– Adbusters' Kalle Lasn Talks About OccupyWallStreet">{{cite web|url=http://thetyee.ca/News/2011/10/07/Kalle-Lasn-Occupy-Wall-Street/ |title=The Tyee&nbsp;– Adbusters' Kalle Lasn Talks About OccupyWallStreet |publisher=Thetyee.ca |accessdate=October 13, 2011}}</ref>


The series of events lead to the formation of the movement's New York General Assembly (NYGA), an anarchic systemic mechanism, began in June and July 2011 when a group called ''New Yorkers Against Budget Cuts (NYAB)'' began promoting a “People’s General Assembly” to “Oppose Cutbacks And Austerity Of Any Kind”. On August 2, 2011, the NYAB met in ] with activist, anarchist and anthropologist, ] and several of his associates who attended the NYAB meeting, which they grew frustrated when they found out that the event was not a "general assembly". Rather, the event was intended to be merely a precursor to marching on Wall Street with a corpus of predetermined demands such as "an end to oppression and war!" In response, Graeber and his small group began their own general assembly which eventually drew all the remaining attendees from the NYAB meeting, and eventually developed into the New York General Assembly (an anarchic systemic mechanism). The group later began to hold weekly meetings to work out the issues and direction of the movement such as whether or not to have a set of demandsl the formation of working groups on whether or not to have leaders. The result of this came to a conclusion that this movement will not have a central authority, a leader, because it would supposedly take away from their desires which remain to be unknown, as of late.<ref>Graeber, David., Business Week, United States, 26 October 2011. Retrieved on 11 March 2012.</ref> The series of events which culminated in the formation of the New York General Assembly (NYGA) began in June and July when a group called ''New Yorkers Against Budget Cuts (NYAB)'', began promoting a “People’s General Assembly” to “Oppose Cutbacks And Austerity Of Any Kind”. On August 2 NYAB met in ]. Activist, anarchist and anthropologist ] and several of his associates also attended the NYAB meeting, but grew frustrated when they found out that the event was not a "general assembly" which rules by consensus created by group discussions. Rather, the event was intended to be merely a precursor to marching on Wall Street with a corpus of predetermined demands such as "An end to oppression and war!" In response, Graeber and his small group began their own general assembly, which eventually drew all the remaining attendees from the NYAB meeting and eventually developed into the New York General Assembly. The group began to hold weekly meetings to work out the issues and direction of the movement, such as whether or not to have a set of demands, the formation of working groups and whether or not to have leaders. <ref name="Drake">{{cite news|last=Bennett|first=Drake|title=David Graeber, the Anti-Leader of Occupy Wall Street|url=http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/david-graeber-the-antileader-of-occupy-wall-street-10262011.html|accessdate=13 February 2012|newspaper=Business Week|date=26 October 2011}}: "While there were weeks of planning yet to go, the important battle had been won. The show would be run by horizontals, and the choices that would follow—the decision not to have leaders or even designated police liaisons, the daily GAs and myriad working-group meetings that still form the heart of the protests in Zuccotti Park—all flowed from that"</ref> Graeber argues that the Occupy movement is based on the philosophy of ].<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2011/11/2011112872835904508.html| title=Occupy Wall Street's anarchist roots| accessdate=2012-23-2| publisher=Aljazeera}} "It was only on August 2, when a small group of anarchists and other anti-authoritarians showed up at a meeting called by one such group and effectively wooed everyone away from the planned march and rally to create a genuine democratic assembly, on basically anarchist principles, that the stage was set for a movement that Americans from Portland to Tuscaloosa were willing to embrace."</ref>
The internet group ] encouraged its readers to take part in the protests.<ref name="cnn">{{Cite news|work=CNN tech|last=Saba|first=Michael|title=Twitter #occupywallstreet movement aims to mimic Iran|url=http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/16/tech/social-media/twitter-occupy-wall-street/index.html|date=September 17, 2011|accessdate=September 17, 2011}}</ref> Other groups began joining to assist in organization, including the U.S. Day of Rage,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/assange-can-still-occupy-centre-stage-20111028-1mo8x.html |title=Assange can still Occupy centre stage |publisher=Smh.com.au |date=2011-10-29 |accessdate=2011-12-10}}</ref> and the NYC General Assembly.<ref name="ibtimes"/> The protest itself began on September 17; a ] page for the demonstrations began two days later on September 19 featuring a YouTube video of earlier events. By mid-October, Facebook listed 125 Occupy-related pages.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/technology/technology-news/from-a-single-hashtag-a-protest-circled-the-world-20111019-1m72j.html |title=From a single hashtag, a protest circled the world |publisher=Brisbanetimes.com.au |date=2011-10-19 |accessdate=2011-11-28}}</ref>


] headquarters]]
As quoted, "while there were weeks of planning yet to go, the important battle had been won. The show would be run by horizontals, and the choices that would follow—the decision not to have leaders or even designated police liaisons, the daily GAs and myriad working-group meetings that still form the heart of the protests in Zuccotti Park—all flowed from that". Graeber argues that the Occupy movement is based on the philosophy of ].<ref>Graeber, David., Aljazeera, United States, 30 November 2011. Retrieved on 11 March 2012.</ref> Later, according to ], an editor for the blogs ''Waging Nonviolence'' and ''Killing the Buddha'', anarchy is not just a negative philosophy or excuse for vandalism. Anarchism attempts to build a society where people maintain and care for themselves and their community and this draws on direct democracy, believing that "basic need" is more important than greed.<ref>Schneider, Nathan., The Nation, United States, 19 December 2011. Retrieved on 11 March 2012.</ref>
The original location of choice by the protesters was 1 Chase Plaza, the site of the "Charging Bull" sculpture. Police discovered this before the protest began and fenced off the location. Nearby ] was then chosen. Since the park was private property police could not legally force protesters to leave without being requested to do so by the property owner.<ref name="twsC65">{{cite news |first=Laura |last=Batchelor |title=Occupy Wall Street lands on private property |work=CNNMoney |quote=Many of the Occupy Wall Street protesters might not realize it, but they got really lucky when they elected to gather at Zuccotti Park in downtown Manhattan |date=October 6, 2011 |url=http://money.cnn.com/2011/10/06/news/companies/occupy_wall_street_park/index.htm |accessdate=October 7, 2011}}</ref>
At a press conference held the same day the protests began, New York City mayor ] explained, "people have a right to protest, and if they want to protest, we'll be happy to make sure they have locations to do it."<ref name="ibtimes"/>


Because of its connection to the financial system, lower Manhattan has seen many riots and protests since the 1800s,<ref> OCTOBER 11, 2011 - By History.com Staff</ref> and OWS has been compared to other historical protests in the United States. Writing for CNN, Sonia Katyal and Eduardo Peñalver said that "A straight line runs from the 1930s sit-down strikes in Flint, Michigan, to the 1960 lunch-counter sit-ins to the occupation of Alcatraz by Native American activists in 1969 to Occupy Wall Street. Occupations employ physical possession to communicate intense dissent, exhibited by a willingness to break the law and to suffer the -- occasionally violent -- consequences."<ref name="autogenerated2"> By Sonia K. Katyal and Eduardo M. Peñalver, Special to CNN December 16, 2011</ref> Commentators have put OWS within the political tradition of other movements which made themselves known by occupation of public spaces, such as ] in 1894, the ] in 1932, and the ] in 1971.<ref> By Nicolaus Mills, Special to CNN October 11, 2011</ref><ref> by Nicolaus Mills in ], Saturday 19 November 2011 "The Great Depression offers a striking parallel to this week's attack on Occupy Wall Street."</ref>
==Later Origins==


More immediate prototypes for OWS include the British student protests of 2010, Greece's and Spain's anti-austerity protests of the "indignados" (indignants), as well as the Arab Spring protests.<ref name="Reutersmalfeasant">{{cite news|last=Apps |first=Peter |url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/11/uk-global-politics-protest-idUSLNE79A03Z20111011 |title=Wall Street action part of global Arab Spring? |publisher=Reuters |date= October 11, 2011|accessdate=2011-11-24}} "What they all share in common is a feeling that the youth and middle class are paying a high price for mismanagement and malfeasance by an out-of-touch corporate, financial and political elite...they took on slogans from U.S. protesters who describe themselves as the "99 percent" paying the price for mistakes by a tiny minority."</ref> These antecedents have in common with OWS a reliance on social media and electronic messaging to circumvent the authorities, as well as the feeling that financial institutions, corporations, and the political elite have been ] in their behavior toward youth and the middle class.<ref name="Reutersmalfeasant">{{cite news|last=Apps |first=Peter |url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/11/uk-global-politics-protest-idUSLNE79A03Z20111011 |title=Wall Street action part of global Arab Spring? |publisher=Reuters |date= October 11, 2011|accessdate=2011-11-24}} "What they all share in common is a feeling that the youth and middle class are paying a high price for mismanagement and malfeasance by an out-of-touch corporate, financial and political elite...they took on slogans from U.S. protesters who describe themselves as the "99 percent" paying the price for mistakes by a tiny minority."</ref><ref name="ArabSpring"> by Jack Shenker and Adam Gabbatt ], Tuesday 25 October 2011 "Much of the tactics, rhetoric and imagery deployed by protesters has clearly been inspired by this year's political upheavals in the Middle East..."</ref> Occupy Wall Street, in turn, gave rise to the ] in the United States and around the world.<ref> By Polly Toynbee in ], Monday 17 October 2011 "From Santiago to Tokyo, Ottawa, Sarajevo and Berlin, spontaneous groups have been inspired by Occupy Wall Street."</ref><ref> "A relatively small gathering of young anarchists and aging hippies in lower Manhattan has spawned a national movement. What happened?"</ref><ref name="top5" />
The movement has attracted an Internet Advocacy Group namely, ], who lacks a central authority and is not necessarily an established group, encouraged its "followers" as in the Internet to take part in the movement for the cause.<ref>{{Cite news|work=CNN tech|last=Saba|first=Michael|title=Twitter: Occupy Wall Street Aims to Mimic Iran|url=http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/16/tech/social-media/twitter-occupy-wall-street/index.html|date=September 17, 2011|accessdate=September 17, 2011}}</ref> Other groups began joining to assist in organization, including the U.S. Day of Rage<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/assange-can-still-occupy-centre-stage-20111028-1mo8x.html |title=Assange can still Occupy centre stage |publisher=Smh.com.au |date=2011-10-29 |accessdate=2011-12-10}}</ref> and the NYC General Assembly (an anarchic systemic mechanism). The movement itself began on September 17, 2011, a ] page for the demonstrations was created two days later on September 19, 2011 featuring a YouTube video of earlier events concerning the movement. Furthermore, in October 2011 Facebook listed 125 Occupy-related pages.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/technology/technology-news/from-a-single-hashtag-a-protest-circled-the-world-20111019-1m72j.html |title=From a Single Hashtag, a Movement Spread Around the United States, as well as the Continent of Europe|publisher=Brisbanetimes.com.au |date=2011-10-19 |accessdate=2011-11-28}}</ref>


==Goals==
]]]
Some journalists have criticized the protests saying it is difficult to discern a unified aim for the movement, while other commentators, such as ], have said that although the movement is not in complete agreement on its message and goals, it does center on the problem that "investment bankers working on Wall Street getting richer while things for most of the rest of us are getting tougher". According to Rushkoff, "... we are witnessing America's first true Internet-era movement, which -- unlike civil rights protests, labor marches, or even the Obama campaign -- does not take its cue from a charismatic leader, express itself in bumper-sticker-length goals and understand itself as having a particular endpoint".<ref name="DouglasRushkoff" />
The original location of choice by the protesters was on the street called, "1 Chase Plaza", the site of the "Charging Bull" sculpture. The NYPD discovered this before the movement began and engaged in procedure measures. After this incident, the protesters engaged in moving their headquarters to ] by general consensus; the park was private property police could legally force protesters to leave with consent from the park's principal owner. At a press conference, it was held the same day the movement initially began, New York City Mayor ] explained, "people have a right to protest and if they want to protest, we'll be happy to make sure they have locations to do it."<ref>{{cite news |first=Laura |last=Batchelor |title=Occupy Wall Street lands on private property |work=CNNMoney |quote=Many of the Occupy Wall Street protesters might not realize it, but they got really lucky when they elected to gather at Zuccotti Park in downtown Manhattan |date=October 6, 2011 |url=http://money.cnn.com/2011/10/06/news/companies/occupy_wall_street_park/index.htm |accessdate=October 7, 2011}}</ref>


Some protesters want, in part, more and better jobs, more equal distribution of income, bank reform, and a reduction of the ] on politics.<ref name="DouglasRushkoff"> By Douglas Rushkoff, Special to CNN October 5, 2011 "...there are a wide array of complaints, demands, and goals from the Wall Street protesters: the collapsing environment, labor standards, housing policy, government corruption, World Bank lending practices, unemployment, increasing wealth disparity and so on...they believe they are symptoms of the same core problem. Are they ready to articulate exactly what that problem is and how to address it? No, not yet. But neither are Congress or the president..."</ref><ref> By Roger Lowenstein, '']'' October 27, 2011</ref> Adbusters co-founder Kalle Lasn has compared the protests to the ] and the ] movements<ref name="top5"> ] by Maud Dillingham</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/features/2011/10/20111078196449621.html|title= Occupy Wall Street: All day, all week |publisher= ]
Due to its connection to the financial system Lower Manhattan has seen many riots and protests since the collapse of the Second Bank of the United States, and numerous economic recessions stretching through American History.<ref> OCTOBER 11, 2011 - By History.com Staff</ref> The movement has been compared to other historical protests in the United States by sympathizers and opponents. Writing for CNN, Sonia Katyal and Eduardo Peñalver said that "A straight line runs from the 1930s sit-down strikes in Flint, Michigan, to the 1960 lunch-counter sit-ins to the occupation of Alcatraz by Native American activists in 1969 to Occupy Wall Street, just to name a few. Occupations employ physical possession to communicate intense dissent exhibited by a willingness to break the law and to suffer the -- occasionally violent -- consequences."<ref name="autogenerated2"> By Sonia K. Katyal and Eduardo M. Peñalver, Special to CNN December 16, 2011</ref>
|author= Ben Piven|date = 2011-10-07|accessdate=2011-10-21}}</ref> and addresses critics saying that while no one person can speak for the movement, he believes that the goal of the protests is economic justice, specifically, a "transaction tax" on international financial speculation, the reinstatement of the ] and the revocation of ].<ref name="huffpo"></ref>

Commentators on numerous mainstream news outlets as well independent outlets have put the movement within the political tradition of other movements, which made themselves known by occupation of public spaces, such as ] in 1894, the ] in 1932 and the ] in 1971.<ref> By Nicolaus Mills, Special to CNN October 11, 2011</ref><ref> by Nicolaus Mills in ], Saturday 19 November 2011 "The Great Depression offers a striking parallel to this week's attack on Occupy Wall Street."</ref> Moreover, immediate prototypes for the movement included the British Student Protests of 2010, Greece's and Spain's Anti-Austerity Protests of the Indignants, as well as the Arab Spring protests. The antecedents have in common with the movement a reliance on social media and electronic messaging to circumvent the authorities, as well as the feeling that financial institutions, corporations and the political elite have been distrustful in their behavior toward youth and the middle class.<ref>Apps, Peter., United States, Reuters, 11 October 2011. Retrieved on 11 March 2012.</ref><ref>Gabbat, Adam and Shenker, Jack., United Kingdom, The Guardian, 25 October 2011. Retrieved on 11 March 2012.</ref> Occupy Wall Street, in turn, gave rise to the ] in the United States, and similar but not the same movements around Western Europe.<ref>Toynbee, Polly., United Kingdom, The Guardian, 17 October 2011. Retrieved on 11 March 2012.</ref>

==Goals==
Some journalists have criticized the protests saying it is difficult to discern a unified aim for the movement, while other commentators, such as ], have said that although the movement is not in complete agreement on its message and goals, it does center on the problem that "investment bankers working on Wall Street getting richer while things for most of the rest of us are getting tougher". According to Rushkoff, "... we are witnessing America's first true Internet-era movement, which -- unlike civil rights protests, labor marches, or even the Obama campaign -- does not take its cue from a charismatic leader, express itself in bumper-sticker-length goals and understand itself as having a particular endpoint". There are some protesters, in part, demand more and better jobs, more equal distribution of income, bank reform, and a reduction of the ] on politics.<ref>Rushkoff, Douglas., CNN, United States, 5 October 2011. Retrieved on 11 March 2012.</ref><ref>Lowerstein, Roger., Business Week, United States, 27 October 2011. Retrieved on 11 March 2012.</ref> Adbusters co-Founder, Kalle Lasn has compared the protests to the ] and the ] movements in response to some criticisms and giving praise to the movement.<ref>Dillingham, Maud., Christian Science Monitor, United States, 7 October 2011. Retrieved on 11 March 2012.</ref><ref>Piven, Ben., Aljazeera, United States, 7 October 2011. Retrieved on 11 March 2012.</ref> Moreover, Micah White, another Adbusters Representative spoke to address critics stating, in which will be paraphrase, that that while no one person can speak for the movement, he believes that the goal of the movement is economic justice, specifically, a "transaction tax" on international financial speculation, the reinstatement of the ] and the revocation of ].<ref>Lazar, Sira., Huffington Post, United States, 7 October 2011. Retrieved on 11 March 2012.</ref>


The General Assembly, the "governing body" of the OWS movement, has adopted a “Declaration of the Occupation of New York City,” which includes a list of grievances against corporations,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://occupywallst.org/forum/first-official-release-from-occupy-wall-street/ |title=Forum Post: First Official Release from Occupy Wall Street |publisher=OccupyWallSt.org |date=October 2011 |accessdate=2012-01-13}}</ref> and to many protesters a general statement is enough. However, saying, "‘Power concedes nothing without a demand' " others within the movement have favored a fairly concrete set of national policy proposals.<ref>Hoffman, Meredith., New York Times, New York City, 17 October 2011. Retrieved on 11 March 2012.</ref> Consequently, one group has written an unofficial document titled, "The ]”, that calls for a national general assembly of representatives from all four-Hundred and thirty five (435) congressional districts to gather on July 4, 2012, to assemble a list of grievances and solutions.<ref>Walsh, Joan., Salon Magazine, United States, 20 October 2011. Retrieved on 11 March 2012.</ref> Although, the protesters continuously refer to a looser set of goals or demands, a growing but still a minority group of protesters have written another document titled, the ]; a manuscript of the writing contains the following quote: ''"Demands cannot reflect inevitable success. Demands imply condition, and we will never stop. Demands cannot reflect the time scale that we are working with."'' The demand for demands itself has been criticized by figures like ] and ], who argue that issuing demands is counterproductive for the Occupy movement, as this legitimizes the very structures the movement seeks to challenge.<ref>Butler, Judith., Blogspot (Google), United States, 2 February 2012. Retrieved on 11 March 2012.</ref> The General Assembly, the governing body of the OWS movement, has adopted a “Declaration of the Occupation of New York City,” which includes a list of grievances against corporations,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://occupywallst.org/forum/first-official-release-from-occupy-wall-street/ |title=Forum Post: First OFFICIAL Release from OCCUPY WALL STREET |publisher=OccupyWallSt.org |date= |accessdate=2012-01-13}}</ref> and to many protesters a general statement is enough. However, saying, "‘Power concedes nothing without a demand' " others within the movement have favored a fairly concrete set of national policy proposals.<ref name="nytimes1"></ref> One group has written an unofficial document, "The ]”, that calls for a national general assembly of representatives from all 435 congressional districts to gather on July 4, 2012, to assemble a list of grievances and solutions.<ref name="walsh1">{{cite web|last=Walsh |first=Joan |url=http://www.salon.com/2011/10/20/do_we_know_what_ows_wants_yet/singleton/ |title=Do we know what OWS wants yet? |publisher=Salon.com |date=2011-10-20 |accessdate=2011-11-01}}</ref> OWS protesters preferring a looser set of goals have written another document, the ]; an early version read: ''"Demands cannot reflect inevitable success. Demands imply condition, and we will never stop. Demands cannot reflect the time scale that we are working with."''<ref name="motherjones1"/> The demand for demands itself has been criticized by figures like ] and ], who argue that issuing demands is counterproductive for the Occupy movement, as this legitimizes the very structures the movement seeks to challenge.<ref>{{cite web|last=Butler|first=Judith|title=Occupy as Form|url=http://arcdirector.blogspot.com/2012/02/occupy-as-form-judith-butler.html|work=ARC Muses|accessdate=13 February 2012}}: "So articulating demands that can be satisfied depends fundamentally on the attribution of legitimacy to those who have the power to satisfy the demands. And when one ceases to direct demands to those authorities, as happens in the general strike, then it is the illegitimacy of those authorities that is exposed."</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Graeber|first=David|title=Occupy Wall Street's Anarchist Roots|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2011/11/2011112872835904508.html|accessdate=13 February 2012|newspaper=Al Jazeera English}}</ref>


==Slogan== ==Slogan==
{{Main|We are the 99%}} {{Main|We are the 99%}}
{{Infobox/OWS Wealth chart}}


In attention to the ], ''We are the 99%'', it originally appeared on a ] page in August of 211.<ref>Hedler, Ken., Prescot Arizona, The Daily Courier, 17 November 2011. Retrieved on 11 March 2012.</ref> It asserts that the "99%" pay for the mistakes of the "1%". Paul Taylor of the ] stated that the slogan is "arguably the most successful slogan since 'Hell no, we won't go,'" of Vietnam war era, and that partisans see the income gap as causing friction.<ref> by Scott Horsley National Public Radia January 14, 2012</ref> It has been reported that the top one percent of income earners have doubled their income over the last thirty years, according to a ] (CBO) report.<ref>Pear, Robert., New York Times, New York City, 26 October 2011. Retrieved on 11 March 2012.</ref> This report was released as concerns of the movement were on the verge of supposedly entering as a potential legitimate cause, for the Presidential Elections of 2012.<ref>Whoriskey, Peter., Washington Post, United States, 26 October 2011. Retrieved on 11 March 2012.</ref> ] ], ''We are the 99%'', originally appeared on a Tumblr page in late August 2011.<ref name=dcourier>{{cite web | url=http://www.dcourier.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=100176| title=Occupy Prescott protesters call for more infrastructure investment| accessdate=11-17-11| publisher=Western News&Info, Inc.}}</ref> <ref name=motherjonesfoundation>{{cite web | url=http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/10/we-are-the-99-percent-creators| title="We Are the 99 Percent" Creators Revealed| accessdate=11-17-11| publisher=Mother Jones and the Foundation for National Progress.}}</ref><ref name=foreignpolicy>{{cite web | url=http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/10/18/occupy_wall_street_99_percent| title=The World's 99 Percent| accessdate=11-17-11| publisher=FOREIGN POLICY, PUBLISHED BY THE SLATE GROUP}}</ref> It asserts that the "99%" pay for the mistakes of the "1%".<ref name="Reutersmalfeasant"/><ref name=cbsprotestsspread>{{cite news | url=http://www.cbsnews.com/2300-201_162-10009481-50.html| title=Wall Street protests spread| accessdate=11-17-11| publisher=CBS News}}</ref> Paul Taylor of the ] said the slogan is "arguably the most successful slogan since 'Hell no, we won't go,'" of Vietnam war era, and that the majority of Democrats, independents and Republicans see the income gap as causing friction.<ref> by Scott Horsley National Public Radia January 14, 2012</ref>


During the same time period, sixty percent of the American People, who are the middle of the income scale, saw their income rise by 40% which is a fairly a progression but neither the less, it does not take away from the movement's supposed cause. Since 1979, the average ''pre-tax'' income for the supposedly "bottom 90%" of households have decreased by $900 while the top 1% increased by over $700,000, as federal taxation became less ]. From 1992-2007 the top 400 income earners in the U.S. saw their income increase 392% and their average tax rate reduced by 37%.<ref>Gilson, Dave and Perot, Carolyn., Mother Jones, United States, March/April 2011. Retrieved 11 March 2012.</ref> In 2009, the average income of the top 1% was $960,000 with a minimum income of $343,927.<ref>Luhby, Tami., CNN, United States, 20 October 2011. Retrieved on 11 March 2012.</ref><ref>Shaw, Hanna and Stone Chad., Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, United States, 25 May 2011. Retrieved on 11 March 2012.</ref> The top 1 percent of income earners have more than doubled their income over the last thirty years according to a ] (CBO) report.<ref name="ref name">{{cite news | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/26/us/politics/top-earners-doubled-share-of-nations-income-cbo-says.html?_r=1| title=Top Earners Doubled Share of Nation’s Income, Study Finds| accessdate=11-17-11| publisher=The New York Times Company| first=Robert| last=Pear| date=October 25, 2011}}</ref> The report was released just as concerns of the Occupy Wall Street movement were beginning to enter the national political debate.<ref name=WashPostBloomberg>{{cite news | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/cbo-incomes-of-top-earners-grow-at-a-pace-far-faster-than-everyone-elses/2011/10/26/gIQAHlVFKM_story.html| title=CBO: Incomes of top earners grow at a pace far faster than everyone else’s| accessdate=11-17-11| publisher=The Washington Post| date=October 26, 2011}}</ref> According to the CBO, between 1979 and 2007 the incomes of the top 1% of Americans grew by an average of 275%. During the same time period, the 60% of Americans in the middle of the income scale saw their income rise by 40%. Since 1979 the average pre-tax income for the bottom 90% of households has decreased by $900, while that of the top 1% increased by over $700,000, as federal taxation became less ]. From 1992-2007 the top 400 income earners in the U.S. saw their income increase 392% and their average tax rate reduced by 37%.<ref name=Stupid> By Dave Gilson and Carolyn Perot in Mother Jones, March/April 2011 Issue</ref> In 2009, the average income of the top 1% was $960,000 with a minimum income of $343,927.<ref name=CNNstats>, CNN, October 29, 2011</ref><ref name="CBPP"> . Accessed October 2011.</ref><ref name=doubled> New York Times By Robert Pear, October 25, 2011</ref>


==Protester Demographics== ==Protester demographics==
In the movement's early stages, the protesters consisted of young adults particularly from ages 18 to 30 which is partly because social media; the suppose leaders or promoters increased the outreach for the movement. As the movement grew, older protesters who particularly sympathized with the younger protesters suddenly became more involved; as a result, this increased the amount of support from established unions. The average age of the protesters was 33, with people in their 20s balanced by people in their 40s.<ref>Goodale, Gloria., Christian Science Monitor, United States, 1 November 2011. Retrieved on 11 March 2012.</ref> Moreover, there have been various religious movements, reformed religious movements, that have been taken part of the movement.<ref>Lindsay, Jay., Yahoo News, United States, 24 October 2011. Retrieved 11 March 2012.</ref> On October 10, 2011, the Associated Press reported that "there’s a diversity of age, gender and race" at the protest; there were some news outlets that have compared the protest to an alternative of the ]. Early on the protesters were mostly young, partly because social networks through which they promoted the protests are primarily used by young people.<ref name="Kleinfield"/><ref name="christianpost"/> As the protest grew, older protesters also became involved.<ref name="LIP"/> The average age of the protesters was 33, with people in their 20s balanced by people in their 40s.<ref name=CSMprofile> ] By Gloria Goodale, November 1, 2011</ref> Various religious faiths have been represented at the protest including Muslims, Jews, and Christians.<ref name="Religion1">{{cite web|url = http://news.yahoo.com/religion-claims-place-occupy-wall-street-171204904.html| title = Religion claims its place in Occupy Wall Street|quote=Inside, a Buddha statue sits near a picture of Jesus, while a hand-lettered sign in the corner points toward Mecca.|publisher = Boston University|year=2011|=accessdate=23 October 2011}}</ref> Rabbi Chaim Gruber,<ref> </ref> however, is reportedly the only clergy member to have actually camped at Zuccotti Park. <ref> from www.nycga.net (Can someone with wiki editing know-how, please html edit this reference to make it more exact? Ideally, it should automatically open at the start of the "Therefore, as I felt a large enough portion of the movement..." paragraph on the linked page. Otherwise, someone has to scroll down quite a bit to find the exact source.) </ref><ref> from www.haaretz.com </ref> <ref> From www2.macleans.ca</ref>
<P>On October 10 the Associated Press reported that "there’s a diversity of age, gender and race" at the protest.<ref name=LIP/> Some news organizations have compared the protest to a ] version of the ].<ref name="thedailybeast"/>According to a survey of occupywallst.org website visitors<ref> By Occupywallst, OccupyWallSt.org 19 OCT 2011</ref> by the Baruch College School of Public Affairs published on October 19, of 1,619 web respondents, 1/3 were older than 35, half were employed full-time, 13% were unemployed and 13% earned over $75,000. When given the option of Democrat, Republican or Independent/Other 27.3% of the respondents called themselves Democrats, 2.4% called themselves Republicans, while the rest, 70%, called themselves independents.<ref> BY Sean Captain, Fast Company, Oct 19, 2011</ref> A survey by Fordham University Department of Political Science confirmed and detailed this with political affiliations 25% Democrats, 2% Republican, 11% Socialist, 11% Green Party, 12% Other, and 39% who reported no party affiliation.<ref> By Professor Costas Panagopoulos, Fordham University, October 2011</ref> Ideologically the Fordham survey found 80% self-identifying as slightly to extremely liberal, 15% as moderate, and 6% as slightly to extremely conservative.


Racially, the majority of participants are Caucasian, with one study based on survey responses at OccupyWallStreet.org reporting 81.2% White, 6.8% Hispanic, 2.8% Asian, 1.6% Black, and 7.6% identifying "other".<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.fastcompany.com//1792056/occupy-wall-street-demographics-infographic | title=Infographic: Who Is Occupy Wall Street? | publisher=FastCompany.com | accessdate=December 8, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/why-blacks-arent-embracing-occupy-wall-street/2011/11/16/gIQAwc3FwN_story.html | title=Why African Americans aren’t embracing Occupy Wall Street | publisher=Washington Post | accessdate=December 8, 2011 | first=Kathleen | last=Parker | date=November 26, 2011}}</ref>
In attention to political affiliation,the Baruch College School of Public Affairs published on October 19, 2011 a study of 1,619 Internet Respondents in which 1/3 were older than the age of 35, half were employed full-time, 13% were unemployed and 13% earned over $75,000. When given the option of Democrat, Republican or Independent/Other 27.3% of the respondents called themselves registered as Democrats, 2.4% registered as Republicans; furthermore, there were 70% who were registered as "no party affiliation".<ref>Captain, Sean., Fast Company Magazine, United States, 19 October 2011. Retrieved 11 March 2012.</ref> A survey by Fordham University Department of Political Science confirmed into detail that the political affiliation of the protesters were: 25% Democrats, 2% Republican, 11% Socialist, 11% Green Party, 12% Other and 39% who reported no party affiliation.<ref>Panagopoulos, Costas., Fordham University, New York State, October 2011. Retrieved on 11 March 2012.</ref> Ideologically, Forham University surveyed found 80% of the protesters self-identifying themselves as "slightly" to "extremely" Leftist, 15% as Centrist, and 6% as "slightly" to "extremely" Conservative. Racially, the majority of protesters as surveyed are supposedly of Anglo descent as in Western European or White, with one study based on survey responses at OccupyWallStreet.org reporting: 81.2% White, 6.8% Hispanic, 2.8% Asian, 1.6% Black or 7.6% identifying "other" as in bi-racial.<ref>Captain, Sean., Fast Company Magazine, United States 2 November 2011. Retrieved on 11 March 2012.</ref>


==Participation and Organization== ==Participation and organization==
] ]']]


The New York City General Assembly (NYCGA), held every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at 7:00 PM Eastern is the main movement decision-making body, and provides much of the leadership and executive function for the protesters.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2011-10-11/news/bs-ed-goldberg-occupy-wall-street-20111011_1_debt-forgiveness-mortgage-debt-tea-party |title=Jonah Goldberg: Occupy Wall Street protesters are the extremists, not the tea party - Baltimore Sun |publisher=Articles.baltimoresun.com |date=2011-10-11 |accessdate=2012-02-15}}</ref> At its meetings, the various movement committees discuss their thoughts and needs and the meetings are open to the public for both attendance and informal dialogue. <ref>{{cite web|last=Westfeldt |first=Amy |url=http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9RKV7HO0.htm |title=Occupy Wall Street's center shows some cracks |publisher=BusinessWeek |date=2011-12-15 |accessdate=2012-02-15}}</ref> The meetings are without formal leadership, although certain members routinely act as moderators with no intent of establishing a central authority. Regular participants of these meetings comment upon committee proposals using a process called a "stack", which is a queue of speakers that anyone can engage in. New York State uses what is called a ] in which people from ] then are sometimes allowed to speak before people from dominant groups with ] or ''stack-keepers'' urging speakers to "step forward or to step back" based on which group they belong to; this is meaning that women and minorities may move to the front of the line while white men must often wait for a turn to speak. This is often characterized in the general public as a racist sentiment or undertone. <ref>{{cite news|last=Penny|first=Laura|title=Protest By Consensus|url=http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/laurie-penny/2011/10/spain-movement-square-world|accessdate=11 November 2011|newspaper=New Statesman|date=16 October 2011}}</ref> The New York City General Assembly (NYCGA), held every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at 7pm, is the main OWS decision-making body and provides much of the leadership and executive function for the protesters.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2011-10-11/news/bs-ed-goldberg-occupy-wall-street-20111011_1_debt-forgiveness-mortgage-debt-tea-party |title=Jonah Goldberg: Occupy Wall Street protesters are the extremists, not the tea party - Baltimore Sun |publisher=Articles.baltimoresun.com |date=2011-10-11 |accessdate=2012-02-15}}</ref> At its meetings the various OWS committees discuss their thoughts and needs, and the meetings are open to the public for both attendance and speaking. <ref>{{cite web|last=Westfeldt |first=Amy |url=http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9RKV7HO0.htm |title=Occupy Wall Street's center shows some cracks |publisher=BusinessWeek |date=2011-12-15 |accessdate=2012-02-15}}</ref> The meetings are without formal leadership, although certain members routinely act as moderators. Meeting participants comment upon committee proposals using a process called a "stack", which is a queue of speakers that anyone can join. New York uses what is called a ], in which people from ] are sometimes allowed to speak before people from dominant groups, with ]s, or ''stack-keepers'', urging speakers to "step forward, or step back" based on which group they belong to, meaning that women and minorities may move to the front of the line, while white men must often wait for a turn to speak.<ref>{{cite news|last=Penny|first=Laura|title=Protest By Consensus|url=http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/laurie-penny/2011/10/spain-movement-square-world|accessdate=11 November 2011|newspaper=New Statesman|date=16 October 2011}}</ref> Volunteers take minutes of the meetings so that organizers who are not in attendance can be kept up-to-date.<ref name=IBT> ''International Business Times'' by Jeremy B. White, October 25, 2011</ref><ref name="cjr"/> In addition to the over 70 working groups<ref>, last visited 20 Nov. 2011</ref> that perform much of the daily work and planning of Occupy Wall Street, the organizational structure also includes "spokes councils," at which every working group can participate.<ref>The New York Observer, 8 Nov. 2011, </ref>


"Part-Time" volunteers of the movement participate loosely so that those who are not in attendance can be kept up-to-date based off what the regulars have discussed in dialogues.<ref>White, Jeremy., International Business Times, United States, 25 October 2011. Retrieved on 11 March 2012.</ref> In addition to the over 70 working groups that perform much of the daily work and planning for the movement, the organizational structure included, "spokes councils" in which is a volunteer participation effort.<ref>Grant, Drew., New York Observer, New York City, 8 November 2011. Retrieved on 11 March 2012.</ref> Although with the perception of a movement with no leadership, leaders have emerged and failed to unite the movement. A facilitator of some of the movement's more contentious discussions, Nicole Carty states that “usually when we think of leadership, we think of authority, but nobody has authority here,” - “People lead by example, stepping up when they need to and stepping back when they need to.”<ref>Massey, Daniel., Crain's New York Business, New York City, 13 November 2011. Retrieved 11 March 2012.</ref> According to ] Communications Professor, ], this movement and similar movements symbolize another rise of a ] that, according him, has not been successful in thousands of years.<ref>Wood, Daniel., Christian Science Monitor, United States, 10 October 2011. Retrieved 11 March 2012.</ref> Even with the perception of a movement with no leaders, leaders have emerged. A facilitator of some of the movement's more contentious discussions, Nicole Carty, says “Usually when we think of leadership, we think of authority, but nobody has authority here,” - “People lead by example, stepping up when they need to and stepping back when they need to.”<ref name=Crain>{{cite web | url=http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20111113/ECONOMY/311139975| title=Occupy Wall Street takes a new direction| accessdate=11-13-11| publisher=Crain Communications Inc.}}</ref> According to ] communications professor ], Occupy Wall Street and similar movements symbolize another rise of ] that has not actually been seen since ancient times.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2011/1010/Does-Occupy-Wall-Street-have-leaders-Does-it-need-any| title=Does 'Occupy Wall Street' have leaders? Does it need any?| accessdate=October 25, 2011| publisher=The Christian Science Monitor}}</ref><ref name="Occupy Wall Street Protests: A Fordham University Professor Analyzes the Movement"/>


==Funding== ==Funding==
During the beginning weeks of the park encampment it was reported that most of OWS funding was coming from donors with incomes in the $50,000 to $100,000 range, and the median donation was $22.<ref>Giove, Candice., New York Post, New York City, 8 January 2012. Retrieved on 11 March 2012.</ref> During the period that protesters were encamped in the park the funds were being used to purchase food and other necessities and to bail out fellow protesters. With the closure of the park to overnight camping on November 15, members of the OWS finance committee stated they would initiate a process to streamline the movement and re-evaluate their budget and eliminate or merge some of the "working groups" they no longer needed on a day-to-day basis.{{cite news | url=http://money.cnn.com/2011/11/21/news/occupy_wall_street_money/| title=Occupy Wall Street has money to burn| publisher=].com|first=Logan |last=Burruss |accessdate=11-21-11 | date=November 21, 2011}}</ref> As of March 9, 2012, the Occupy Wall Street Movement in New York City has been reported of suffering losses in attention funding for their activities; it is reported by Reuters that the Occupy Wall Street Accounting Group has given a message to Occupy Advocates that they only have less than 50,000 USD in the general funds, and that by the end of the month there won't be essentially a single dime to fund the movement in the future.<ref>Nicols, Michelle., Reuters, United States, 9 March 2012. Retrieved on 10 March 2012.</ref> During the beginning weeks of the park encampment it was reported that most of OWS funding was coming from donors with incomes in the $50,000 to $100,000 range, and the median donation was $22.<ref name=CSMprofile/> According to finance group member Pete Dutro, OWS had accumulated over $700,000.<ref>{{cite news|last=Giove |first=Candice |url=http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/ows_has_money_to_burn_zbjQcSF86gzz8vvVDSNZgM has money to burn|publisher=nypost.com |date=2012-1-8}}</ref> During the period that protesters were encamped in the park the funds were being used to purchase food and other necessities and to bail out fellow protesters. With the closure of the park to overnight camping on November 15, members of the OWS finance committee stated they would initiate a process to streamline the movement and re-evaluate their budget and eliminate or merge some of the "working groups" they no longer needed on a day-to-day basis.<ref name="burruss1">{{cite news | url=http://money.cnn.com/2011/11/21/news/occupy_wall_street_money/| title=Occupy Wall Street has money to burn| publisher=].com|first=Logan |last=Burruss |accessdate=11-21-11 | date=November 21, 2011}}</ref>


==Zuccotti Park Occupation== ==Zuccotti Park encampment==
{{main|Timeline of Occupy Wall Street}}
]
]' offering free wi-fi internet to protesters and containing over 5,000 books. It also offered weekly poetry readings on Friday nights, provided a reference service frequently staffed by professional librarians, and procured materials available through the ] system.]]
Prior to the park being closed because it's considered to be private property initially tents were not allowed nor excessive living in which the protesters were deliberately engaging in. The protesters have started meal services of a total cost of about $1,000 per day while some visitors ate at nearby restaurants. According to the '']'', many businesses surrounding the park were adversely or disruptively affected by the possible lack of business or overwhelming amount of unsustainable protesters.<ref>{{cite news|last=Oloffson|first=Kristi|title=Food Vendors Find Few Customers During Protest|url=http://blogs.wsj.com/metropolis/2011/10/12/food-vendors-find-few-customers-during-protest/|accessdate=24 October 2011|newspaper=Wall Street Journal|date=October 12, 2011}}</ref> <ref>{{cite news|last=GIOVE|first=CANDICE|title=Occupy Wall Street Costs Local Businesses $479,400!|url=http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/item_Wq8d8Q0M0W98jwaQAVPvYL|accessdate=15 November 2011|newspaper=New York Post|date=13 November 2011}}</ref> There have been contribution boxes collected about $5,000 per day and supplies came in from around the country in support of the movement. In late October of 2011, kitchen volunteers complained about working at an approximation of eighteen hours a day to feed people who were not part of the movement, and served only brown rice, simple sandwiches, and potato chips for three days.<ref>Algar, Selim and Fredricks, Bob., New York Post, New York City, 27 October 2011. Retrieved on 11 March 2012.</ref>
Prior to being closed to overnight use, somewhere between 100 and 200 people slept in Zuccotti Park. Initially tents were not allowed and protesters slept in sleeping bags or under blankets.<ref name="google11"/> Meal service started at a total cost of about $1,000 per day. While some visitors ate at nearby restaurants, according to the '']'' many businesses surrounding the park were adversely affected.<ref name="kadet"/><ref name=WSJ-Vendors>{{cite news|last=Oloffson|first=Kristi|title=Food Vendors Find Few Customers During Protest|url=http://blogs.wsj.com/metropolis/2011/10/12/food-vendors-find-few-customers-during-protest/|accessdate=24 October 2011|newspaper=Wall Street Journal|date=October 12, 2011}}</ref> <ref>{{cite news|last=GIOVE|first=CANDICE|title=Occupy Wall Street costs local businesses $479,400!|url=http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/item_Wq8d8Q0M0W98jwaQAVPvYL|accessdate=15 November 2011|newspaper=New York Post|date=13 November 2011}}</ref> Contribution boxes collected about $5,000 a day, and supplies came in from around the country.<ref name="kadet"/> Eric Smith, a local chef who was laid off at the ] in Midtown, said that he was running a five-star restaurant in the park.<ref> By REBECCA ROSENBERG, New York Post, October 19, 2011</ref> In late-October kitchen volunteers complained about working 18 hour days to feed people who were not part of the movement and served only brown rice, simple sandwiches, and potato chips for three days.<ref> By Selim Algar and Bob Fredricks, New York Post, October 27, 2011</ref>


Many protesters used the bathrooms of nearby business establishments. Some supporters donated use of their bathrooms for showers and the sanitary needs of protesters.<ref name="WSJ OWS Economy">{{cite news|url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204002304576631084250433462.html/|title=The Occupy Economy|last=Kadet|first=Anne|date=October 15, 2011|work=The Wall Street Journal }}</ref>
]
During the protesters time, a makeshift tent was erected, formally calling itself ] and began offering free wi-fi internet to protesters and containing over 5,000 books, the library operated ] and used an ] to manage returns. It offered weekly poetry readings on Friday nights while providing a "reference service" frequently staffed by professional librarians and procured materials available through the ] system.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUFn8kKDwuk | title = Voices from Zuccotti: Steve Syrek, 33 | accessdate = 2011-11-20 | work = The New York Daily News | publisher = ]}}</ref> However, the library was removed on November 15, 2011 when the park was closed for violations of essentially taking over a private park, and it has been reported that many of the books were unintentionally destroyed. On October 6, 2011, Brookfield Office Properties, which owns Zuccotti Park, issued a statement saying: "Sanitation is a growing concern... Normally the park is cleaned and inspected every weeknight because the protesters refuse to cooperate ... the park has not been cleaned since Friday, September 16 and as a result, sanitary conditions have reached unacceptable levels.


New York City requires a permit to use "amplified sound," including electric bullhorns. Since Occupy Wall Street did not have a permit, the protesters created the "]" in which a speaker pauses while the nearby members of the audience repeat the phrase in unison. The effect has been called "comic or exhilarating—often all at once." Some feel this provided a further unifying effect for the crowd.<ref name="We Are All Human Microphones Now"/><ref name="google"/>
On October 13, 2011, New York City's Mayor Bloomberg and Brookfield announced that the park must be vacated for cleaning the following morning at 7:00 am. However, protesters vowed to "defend the occupation" after police said they wouldn’t allow them to return with sleeping bags and other gear following the cleaning but as a result, some protesters spent the night sweeping and mopping the park in disagreement with the majority. On October 14, 2011, the property owner postponed its cleaning effort due to confrontational conflicts with the majority of the protesters.<ref>E, Esme and Stonington, Joel and Dolmetsh, Chris., Business Week, United States, 14 October 2011. Retrieved on 11 March 2012.</ref>


During the weeks that overnight use of the park was allowed, a separate area was set aside for an information area which contained laptop computers and several wireless routers.<ref name="cjr6"/><ref name="thedailybeast7"/> The items were powered with gas generators until the ] removed them on October 28, saying they were a fire hazard.<ref>, Esmé E. Deprez and Charles Mead, Bloomberg News, Oct 28, 2011; accessed November 2, 2011</ref> Protesters then used bicycles rigged with an electricity-generating apparatus to charge batteries to power the protesters' laptops and other electronics.<ref>, Colin Moynihan, ''New York Times'', October 30, 2011; accessed November 2, 2011</ref> According to the ''Columbia Journalism Review'''s New Frontier Database, the media team, while unofficial, ran websites like Occupytogether.org, video livestream, a "steady flow of updates on Twitter, and Tumblr" as well as ] sessions with other demonstrators.<ref name="cjr9"/>
On November 15, 2011 at Midnight, the New York Police Department gave protesters another notice from the park's owner (Brookfield Office Properties) to leave Zuccotti Park due to its purportedly unsanitary and hazardous conditions. The notice stated that they could return without sleeping bags, tarps or tents.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/15/zuccotti-park-evacuation_n_1094164.html |title=Zuccotti Park Eviction: NYPD Orders Occupy Wall Street Protesters To Temporarily Evacuate Park|publisher=Huffingtonpost.com |date= November 15, 2011|accessdate=2011-11-17 |first=Jade |last=Walker}}</ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/15/us/new-york-occupy-eviction/index.html?hpt=hp_t1 |title=New York court upholds eviction of "Occupy" protesters |author=CNN Wire Staff |date=November 15, 2011 |publisher=www.cnn.com |accessdate=November 15, 2011}}</ref> A couple of hours later, police in riot gear began removing protesters from the park for the protesters deliberate defiance for New York Law; as a result, they arrested roughly 200+ people in the process, including a minority o independent journalists. During the police raid, the Occupy Wall Street Media Team issued an official response under the heading, "You can't evict an idea whose time has come." which would give the officers and the country a true look at the intentions of the movement.<ref>Occupy Wall St. Site Staff., OccupyWallSt.org, New York City, 15 November 2011. Retrieved on 11 March 2012.</ref>


]
]
On December 31, 2011, protesters started to re-occupy the park. At one point, protesters started to push police barricades into the streets. Police quickly put the barricades back up. Occupiers then started to take down barricades from all sides of the park and stored them in a pile in the middle of Zuccotti Park.<ref>{{cite web|title=Protesters Occupy New Year in Zuccotti Park |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/yup-back-protesters-occupy-year-article-1.999412|accessdate=1 January 2012}}</ref> The NYPD called in re-enforcements while at the same time the protesters retaliated further by entering the park, in hundreds. The NYPD tried to enter the park to follow orders but were pushed back by protesters; there were reports of pepper-spray being used by the NYPD against provocateurs. About 12:40 a.m. the protesters celebrated New Years near the park then marched peacefully down Broadway. In the end, the NYPD finished their duties to clear out the park around 1:30 a.m. According to New York Times, the park was completely cleared out by police by 2:30 a.m. Sixty-eight people were arrested in relation to the event which was over within several hours.<ref>{{cite web|title=OWS Clash With Police At Zuccotti Park|url=http://www.myfoxny.com/dpp/news/ows-clash-with-police-at-zuccotti-park-20120101-ncx|accessdate=1 January 2012}}</ref>


On October 6, Brookfield Office Properties, which owns Zuccotti Park, issued a statement saying: "Sanitation is a growing concern... Normally the park is cleaned and inspected every weeknight because the protesters refuse to cooperate ... the park has not been cleaned since Friday, September 16 and as a result, sanitary conditions have reached unacceptable levels."<ref name="cbslocal"/><ref name="Grossman"/>
==Security Concerns and Crime==

On October 11, it was reported that OWS protesters staying in Zuccotti Park were dealing with a worsening security problem with reports of multiple incidents of assault, drug dealing and use, and sexual assault.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/party_over_bum_ezkUNyRYN1Z94jCRyIddFM |title='Occupy' crasher busted in grope |publisher=www.nypost.com |date=October 11, 2011 |first1=Helen |last1=Freund |first2=Lachlan |last2=Cartwright |first3=Josh |last3=Saul}}</ref> The protesters have been reported robbery of assorted items such as cell phones, laptops, thieves and also $2500 of donations that were stored in a makeshift kitchen.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/criminal_occupation_oh3CnKANUqYHrGPCaZaLRK |title=Thieves preying on fellow protesters |publisher=www.nypost.com |date=October 18, 2011 |first1=Larry |last1=Celona}}</ref> In November of 2011, there was a report that a man was arrested for breaking an ]'s leg.<ref>{{cite web|last=Siegal |first=Ida |url=http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Occupy-Wall-Street-EMT-Assaulted-Zuccotti-Park-Arrest-133613788.html |title=Man Arrested for Breaking EMT's Leg at Occupy Wall Street |publisher=NBC New York |date= |accessdate=2011-11-12}}</ref> Police Commissioner, Paul Browne reported to the pubic that the protesters delayed reporting the crime; He late stated that it was the movement's protocol not to report such incidents to the police until there were three complaints against the same individual.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.metro.us/newyork/local/article/1015197--michael-bloomberg-occupy-crime-is-unreported| title=Michael Bloomberg: Crime at Occupy Wall Street goes unreported| accessdate=11-11-11| publisher=Free Daily News Group Inc.}}</ref> The protesters denied the idea of an "three strikes policy" and one protester told the ''New York Daily News'' that he had heard police respond to an unspecified complaint by saying, "You need to deal with that yourselves".<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/occupy-wall-street-protesters-odds-mayor-bloomberg-nypd-crime-zuccotti-park-article-1.971741| title=Occupy Wall Street protesters at odds with Mayor Bloomberg, NYPD over crime in Zuccotti Park| accessdate=11-11-11| publisher=NYDailyNews.com| location=New York}}</ref>
On October 13, New York City's mayor Bloomberg and Brookfield announced that the park must be vacated for cleaning the following morning at 7&nbsp;am.<ref name="Kilkenny"/> However, protesters vowed to "defend the occupation" after police said they wouldn’t allow them to return with sleeping bags and other gear following the cleaning, and many protesters spent the night sweeping and mopping the park.<ref name="BusinessWeek Cleanup Canceled">, ''BusinessWeek'', 2011-10-14.</ref><ref name="Deprez2">Deprez, Esmé E., Joel Stonington and Chris Dolmetsch, , ''Bloomberg'', Oct 14, 2011 11:37 AM EDT.</ref> The next morning the property owner postponed its cleaning effort.<ref name="BusinessWeek Cleanup Canceled"/> Having prepared for a confrontation with the authorities to prevent the cleaning effort from proceeding, some protesters clashed with police in riot gear outside City Hall after it was canceled.<ref name=Kilkenny/>

Shortly after midnight on November 15, 2011, the New York Police Department gave protesters notice from the park's owner (Brookfield Office Properties) to leave Zuccotti Park due to its purportedly unsanitary and hazardous conditions. The notice stated that they could return without sleeping bags, tarps or tents.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/15/zuccotti-park-evacuation_n_1094164.html |title=Zuccotti Park Eviction: NYPD Orders Occupy Wall Street Protesters To Temporarily Evacuate Park [LATEST UPDATES&#93; |publisher=Huffingtonpost.com |date= November 15, 2011|accessdate=2011-11-17 |first=Jade |last=Walker}}</ref><ref name=RestrainingOrderVacated>{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/15/us/new-york-occupy-eviction/index.html?hpt=hp_t1 |title=New York court upholds eviction of "Occupy" protesters |author=CNN Wire Staff |date=November 15, 2011 |publisher=www.cnn.com |accessdate=November 15, 2011 |quote= A New York Supreme Court has ruled not to extend a temporary restraining order that prevented the eviction of "Occupy" protesters who were encamped at Zuccotti Park, considered a home-base for demonstrators.
Police in riot gear cleared out the protesters early Tuesday morning, a move that attorneys for the loosely defined group say was unlawful.
But Justice Michael Stallman later ruled in favor of New York city officials and Brookfield properties, owners and developers of the privately-owned park in Lower Manhattan. The order does not prevent protesters from gathering in the park, but says their First Amendment rights not do include remaining there, "along with their tents, structures, generators, and other installations to the exclusion of the owner's reasonable rights and duties to maintain Zuccotti Park."}}</ref> About an hour later, police in riot gear began removing protesters from the park, arresting some 200 people in the process, including a number of journalists. While the police raid was in progress, the Occupy Wall Street Media Team issued an official response under the heading, "You can't evict an idea whose time has come."<ref name=evict-idea>- official statement of Occupy Wall Street Media Team, posted November 15, 2011, 1:36 a.m. EST</ref>

]
On December 31, 2011, Protesters started to re-occupy the park. At one point, protesters started to push police barricades into the streets. Police quickly put the barricades back up. Occupiers then started to take down barricades from all sides of the park and stored them in a pile in the middle of Zuccotti Park.<ref name="Protesters Occupy New Year in Zuccotti Park ">{{cite web|title=Protesters Occupy New Year in Zuccotti Park |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/yup-back-protesters-occupy-year-article-1.999412|accessdate=1 January 2012}}</ref> Police called in re-enforcements while at the same time more activists entered the park. Police tried to enter the park, but were pushed back by protesters. There were reports of pepper-spray being used by the police. About 12:40 a.m. after the group celebrated New Years in the park, They exited the park and marched down Broadway. Police, in riot gear, started to clear out the park around 1:30 a.m. According to New York Times, the park was cleared out by police by 2:30 a.m. Sixty-eight people were arrested in connection with the event, which was over within several hours.<ref name="OWS Clash With Police At Zuccotti Park">{{cite web|title=OWS Clash With Police At Zuccotti Park|url=http://www.myfoxny.com/dpp/news/ows-clash-with-police-at-zuccotti-park-20120101-ncx|accessdate=1 January 2012}}</ref>

Since the closure of the Zuccotti Park encampment, some former campers have been allowed to sleep in local churches, but how much longer they will be welcomed is in question and even former park Occupiers debate whether or not they can continue to provide funds and meals for homeless protesters. Since the police raid, New York protesters have been divided in their opinion as to the importance of the occupation of a space with some believing that actual encampment is unnecessary, and even a burden.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/12/occupy-wall-street-after-encampment-protesters-nomads_n_1201542.html |title=After Occupy Wall Street Encampment Ends, NYC Protesters Become Nomads |publisher=Huffingtonpost.com |date= |accessdate=2012-01-30}}</ref>

==Security concerns and crime==
On October 11, it was reported that OWS protesters staying in Zuccotti Park were dealing with a worsening security problem with reports of multiple incidents of assault, drug dealing and use, and sexual assault.<ref name="nypost1">{{cite news|url=http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/party_over_bum_ezkUNyRYN1Z94jCRyIddFM |title='Occupy' crasher busted in grope |publisher=www.nypost.com |date=October 11, 2011 |first1=Helen |last1=Freund |first2=Lachlan |last2=Cartwright |first3=Josh |last3=Saul}}</ref> Demonstrators complained of thefts of assorted items such as cell phones and laptops; thieves also stole $2500 of donations that were stored in a makeshift kitchen.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/criminal_occupation_oh3CnKANUqYHrGPCaZaLRK |title=Thieves preying on fellow protesters |publisher=www.nypost.com |date=October 18, 2011 |first1=Larry |last1=Celona}}</ref> In November, a man was arrested for breaking an ]'s leg.<ref>{{cite web|last=Siegal |first=Ida |url=http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Occupy-Wall-Street-EMT-Assaulted-Zuccotti-Park-Arrest-133613788.html |title=Man Arrested for Breaking EMT's Leg at Occupy Wall Street |publisher=NBC New York |date= |accessdate=2011-11-12}}</ref>

Police Commissioner Paul Browne complained that protesters delayed reporting crime. He stated that it was OWS protocol not to report such incidents to the police until there were three complaints against the same individual.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.metro.us/newyork/local/article/1015197--michael-bloomberg-occupy-crime-is-unreported| title=Michael Bloomberg: Crime at Occupy Wall Street goes unreported| accessdate=11-11-11| publisher=Free Daily News Group Inc.}}</ref> The protesters denied a "three strikes policy", and one protester told the ''New York Daily News'' that he had heard police respond to an unspecified complaint by saying, "You need to deal with that yourselves".<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/occupy-wall-street-protesters-odds-mayor-bloomberg-nypd-crime-zuccotti-park-article-1.971741| title=Occupy Wall Street protesters at odds with Mayor Bloomberg, NYPD over crime in Zuccotti Park| accessdate=11-11-11| publisher=NYDailyNews.com| location=New York}}</ref>


After several weeks of occupation, protesters had made enough allegations of sexual assault and gropings that women-only sleeping tents were set up.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://gothamist.com/2011/11/05/occupy_wall_street_erects_women-onl.php |title=Occupy Wall Street Erects Women-Only Tent After Reports Of Sexual Assaults |publisher=The Gothamist News |date= |accessdate=2011-11-21}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/protester_busted_in_tent_grope_QxAzp8mG8pULWA6cPzgnXL |title= Protester busted in tent grope, suspected in rape of another demonstrator |publisher=NY POST |date= November 3, 2011|accessdate=2011-11-21 |first=Jamie |last=Schram}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wpix.com/news/wpix-zuccotti-sex-abuse,0,2577863.story |title=Man Arrested For Groping Protester Also Eyed In Zuccotti Park Rape Case |publisher=WPIX |date= |accessdate=2011-11-21}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://articles.nydailynews.com/2011-11-02/news/30352474_1_connecticut-man-encampment-demonstrators |title=Arrest made in Occupy Wall St. sex attack; Suspect eyed in another Zuccotti gropingCase |publisher=NY Daily News |date= |accessdate=2011-11-21 |location=New York |first1=Irving |last1=Dejohn |first2=Joe |last2=Kemp}}</ref> Occupy Wall Street organizers released a statement regarding the sexual assaults stating, "As individuals and as a community, we have the responsibility and the opportunity to create an alternative to this culture of violence, We are working for an OWS and a world in which survivors are respected and supported unconditionally... We are redoubling our efforts to raise awareness about sexual violence. This includes taking preventative measures such as encouraging healthy relationship dynamics and consent practices that can help to limit harm.”<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/11/09/rash-sex-attacks-and-violent-crime-breaks-out-at-occupy-protests |title=Occupy Protests Plagued by Reports of Sex Attacks, Violent Crime |publisher=NY Daily News |date= November 9, 2011|accessdate=2011-11-21}}</ref> After several weeks of occupation, protesters had made enough allegations of sexual assault and gropings that women-only sleeping tents were set up.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://gothamist.com/2011/11/05/occupy_wall_street_erects_women-onl.php |title=Occupy Wall Street Erects Women-Only Tent After Reports Of Sexual Assaults |publisher=The Gothamist News |date= |accessdate=2011-11-21}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/protester_busted_in_tent_grope_QxAzp8mG8pULWA6cPzgnXL |title= Protester busted in tent grope, suspected in rape of another demonstrator |publisher=NY POST |date= November 3, 2011|accessdate=2011-11-21 |first=Jamie |last=Schram}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wpix.com/news/wpix-zuccotti-sex-abuse,0,2577863.story |title=Man Arrested For Groping Protester Also Eyed In Zuccotti Park Rape Case |publisher=WPIX |date= |accessdate=2011-11-21}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://articles.nydailynews.com/2011-11-02/news/30352474_1_connecticut-man-encampment-demonstrators |title=Arrest made in Occupy Wall St. sex attack; Suspect eyed in another Zuccotti gropingCase |publisher=NY Daily News |date= |accessdate=2011-11-21 |location=New York |first1=Irving |last1=Dejohn |first2=Joe |last2=Kemp}}</ref> Occupy Wall Street organizers released a statement regarding the sexual assaults stating, "As individuals and as a community, we have the responsibility and the opportunity to create an alternative to this culture of violence, We are working for an OWS and a world in which survivors are respected and supported unconditionally... We are redoubling our efforts to raise awareness about sexual violence. This includes taking preventative measures such as encouraging healthy relationship dynamics and consent practices that can help to limit harm.”<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/11/09/rash-sex-attacks-and-violent-crime-breaks-out-at-occupy-protests |title=Occupy Protests Plagued by Reports of Sex Attacks, Violent Crime |publisher=NY Daily News |date= November 9, 2011|accessdate=2011-11-21}}</ref>


The ] considers Occupy Wall Street a threat, stating "mass gatherings associated with public protest movements can have disruptive effects on transportation, commercial, and government services, especially when staged in major metropolitan areas". The DHS keeps a file on the movement and monitors social media for information, according to leaked emails released by ].<ref>http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/blogs/national-affairs/exclusive-homeland-security-kept-tabs-on-occupy-wall-street-20120228#ixzz1nkxlehSX</ref>
Throughout this movement's peak, there have been anti-Semitic messages reports during its demonstrations, as Jews were blamed for the turmoil in America's financial markets. It is reported that there is and remains to be anti-Israel signs being raised and often praised against what the protesters try to justify as, "Israel's Occupation of Gaza". <ref>Greenwald, Abe., Commentary.com, United States, 11 October 2011.Retrieved on 11 March 2012</ref><ref>Benhorin,Yitzhak., Ynet News, United States, 16 October 2011. Retrieved on 11 March 2012.</ref> This behavior has crossed outside of New York City to other similar protests mirroring Occupy Wall Street like, the Occupy Boston Movement where protesters marched to a building that houses the Israeli consulate, and rudely held a brief sit-in in the building’s lobby.


==Notable responses==
==Responses to Occupy Wall Street==
] labor union march to ] in support of OWS]]
{{main|Reactions to Occupy Wall Street}} {{main|Reactions to Occupy Wall Street}}
Prominent politicians, academics, and other public figures have reacted to the Occupy Wall Street movement with criticism and/or praise.


During an October 6 news conference, ] said, "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."<ref name="Obama news conference: Obama: Occupy Wall Street protests show Americans' frustration">{{cite news|last=Memoli |first=Michael A. |url=http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-pn-obama-occupy-wall-street-20111006,0,1992639.story |title=Obama news conference: Obama: Occupy Wall Street protests show Americans' frustration |work=Los Angeles Times |date=July 13, 2011 |accessdate=October 7, 2011}}</ref><ref name="Obama acknowledges Wall Street protests as a sign">{{cite news|last=Salazar |first=Cristian |url=http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9Q6U0O83.htm |agency=Associated Press |title=Obama acknowledges Wall Street protests as a sign |work=BusinessWeek |date=October 6, 2011 |accessdate=October 7, 2011}}</ref>
'''Leftist Media Collaboration'''


] ] said she supports the growing nationwide Occupy Wall Street movement.<ref name="Pelosi Supports Occupy Wall Street Movement">{{cite news|url=http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/pelosi-supports-occupy-wall-street-movement/story?id=14696893 |title=Pelosi Supports Occupy Wall Street Movement| publisher=ABC news |date=October 9, 2011 }}</ref> In September, various ], including the ] Local 100 and the New York Metro 32BJ ], pledged their support for demonstrators.<ref name="union support">{{cite news |url=http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2011/09/30/Occupy-Wall-Street-gets-union-support/UPI-89641317369600 |publisher=United Press International |date=September 30, 2011 |accessdate=October 2, 2011 |title=Occupy Wall Street gets union support}}</ref>
It is speculated that media outlets that hold to political leftist views, and those who advocate for the Democratic Party is willfully covering up the violence, in this case ], and hate speech that has and remains to spreading throughout the movement. Countering the lack of coverage of certain details, media outlets that hold to political rightist views, and those who tend to lean to the Republican Party has documented more than three direct or indirect incidents of the movement's unethical and essentially un-American behavior. A host of criticisms coming from the right has approached onto the surface in revealing the "true nature" of the movement; for instance, ]'s Big Journalism Website shows emails from well-known mainstream media elites trying to facilitate a message for the protesters, insisting on demands so as to further report on the movement. <ref></ref> To add, Rush Limbaugh, a radio personality, states the numbers of protesters involved in the protest are unusually small but remains to be troubling for the mainstream media to handle. This is a rhetorical approach in stating that the mainstream media is doing a poor job at their percieved propaganda.<ref></ref> Furthermore, ] has been and remains to report that a host of ''recent'' government-funded networks like, ] and their journalist namely Lisa Simeone has emerged as an unofficial spokesperson for the Washington D.C Movement, mirroring Occupy Wall Street.
<ref></ref> Consequently, the ] reporter Natasha Lennard is not merely covering the protests but is also taking part in planning and alleging executing them. <ref></ref> The ] and the New York Times have generated a total of two-Hundred and twenty-four stories, plus opinion pieces praising the Occupy Wall Street movement and its counterparts. <ref></ref> Lastly, a number of other mainstream outlets like ABC and CBS have reported stories or executed segments about the movement within the first first days it started but compared to the Tea Party Movement, they fall substantially short which resulted in conspiracy theories, excessive political rhetoric and deeper criticisms of leftist or leftist leaning media outlets. <ref></ref>


Five days into the protest, ] criticized the initial media response for failing to adequately cover the protests.<ref name="Occupy Wall Street's Media Problems">{{cite web|url=http://www.observer.com/2011/09/occupy-wall-streets-media-problems/|last=Stoeffel |first=Kat|title= Occupy Wall Street's Media Problems |publisher=] |date=September 26, 2011 |accessdate=October 6, 2011}}</ref><ref name="Will Bunch on mainstream media's failure to cover Occupy Wall Street protests">{{cite web|url=http://current.com/shows/countdown/videos/will-bunch-author-of-the-backlash-on-mainstream-medias-failure-to-cover-wall-street-protests |title=Will Bunch on mainstream media's failure to cover Occupy Wall Street protests |work=Countdown with Keith Olberann |publisher=current.com |date=September 21, 2011 |accessdate=September 22, 2011}}</ref>
==See Also==

==See also==
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'''Useful Occupy Articles''' '''Occupy articles'''
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'''Other U.S. protests'''
'''Prominent Related Protests in the United States'''
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'''International'''
'''Prominent Related Protests Internationally'''
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'''Related Articles''' '''Related articles'''
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* '']''{{ndash}}documentary about the growing wealth gap between America's wealthy elite compared to the overall citizenry
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==References== ==References==
{{reflist|30em|refs=
{{Reflist}}
<!--
{{cite web|url=http://www.c4chaos.com/2011/11/why-ravi-batra-is-my-kind-of-kick-ass-economist-for-the-99/ |title=Why Ravi Batra is My Kind of Kick-Ass Economist for the 99%!|publisher=C4CHAOS blog|date=November 14, 2011 |author= |accessdate=November 20, 2011}}</ref>

{{cite web|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/occupy-wall-street-protesters-picked-public-relations-firm-workhouse-pro-bono-article-1.959968 |title= Occupy Wall Street Protesters Picked up by Public Relations Firm Workhouse Pro-bono |newspaper=New York Daily News |author=Frank DiGiacomo|date=October 3, 2011 |accessdate=October 3, 2011}}</ref>

{{cite web|url=http://gawker.com/5846154/occupy-wall-street-gets-much+needed-help-from-pr-firm |title= Occupy Wall Street Gets Much-Needed Help From PR Firm |publisher=Gawker|date=October 3, 2011 |accessdate=October 3, 2011}}</ref>

{{cite web|url=http://www.closingthegap.org.nz/site-map/research-material/ravi-batra-usa-prof-economics-on-economic-chaos-kim-hill-interview/ |title=Ravi Batra-USA Prof Economics on Economic Chaos|author= Kim Hill |publisher=Closing the gap|date=November 14, 2011 |accessdate=November 20, 2011}}</ref>

{{cite web|url=http://archive.fwweekly.com/content.asp?article=7369 |title= Prophet of Boom (and Bust) Now will they listen to Ravi Batra? |newspaper=Fort Worth Weekly |author=Kendall Anderson|date=December 17, 2008 |accessdate=October 26, 2011}}</ref>

{{cite web|url=http://www.fwweekly.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5095:rising-up&catid=30:cover-story&Itemid=375|title=Uprising|date=October 19, 2011|newspaper=Ft. Worth Weekly|accessdate=October 22, 2011}}</ref>

{{cite web|url=http://www.prdaily.com/Main/Articles/10636.aspx |title= PR Firm Marshalls Support For Occupy Benefit Album |date=January 23, 2012|publisher=Ragan's PR Daily |author=Michael Sebastian |accessdate=January 23, 2012}}</ref>

{{cite web|url=http://adage.com/article/news/pr-picks-occupy-wall-street-mantle/231741/ |title= PR Firm Picks Up Occupy Wall Street Mantle |date=December 23, 2011 |magazine=Advertising Age |author=Alexandra Bruell |accessdate=December 23, 2011}}</ref>
-->

<ref name="motherjones1">{{cite web|url=http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/10/occupy-wall-street-demands-new-deal |title=Occupy Protesters' One Demand: A New New Deal—Well, Maybe |publisher=Mother Jones |date=2011-10-18 |accessdate=2011-11-01}}</ref>

<!-- not in use: <ref name="Deprez">, Esmé E. Deprez, Bloomberg News, October 10, 2011</ref> -->

<!--<ref name="The Christian Science Monitor"/>-->

<!-- <ref name="Dems Co-Opt Occupy Wall St.">{{cite web|author=om een reactie te plaatsen! |url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jn6Np_5S7vM |title=Dems Co-Opt Occupy Wall St. |publisher=YouTube |date=October 3, 2011 |accessdate=October 13, 2011}}</ref> -->>

<!--<ref name="From Tahrir Square to...Wall Street?">{{cite news|last=Rapoza|first=Kenneth|title=From Tahrir Square to...Wall Street?|url=http://www.forbes.com/sites/kenrapoza/2011/07/15/from-tahrir-square-to-wall-street/|newspaper=Forbes|date=July 15, 2011}}</ref>-->

<!--<ref name=froomkin2011>Froomkin, D. (October 5, 2011) ''Huffington Post''</ref>-->

<!--<ref name="Green">, Glenn Greenwald, '']'', September 29, 2011; accessed September 29, 2011</ref>-->

<ref name="Grossman">{{cite news|url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204831304576593371443552888.html|title=Protest Has Unlikely Host|last=Grossman|first=Andrew|date=September 26, 2011|work=The Wall Street Journal|accessdate=October 9, 2011}}</ref>

<!--<ref name=hill2011>Hill, A. (October 4, 2011) ''Marketplace Morning Report'' (American Public Media)</ref>-->

<!-- <ref name="Hundreds freed after New York Wall Street protest">{{cite news|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-15143509|title=Hundreds freed after New York Wall Street protest|date=October 2, 2011|work=BBC News |publisher=BBC |accessdate=October 2, 2011}}</ref>
-->
<ref name="Kilkenny">{{cite web|author=Allison Kilkenny on October 14, 2011&nbsp;– 8:46&nbsp;am ET |url=http://www.thenation.com/blog/163981/occupy-wall-street-protesters-win-showdown-bloomberg |title=Occupy Wall Street Protesters Win Showdown With Bloomberg |publisher=The Nation |accessdate=October 16, 2011}}</ref>

<ref name="Kleinfield">{{cite news|last=Kleinfield|first=N.R.|last2=Buckley|first2=Cara|title=Wall Street Occupiers, Protesting Till Whenever|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/01/nyregion/wall-street-occupiers-protesting-till-whenever.html?_r=1&ref=occupywallstreet|work=New York Times|date=September 30, 2011|accessdate=October 3, 2011}}</ref>

<!--<ref name=lessigbook>Lessig, L. (2011) (New York City: Hachette/Twelve) </ref>-->

<ref name="LIP">, Jocelyn Noveck, Associated Press via the ''Long Island Press'', October 10, 2011</ref>

<!--<ref name="NYPD Arrest Seven Wall Street Protesters">{{cite web|last=Marcinek|first=Laura|url=http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-19/new-york-city-police-arrest-seven-wall-street-protesters.html|title=NYPD Arrest Seven Wall Street Protesters|publisher=Bloomberg |date=September 19, 2011|accessdate=September 21, 2011}}</ref>-->

<!--<ref name="New York Times">, NewYorkTimes.com, Oct. 8, 2011; accessed September 29, 2011.</ref>-->

<!--<ref name="OWSproposedDemands">{{cite web |author=anonymous |coauthors=Hart, Lloyd J. |title=Proposed List Of Demands For Occupy Wall St Movement! (User Submitted) |publisher=occupywallstreet.org |url=http://occupywallst.org/forum/proposed-list-of-demands-for-occupy-wall-st-moveme/ |accessdate=October 10, 2011}}</ref>-->

<ref name="Occupy Wall Street Protests: A Fordham University Professor Analyzes the Movement">{{cite news |first=Maggie |last=Astor |url=http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/224719/20111004/occupy-wall-street-protest-demands-zuccotti-heather-gautney-fordham.htm |title=Occupy Wall Street Protests: A Fordham University Professor Analyzes the Movement |work=] |date=October 4, 2011 |accessdate=October 7, 2011 |quote=Fordham University Sociologist Heather Gautney in an interview with the ] 'the movement doesn't have leaders, but it certainly has organizers, and there are certainly people providing a human structure to this thing. There might not be these kinds of public leaders, but there are people running it, and I think that's inevitable.'}}</ref>

<!--<ref name="Occupy Wall Street protests: Police make arrests, use pepper spray as some activists storm barricade">{{cite news|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2011/10/05/2011-10-05_occupy_wall_street_protests_unions_join_epic_march_in_downtown_manhattan.html |title=Occupy Wall Street protests: Police make arrests, use pepper spray as some activists storm barricade |work=Daily News |location=New York |accessdate=October 13, 2011}}</ref>-->

<!-- <ref name="On way to Wall Street, confronting a protest">{{cite news |last=Condon |first=Bernard |last2=Matthews |first2=Karen |title=On way to Wall Street, confronting a protest |url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/10/03/ap/business/main20114915.shtml |accessdate=October 5, 2011 |publisher=CBS News |date=October 3, 2011 |agency=Associated Press}}</ref> -->

<!--<ref name="Police Arrest More Than 400 Protesters on Brooklyn Bridge">{{cite news|last=Baker|first=Al|title=Police Arrest More Than 400 Protesters on Brooklyn Bridge|url=http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/01/police-arresting-protesters-on-brooklyn-bridge/|accessdate=October 1, 2011|newspaper=The New York Times|date=October 1, 2011}}</ref> -->

<!--<ref name="Police Arrest More Than 700 Protesters on Brooklyn Bridge">{{cite news |url=http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/01/police-arresting-protesters-on-brooklyn-bridge/ |title=Police Arrest More Than 700 Protesters on Brooklyn Bridge |author=Al Baker, Colin Moynihan and Sarah Maslin Nir |date=October 1, 2011 |newspaper=New York Times }}</ref>-->

<!-- <ref name="Read Demands of 'Occupy Wall Street' ... and Try Not to Laugh&nbsp;– Occupy Wall Street&nbsp;– Fox Nation">{{cite news |url=http://nation.foxnews.com/occupy-wall-street/2011/10/04/read-demands-occupy-wall-street-and-try-not-laugh |title=Read Demands of 'Occupy Wall Street' ... and Try Not to Laugh&nbsp;– Occupy Wall Street&nbsp;– Fox Nation |publisher=nation.foxnews.com |date=October 3, 2011 |accessdate=October 7, 2011}}</ref> -->

<!--<ref name="The Warning Occupy Wall Street Has for President Obama">{{cite web|last=Engelhardt |first=Tom |url=http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/10/10-2 |title=The Warning Occupy Wall Street Has for President Obama |publisher=Common Dreams |accessdate=October 13, 2011}}</ref>-->

<!-- <ref name="Wall Street protests go global; riots in Rome">{{cite news|url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/15/us-protests-idUSTRE79E0FC20111015|title=Wall Street protests go global; riots in Rome|first=Phillip|last=Pullella|date=October 15, 2011 |work=Reuters}}</ref> -->

<ref name="We Are All Human Microphones Now">{{cite web|author=Richard Kim on October 3, 2011&nbsp;– 7:19&nbsp;pm ET |url=http://www.thenation.com/blog/163767/we-are-all-human-microphones-now |title=We Are All Human Microphones Now |publisher=The Nation |date=October 3, 2011 |accessdate=October 13, 2011}}</ref>

<!--
<ref name="adbusters1">{{cite web|url=http://www.adbusters.org/campaigns/occupywallstreet |title=Occupy Wall Street &#124; September 17th |publisher=Adbusters.org |accessdate=October 6, 2011}}</ref> -->

<!--<ref name="arrests">{{cite web|last=Smith|first=Candice|title=Occupy Wall Street Movement Reports 80 Arrested Today in Protests|url=http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2011/09/occupy-wall-street-movement-reports-80-arrested-today-in-protests/|publisher=abc|accessdate=September 25, 2011}}</ref>-->

<!--<ref name="businessweek1">{{cite web|first=Laura|last=Marcinek|url=http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-09-19/wall-street-areas-blocked-as-police-arrest-seven-in-protest.html|title=Wall Street Areas Blocked as Police Arrest Seven in Protest|work=Businessweek |date=September 19, 2011|accessdate=September 21, 2011}}</ref>-->

<ref name="cbslocal">, CBS News, October 6, 2011</ref>

<ref name="christianpost">, Ray Downs, ''Christian Post'', September 18, 2011</ref>

<ref name="cjr">, Columbia Journalism Review's New Frontier Database, October 5, 2011</ref>

<ref name="cjr6">"Behind the sign marked “info” sat computers, , generators, wireless routers, and lots of electrical cords. This is the media center, where the protesters group and distribute their messages. Those who count themselves among the media team for Occupy Wall Street are self appointed; the same goes with all teams within this community." ""I later learned that power comes from a gas-powered generator which runs, among other things, multiple 4G wireless Internet hotspots that provide Internet access to the scrappy collection of laptops." , Columbia Journalism Review's New Frontier Database, October 5, 2011</ref>

<ref name="cjr9">"as the protest has grown, the media team has been busy coordinating, notably through the “unofficial,” Occupytogether.org. It’s a hub for all Occupy-inspired happenings and updates, a key part of the internal communications network for the Occupy demonstrations. While sitting in the media tent I saw several Skype sessions with other demonstrators. At one point a bunch of people gathered around a computer shouting, “Hey Scotland!” Members of the media team also maintain a livestream, and keep a steady flow of updates on Twitter, Facebook, and Tumblr." , Columbia Journalism Review's New Frontier Database, October 5, 2011</ref>

<!--<ref name="coupmedia1">{{cite web|url=http://coupmedia.org/the-sovereign-peoples-movement.html |title=The Sovereign People's Movement @ #Occupy Wall Street|work=Select Below and Vote to Include in the Official Demands for #Occupy Wall Street |publisher=Coup Media Group |accessdate=October 6, 2011}}</ref>-->

<!--<ref name="crackdown">{{cite news|title=Police Arrest 80 During 'Occupy Wall Street' Protest|url=http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/09/24/police-arrest-80-during-occupy-wall-street-protest/|publisher=Fox New.com|accessdate=September 25, 2011|date=September 24, 2011}}</ref>-->

<!-- <ref name="dailynews0929">{{cite news|author=Christina Boyle and John Doyle|url=http://articles.nydailynews.com/2011-09-29/news/30240075_1_pepper-spray-online-video-small-protest|title=Pepper-spray videos spark furor as NYPD launches probe of Wall Street protest incidents|work=]|accessdate=8 January 2012|location=New York}}</ref> -->

<!-- <ref name="five38">{{cite news|author=]|url=http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/07/police-clashes-spur-coverage-of-wall-street-protests/|title=Police Clashes Spur Coverage of Wall Street Protests|work=The New York Times|accessdate=October 11, 2011|date=October 7, 2011}}</ref> -->

<ref name="google">"A general assembly of anyone who wants to attend meets twice daily. Because it's hard to be heard above the din of lower Manhattan and because the city is not allowing bullhorns or microphones, the protesters have devised a system of ]. Fingers downward means you disagree. Arms crossed means you strongly disagree. Announcements are made via the "people's mic... you say it and the people immediately around you repeat it and pass the word along. ", ''Associated Press'', October 7, 2011</ref>

<!-- not in use: <ref name="google10">"There are no bathrooms in the park, so protesters go to nearby businesses like Burger King and McDonald's. 'Anywhere we can go that they won't throw us out,' Cristiano said." , ''Associated Press'', October 7, 2011</ref> -->

<ref name="google11">"Somewhere between 100 and 200 people sleep in Zuccotti Park...." "Many occupiers were still in their sleeping bags at 9 or 10&nbsp;am" , ''Associated Press'', October 7, 2011</ref>

<!--<ref name="guardian0927">{{cite news|author=Karen McVeigh|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/sep/27/occupy-wall-street-anthony-bologna?INTCMP=SRCH|title=Occupy Wall Street: 'Pepper-spray' officer named in Bush protest claim|work=The Guardian |location=UK|accessdate=October 11, 2011|date=September 27, 2011}}</ref>-->

<!--<ref name="guardian13">{{cite news|author=Matt Wells and Karen McVeigh |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/oct/05/occupy-wall-street-new-york-march?newsfeed=true |title=Occupy Wall Street: thousands march in New York &#124; World news &#124; guardian.co.uk |work=The Guardian |location=UK |accessdate=October 7, 2011 |date=October 5, 2011}}</ref>-->

<!-- not in use: <ref name="house">. Congressional Progressive Caucus. October 4, 2011.</ref> -->

<!-- <ref name="huffington post">{{Cite news|work=The Huffington Post|last=Vitchers|first=Tracey|title=Occupying—Not Rioting—Wall Street|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tracey-e-vitchers/occupyingnot-riotingwall-_b_980003.html|date=September 26, 2011|accessdate=October 1, 2011}}</ref> -->

<ref name="ibtimes">{{Cite news |work=IBTimes New York |title='Occupy Wall Street' to Turn Manhattan into 'Tahrir Square' |url= http://newyork.ibtimes.com/articles/215511/20110917/occupy-wall-street-new-york-saturday-protest.htm |date=September 17, 2011 |accessdate=October 10, 2011}}</ref>

<ref name="kadet">, by Anne Kadet, Wall Street Journal, October 15, 2011</ref>

{{cite web |last=Kane |first=Muriel |title=Chris Hedges: Occupy Wall Street is ‘where the hope of America lies’ |publisher=The Raw Story |date=September 25, 2011 |url=http://www.rawstory.com/rawreplay/2011/09/chris-hedges-occupy-wall-street-is-where-the-hope-of-america-lies/ |accessdate=October 12, 2011 }}</ref>

<!--<ref name="marcinek">{{Cite news|publisher=Bloomberg |last=Marcinek|first=Laura|title=Protesters Converge on Lower Manhattan, Plan ‘Occupation’|url=http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-16/wall-street-protesters-vow-to-occupy-lower-manhattan-for-months.html|date=September 17, 2011|accessdate=September 17, 2011}}</ref>-->

<!--. ''NY1.com''. October 7, 2011.</ref>-->

<!--<ref name="nymag">, New York Magazine, October 2, 2011</ref>-->

<!-- <ref name="nyt0928">{{cite news|author=Al Baker and Joseph Goldstein|url=http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09/28/police-department-to-examine-pepper-spray-incident/?scp=2&sq=anthony%20bologna&st=cse|title=Officer’s Pepper-Spraying of Protesters Is Under Investigation|work=The New York Times|accessdate=October 11, 2011|date=September 28, 2011}}</ref> -->

<!-- <ref name="nyt1010">{{cite news|author=Clyde Haberman|url=http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/10/a-new-generation-of-dissenters/|title=A New Generation of Dissenters|work=The New York Times|accessdate=October 11, 2011|date=October 10, 2011}}</ref> -->

<!-- <ref name="nyt1012">. ''New York Times''. October 13, 2011.</ref> -->

<!--<ref name="occupywallst1">{{cite web|url=https://occupywallst.org/forum/proposed-list-of-demands-please-help-editadd-so-th/ |title=PROPOSED LIST OF DEMANDS |publisher=OccupyWallSt.org Forum |date=September 28, 2011 |accessdate=October 6, 2011}}</ref>-->

<ref name="thedailybeast">"As Occupy Wall Street explodes, the movement is being pegged as a left-wing Tea Party John Avlon on the key differences between the protests—and why they both miss the mark" , The Daily Beast, posted October 10, 2011, accessed October 11, 2011</ref>

<ref name="thedailybeast7"> , ] , October 6, 2011</ref>

<!--<ref name="thenation">, Allison Killkenny, ''The Nation'', September 26, 2011; accessed September 29, 2011</ref>-->

<!--<ref name="times2">{{cite news|last=Moynihan|first=Colin|title=80 Arrested as Financial District Protest Moves North|url=http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09/24/80-arrested-as-financial-district-protest-moves-north/?hp|work=The New York Times|accessdate=September 25, 2011|date=September 24, 2011}}</ref>-->

<!-- <ref name="washingtonpost17">, ] via ''The Washington Post'', October 12, 2011</ref> -->

<!-- Not sure where this one went: <ref name="wired">, Keith Axline and Bryan Derballa, October 7, 2011</ref> -->

<!-- , Bob Hennelly, WNYC, October 11, 2011; accessed October 14, 2011</ref>-->

<!--<ref name="wordpress">{{cite web|url=http://peopleslibrary.wordpress.com/ |title=Occupy Wall Street Library &#124; The People's Library at Liberty Plaza |publisher=Peopleslibrary.wordpress.com |date=October 12, 2011 |accessdate=October 16, 2011}}</ref>→

<ref name="yahoo">{{cite web|url=http://news.yahoo.com/democrats-seek-own-occupy-wall-street-movement-222048239.html |title=Democrats Seek to Own 'Occupy Wall Street' Movement&nbsp;– Yahoo! News |publisher=News.yahoo.com |accessdate=October 13, 2011}}</ref>

<!---<ref name="youtube"> (video). YouTube. September 28, 2011. Retrieved October 2, 2011.</ref>-->

<!--<ref name="Best Sellers From 1987's Book Crop">{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/1988/01/06/books/best-sellers-from-1987-s-book-crop.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm|title=Best Sellers From 1987's Book Crop |accessdate=October 13, 2011|work=New York Times|first=Edwin|last=McDowell|date=January 6, 1988}}</ref>-->

<!--<ref name=callaconvention>{{cite web|url=http://callaconvention.org |title=CallAConvention.org |publisher=CallAConvention.org |accessdate=October 19, 2011}}</ref>-->

<!--<ref name=conconcon>, Harvard University, September 24-5, 2011</ref>-->
}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite news|last=Graeber|first=David|title=Occupy Wall Street's anarchist roots|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2011/11/2011112872835904508.html|accessdate=23 January 2012|newspaper=] |date=30 November 2011}}
* {{cite web|last=Graeber|first=David|title=Concerning the Violent Peace-Police: An Open Letter to Chris Hedges|url=http://nplusonemag.com/concerning-the-violent-peace-police|accessdate=9 February 2012}}
* {{cite web|last=Graeber|first=David|title=Occupy and anarchism's gift of democracy|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2011/nov/15/occupy-anarchism-gift-democracy|work=Guardian|accessdate=9 February 2012}}

==External links==
{{Commons}}
{{Wikinews}}
{{Wikiquote}}

;Occupy websites
*
* {{ndash}} The official website of the General Assembly at #OccupyWallStreet
* {{ndash}} unofficial website produced by affinity group within #OWS
* {{ndash}} A listing of websites and updates
* {{ndash}} A hub for events occurring across the U.S.
*

;Related websites
* {{ndash}} from ]
* {{ndash}} from the '']''
* from the ] website
* from the ] website
* {{ndash}} The hub for OWS-related film, art, music & graphic design.

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{{Occupy movement}}
{{2008 economic crisis}}
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{{Anti-government protests in the 21st century}}
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Revision as of 20:50, 11 March 2012

This article is about the protests in New York City. For the wider movement, see Occupy movement.

Occupy Wall Street
Part of the Occupy movement
Poster depicting a female ballerina pirouetting on the back of the Charging Bull statue on Wall Street; on the street behind her, a line of gas-masked rioters struggle through smoke. Text on the poster reads: "What is our one demand?#OCCUPYWALLSTREET September 17th. Bring Tent."Adbusters poster for the first protest, September 17, 2011.
DateSeptember 17, 2011 (2011-09-17) – ongoing
(13 years, 4 months and 1 week)
LocationNew York City
Caused byWealth inequality, Corporate influence of government, Populism, (in support of) Social Democracy, inter alia.
Methods
StatusOngoing
Number
Zuccotti Park

Other activity in NYC:

  • 2,000+ marchers
    (march on police headquarters, October 2, 2011)
  • 700+ marchers arrested
    (crossing Brooklyn Bridge, October 3, 2011)
  • 15,000+ marchers
    (Lower Manhattan solidarity march, October 5, 2011)
  • 6,000+ marchers
    (Times Square recruitment center march, October 15, 2011)

Occupy Wall Street (OWS) is a protest movement that began September 17, 2011 in Zuccotti Park, located in New York City's Wall Street financial district. OWS was initiated by the Canadian activist group Adbusters and has led to Occupy protests and movements around the world. The OWS protests are against social and economic inequality, greed, corruption and the undue influence of corporations on government—particularly from the financial services sector. Their slogan, We are the 99%, addresses the growing income inequality and wealth distribution in the U.S. between the wealthiest 1% and the rest of the population. To effect change OWS engages in "direct action" instead of petitioning authorities.

Origins

Occupy Wall Street has roots in the British student protests of 2010, Greece's and Spain's anti-austerity protests of the "indignados" (indignants), as well as the Arab Spring protests. But the more immediate series of events which lead to the protest started with email conversations between Kalle Lasn, founder of the Canadian-based Adbusters Media Foundation and Micah White, Adbuster's senior editor. The two had the idea for an occupation of lower Manhattan in early June 2011. Lasn registered the OccupyWallSteet.org web address on June 9th. Early in June, Adbusters sent its subscribers an email saying that “America needs its own Tahrir,” and according to Micah White the idea "was spontaneously taken up by all the people of the world.” In a blog post on July 13 of 2011 , Adbusters proposed a peaceful occupation of Wall Street to protest corporate influence on democracy, the lack of legal consequences for those who brought about the global crisis of monetary insolvency, and an increasing disparity in wealth. The protest was promoted with an image featuring a dancer atop Wall Street's iconic Charging Bull statue.

The series of events which culminated in the formation of the New York General Assembly (NYGA) began in June and July when a group called New Yorkers Against Budget Cuts (NYAB), began promoting a “People’s General Assembly” to “Oppose Cutbacks And Austerity Of Any Kind”. On August 2 NYAB met in Bowling Green Park. Activist, anarchist and anthropologist David Graeber and several of his associates also attended the NYAB meeting, but grew frustrated when they found out that the event was not a "general assembly" which rules by consensus created by group discussions. Rather, the event was intended to be merely a precursor to marching on Wall Street with a corpus of predetermined demands such as "An end to oppression and war!" In response, Graeber and his small group began their own general assembly, which eventually drew all the remaining attendees from the NYAB meeting and eventually developed into the New York General Assembly. The group began to hold weekly meetings to work out the issues and direction of the movement, such as whether or not to have a set of demands, the formation of working groups and whether or not to have leaders. Graeber argues that the Occupy movement is based on the philosophy of anarchism. The internet group Anonymous encouraged its readers to take part in the protests. Other groups began joining to assist in organization, including the U.S. Day of Rage, and the NYC General Assembly. The protest itself began on September 17; a Facebook page for the demonstrations began two days later on September 19 featuring a YouTube video of earlier events. By mid-October, Facebook listed 125 Occupy-related pages.

Protesters near the New York police department's headquarters

The original location of choice by the protesters was 1 Chase Plaza, the site of the "Charging Bull" sculpture. Police discovered this before the protest began and fenced off the location. Nearby Zuccotti Park was then chosen. Since the park was private property police could not legally force protesters to leave without being requested to do so by the property owner. At a press conference held the same day the protests began, New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg explained, "people have a right to protest, and if they want to protest, we'll be happy to make sure they have locations to do it."

Because of its connection to the financial system, lower Manhattan has seen many riots and protests since the 1800s, and OWS has been compared to other historical protests in the United States. Writing for CNN, Sonia Katyal and Eduardo Peñalver said that "A straight line runs from the 1930s sit-down strikes in Flint, Michigan, to the 1960 lunch-counter sit-ins to the occupation of Alcatraz by Native American activists in 1969 to Occupy Wall Street. Occupations employ physical possession to communicate intense dissent, exhibited by a willingness to break the law and to suffer the -- occasionally violent -- consequences." Commentators have put OWS within the political tradition of other movements which made themselves known by occupation of public spaces, such as Coxey's Army in 1894, the Bonus Marchers in 1932, and the May Day protesters in 1971.

More immediate prototypes for OWS include the British student protests of 2010, Greece's and Spain's anti-austerity protests of the "indignados" (indignants), as well as the Arab Spring protests. These antecedents have in common with OWS a reliance on social media and electronic messaging to circumvent the authorities, as well as the feeling that financial institutions, corporations, and the political elite have been malfeasant in their behavior toward youth and the middle class. Occupy Wall Street, in turn, gave rise to the Occupy movement in the United States and around the world.

Goals

Some journalists have criticized the protests saying it is difficult to discern a unified aim for the movement, while other commentators, such as Douglas Rushkoff, have said that although the movement is not in complete agreement on its message and goals, it does center on the problem that "investment bankers working on Wall Street getting richer while things for most of the rest of us are getting tougher". According to Rushkoff, "... we are witnessing America's first true Internet-era movement, which -- unlike civil rights protests, labor marches, or even the Obama campaign -- does not take its cue from a charismatic leader, express itself in bumper-sticker-length goals and understand itself as having a particular endpoint".

Some protesters want, in part, more and better jobs, more equal distribution of income, bank reform, and a reduction of the influence of corporations on politics. Adbusters co-founder Kalle Lasn has compared the protests to the Situationists and the Protests of 1968 movements and addresses critics saying that while no one person can speak for the movement, he believes that the goal of the protests is economic justice, specifically, a "transaction tax" on international financial speculation, the reinstatement of the Glass-Stegall Act and the revocation of corporate personhood.

The General Assembly, the governing body of the OWS movement, has adopted a “Declaration of the Occupation of New York City,” which includes a list of grievances against corporations, and to many protesters a general statement is enough. However, saying, "‘Power concedes nothing without a demand' " others within the movement have favored a fairly concrete set of national policy proposals. One group has written an unofficial document, "The 99 Percent Declaration”, that calls for a national general assembly of representatives from all 435 congressional districts to gather on July 4, 2012, to assemble a list of grievances and solutions. OWS protesters preferring a looser set of goals have written another document, the Liberty Square Blueprint; an early version read: "Demands cannot reflect inevitable success. Demands imply condition, and we will never stop. Demands cannot reflect the time scale that we are working with." The demand for demands itself has been criticized by figures like Judith Butler and David Graeber, who argue that issuing demands is counterproductive for the Occupy movement, as this legitimizes the very structures the movement seeks to challenge.

Slogan

Main article: We are the 99%

Template:Infobox/OWS Wealth chart

"Occupy" protesters' political slogan, We are the 99%, originally appeared on a Tumblr page in late August 2011. It asserts that the "99%" pay for the mistakes of the "1%". Paul Taylor of the Pew Research Center said the slogan is "arguably the most successful slogan since 'Hell no, we won't go,'" of Vietnam war era, and that the majority of Democrats, independents and Republicans see the income gap as causing friction.

The top 1 percent of income earners have more than doubled their income over the last thirty years according to a Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report. The report was released just as concerns of the Occupy Wall Street movement were beginning to enter the national political debate. According to the CBO, between 1979 and 2007 the incomes of the top 1% of Americans grew by an average of 275%. During the same time period, the 60% of Americans in the middle of the income scale saw their income rise by 40%. Since 1979 the average pre-tax income for the bottom 90% of households has decreased by $900, while that of the top 1% increased by over $700,000, as federal taxation became less progressive. From 1992-2007 the top 400 income earners in the U.S. saw their income increase 392% and their average tax rate reduced by 37%. In 2009, the average income of the top 1% was $960,000 with a minimum income of $343,927.

Protester demographics

Early on the protesters were mostly young, partly because social networks through which they promoted the protests are primarily used by young people. As the protest grew, older protesters also became involved. The average age of the protesters was 33, with people in their 20s balanced by people in their 40s. Various religious faiths have been represented at the protest including Muslims, Jews, and Christians. Rabbi Chaim Gruber, however, is reportedly the only clergy member to have actually camped at Zuccotti Park.

On October 10 the Associated Press reported that "there’s a diversity of age, gender and race" at the protest. Some news organizations have compared the protest to a left-leaning version of the Tea Party protests.According to a survey of occupywallst.org website visitors by the Baruch College School of Public Affairs published on October 19, of 1,619 web respondents, 1/3 were older than 35, half were employed full-time, 13% were unemployed and 13% earned over $75,000. When given the option of Democrat, Republican or Independent/Other 27.3% of the respondents called themselves Democrats, 2.4% called themselves Republicans, while the rest, 70%, called themselves independents. A survey by Fordham University Department of Political Science confirmed and detailed this with political affiliations 25% Democrats, 2% Republican, 11% Socialist, 11% Green Party, 12% Other, and 39% who reported no party affiliation. Ideologically the Fordham survey found 80% self-identifying as slightly to extremely liberal, 15% as moderate, and 6% as slightly to extremely conservative. Racially, the majority of participants are Caucasian, with one study based on survey responses at OccupyWallStreet.org reporting 81.2% White, 6.8% Hispanic, 2.8% Asian, 1.6% Black, and 7.6% identifying "other".

Participation and organization

Protesters engaging in the 'human microphone'

The New York City General Assembly (NYCGA), held every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at 7pm, is the main OWS decision-making body and provides much of the leadership and executive function for the protesters. At its meetings the various OWS committees discuss their thoughts and needs, and the meetings are open to the public for both attendance and speaking. The meetings are without formal leadership, although certain members routinely act as moderators. Meeting participants comment upon committee proposals using a process called a "stack", which is a queue of speakers that anyone can join. New York uses what is called a progressive stack, in which people from marginalized groups are sometimes allowed to speak before people from dominant groups, with facilitators, or stack-keepers, urging speakers to "step forward, or step back" based on which group they belong to, meaning that women and minorities may move to the front of the line, while white men must often wait for a turn to speak. Volunteers take minutes of the meetings so that organizers who are not in attendance can be kept up-to-date. In addition to the over 70 working groups that perform much of the daily work and planning of Occupy Wall Street, the organizational structure also includes "spokes councils," at which every working group can participate.

Even with the perception of a movement with no leaders, leaders have emerged. A facilitator of some of the movement's more contentious discussions, Nicole Carty, says “Usually when we think of leadership, we think of authority, but nobody has authority here,” - “People lead by example, stepping up when they need to and stepping back when they need to.” According to Fordham University communications professor Paul Levinson, Occupy Wall Street and similar movements symbolize another rise of direct democracy that has not actually been seen since ancient times.

Funding

During the beginning weeks of the park encampment it was reported that most of OWS funding was coming from donors with incomes in the $50,000 to $100,000 range, and the median donation was $22. According to finance group member Pete Dutro, OWS had accumulated over $700,000. During the period that protesters were encamped in the park the funds were being used to purchase food and other necessities and to bail out fellow protesters. With the closure of the park to overnight camping on November 15, members of the OWS finance committee stated they would initiate a process to streamline the movement and re-evaluate their budget and eliminate or merge some of the "working groups" they no longer needed on a day-to-day basis.

Zuccotti Park encampment

Main article: Timeline of Occupy Wall Street
Zuccotti Park with the "Occupy" encampment's 'People's Library' offering free wi-fi internet to protesters and containing over 5,000 books. It also offered weekly poetry readings on Friday nights, provided a reference service frequently staffed by professional librarians, and procured materials available through the interlibrary loan system.

Prior to being closed to overnight use, somewhere between 100 and 200 people slept in Zuccotti Park. Initially tents were not allowed and protesters slept in sleeping bags or under blankets. Meal service started at a total cost of about $1,000 per day. While some visitors ate at nearby restaurants, according to the New York Post many businesses surrounding the park were adversely affected. Contribution boxes collected about $5,000 a day, and supplies came in from around the country. Eric Smith, a local chef who was laid off at the Sheraton in Midtown, said that he was running a five-star restaurant in the park. In late-October kitchen volunteers complained about working 18 hour days to feed people who were not part of the movement and served only brown rice, simple sandwiches, and potato chips for three days.

Many protesters used the bathrooms of nearby business establishments. Some supporters donated use of their bathrooms for showers and the sanitary needs of protesters.

New York City requires a permit to use "amplified sound," including electric bullhorns. Since Occupy Wall Street did not have a permit, the protesters created the "human microphone" in which a speaker pauses while the nearby members of the audience repeat the phrase in unison. The effect has been called "comic or exhilarating—often all at once." Some feel this provided a further unifying effect for the crowd.

During the weeks that overnight use of the park was allowed, a separate area was set aside for an information area which contained laptop computers and several wireless routers. The items were powered with gas generators until the New York Fire Department removed them on October 28, saying they were a fire hazard. Protesters then used bicycles rigged with an electricity-generating apparatus to charge batteries to power the protesters' laptops and other electronics. According to the Columbia Journalism Review's New Frontier Database, the media team, while unofficial, ran websites like Occupytogether.org, video livestream, a "steady flow of updates on Twitter, and Tumblr" as well as Skype sessions with other demonstrators.

Zuccotti Park, cleared and cleaned on November 15, 2011

On October 6, Brookfield Office Properties, which owns Zuccotti Park, issued a statement saying: "Sanitation is a growing concern... Normally the park is cleaned and inspected every weeknight because the protesters refuse to cooperate ... the park has not been cleaned since Friday, September 16 and as a result, sanitary conditions have reached unacceptable levels."

On October 13, New York City's mayor Bloomberg and Brookfield announced that the park must be vacated for cleaning the following morning at 7 am. However, protesters vowed to "defend the occupation" after police said they wouldn’t allow them to return with sleeping bags and other gear following the cleaning, and many protesters spent the night sweeping and mopping the park. The next morning the property owner postponed its cleaning effort. Having prepared for a confrontation with the authorities to prevent the cleaning effort from proceeding, some protesters clashed with police in riot gear outside City Hall after it was canceled.

Shortly after midnight on November 15, 2011, the New York Police Department gave protesters notice from the park's owner (Brookfield Office Properties) to leave Zuccotti Park due to its purportedly unsanitary and hazardous conditions. The notice stated that they could return without sleeping bags, tarps or tents. About an hour later, police in riot gear began removing protesters from the park, arresting some 200 people in the process, including a number of journalists. While the police raid was in progress, the Occupy Wall Street Media Team issued an official response under the heading, "You can't evict an idea whose time has come."

File:Police stuggle with barricades.jpg
New York Police and OWS protesters

On December 31, 2011, Protesters started to re-occupy the park. At one point, protesters started to push police barricades into the streets. Police quickly put the barricades back up. Occupiers then started to take down barricades from all sides of the park and stored them in a pile in the middle of Zuccotti Park. Police called in re-enforcements while at the same time more activists entered the park. Police tried to enter the park, but were pushed back by protesters. There were reports of pepper-spray being used by the police. About 12:40 a.m. after the group celebrated New Years in the park, They exited the park and marched down Broadway. Police, in riot gear, started to clear out the park around 1:30 a.m. According to New York Times, the park was cleared out by police by 2:30 a.m. Sixty-eight people were arrested in connection with the event, which was over within several hours.

Since the closure of the Zuccotti Park encampment, some former campers have been allowed to sleep in local churches, but how much longer they will be welcomed is in question and even former park Occupiers debate whether or not they can continue to provide funds and meals for homeless protesters. Since the police raid, New York protesters have been divided in their opinion as to the importance of the occupation of a space with some believing that actual encampment is unnecessary, and even a burden.

Security concerns and crime

On October 11, it was reported that OWS protesters staying in Zuccotti Park were dealing with a worsening security problem with reports of multiple incidents of assault, drug dealing and use, and sexual assault. Demonstrators complained of thefts of assorted items such as cell phones and laptops; thieves also stole $2500 of donations that were stored in a makeshift kitchen. In November, a man was arrested for breaking an EMT's leg.

Police Commissioner Paul Browne complained that protesters delayed reporting crime. He stated that it was OWS protocol not to report such incidents to the police until there were three complaints against the same individual. The protesters denied a "three strikes policy", and one protester told the New York Daily News that he had heard police respond to an unspecified complaint by saying, "You need to deal with that yourselves".

After several weeks of occupation, protesters had made enough allegations of sexual assault and gropings that women-only sleeping tents were set up. Occupy Wall Street organizers released a statement regarding the sexual assaults stating, "As individuals and as a community, we have the responsibility and the opportunity to create an alternative to this culture of violence, We are working for an OWS and a world in which survivors are respected and supported unconditionally... We are redoubling our efforts to raise awareness about sexual violence. This includes taking preventative measures such as encouraging healthy relationship dynamics and consent practices that can help to limit harm.”

The Department of Homeland Security considers Occupy Wall Street a threat, stating "mass gatherings associated with public protest movements can have disruptive effects on transportation, commercial, and government services, especially when staged in major metropolitan areas". The DHS keeps a file on the movement and monitors social media for information, according to leaked emails released by Wikileaks.

Notable responses

On October 5, 2011 members of the National Nurses United labor union march to Foley Square in support of OWS
Main article: Reactions to Occupy Wall Street

Prominent politicians, academics, and other public figures have reacted to the Occupy Wall Street movement with criticism and/or praise.

During an October 6 news conference, President Obama said, "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."

House Democratic Leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi said she supports the growing nationwide Occupy Wall Street movement. In September, various labor unions, including the Transport Workers Union of America Local 100 and the New York Metro 32BJ Service Employees International Union, pledged their support for demonstrators.

Five days into the protest, Keith Olbermann criticized the initial media response for failing to adequately cover the protests.

See also

Occupy articles


Other U.S. protests

International


Related articles

 

Portals:

References

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  83. "A general assembly of anyone who wants to attend meets twice daily. Because it's hard to be heard above the din of lower Manhattan and because the city is not allowing bullhorns or microphones, the protesters have devised a system of hand symbols. Fingers downward means you disagree. Arms crossed means you strongly disagree. Announcements are made via the "people's mic... you say it and the people immediately around you repeat it and pass the word along. "Wall Street functions like a small city, Associated Press, October 7, 2011
  84. "Behind the sign marked “info” sat computers, , generators, wireless routers, and lots of electrical cords. This is the media center, where the protesters group and distribute their messages. Those who count themselves among the media team for Occupy Wall Street are self appointed; the same goes with all teams within this community." ""I later learned that power comes from a gas-powered generator which runs, among other things, multiple 4G wireless Internet hotspots that provide Internet access to the scrappy collection of laptops." "Occupy Wall Street’s Media Team, Columbia Journalism Review's New Frontier Database, October 5, 2011
  85. The Technology Propelling #OccupyWallStreet , the Daily Beast , October 6, 2011
  86. New York Authorities Remove Fuel, Generators From Occupy Wall Street Site, Esmé E. Deprez and Charles Mead, Bloomberg News, Oct 28, 2011; accessed November 2, 2011
  87. With Generators Gone, Wall Street Protesters Try Bicycle Power, Colin Moynihan, New York Times, October 30, 2011; accessed November 2, 2011
  88. "as the protest has grown, the media team has been busy coordinating, notably through the “unofficial,” Occupytogether.org. It’s a hub for all Occupy-inspired happenings and updates, a key part of the internal communications network for the Occupy demonstrations. While sitting in the media tent I saw several Skype sessions with other demonstrators. At one point a bunch of people gathered around a computer shouting, “Hey Scotland!” Members of the media team also maintain a livestream, and keep a steady flow of updates on Twitter, Facebook, and Tumblr." "Occupy Wall Street’s Media Team, Columbia Journalism Review's New Frontier Database, October 5, 2011
  89. Kelly: Protesters To Be ‘Met With Force’ If They Target Officers, CBS News, October 6, 2011
  90. Grossman, Andrew (September 26, 2011). "Protest Has Unlikely Host". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved October 9, 2011.
  91. ^ Allison Kilkenny on October 14, 2011 – 8:46 am ET. "Occupy Wall Street Protesters Win Showdown With Bloomberg". The Nation. Retrieved October 16, 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  92. ^ "Cleanup Canceled", BusinessWeek, 2011-10-14.
  93. Deprez, Esmé E., Joel Stonington and Chris Dolmetsch, "Occupy Wall Street Park Cleaning Postponed", Bloomberg, Oct 14, 2011 11:37 AM EDT.
  94. Walker, Jade (November 15, 2011). "Zuccotti Park Eviction: NYPD Orders Occupy Wall Street Protesters To Temporarily Evacuate Park [LATEST UPDATES]". Huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved November 17, 2011.
  95. CNN Wire Staff (November 15, 2011). "New York court upholds eviction of "Occupy" protesters". www.cnn.com. Retrieved November 15, 2011. A New York Supreme Court has ruled not to extend a temporary restraining order that prevented the eviction of "Occupy" protesters who were encamped at Zuccotti Park, considered a home-base for demonstrators. Police in riot gear cleared out the protesters early Tuesday morning, a move that attorneys for the loosely defined group say was unlawful. But Justice Michael Stallman later ruled in favor of New York city officials and Brookfield properties, owners and developers of the privately-owned park in Lower Manhattan. The order does not prevent protesters from gathering in the park, but says their First Amendment rights not do include remaining there, "along with their tents, structures, generators, and other installations to the exclusion of the owner's reasonable rights and duties to maintain Zuccotti Park." {{cite news}}: |author= has generic name (help); line feed character in |quote= at position 208 (help)
  96. "You can't evict an idea whose time has come."- official statement of Occupy Wall Street Media Team, posted November 15, 2011, 1:36 a.m. EST
  97. "Protesters Occupy New Year in Zuccotti Park". Retrieved January 1, 2012.
  98. "OWS Clash With Police At Zuccotti Park". Retrieved January 1, 2012.
  99. "After Occupy Wall Street Encampment Ends, NYC Protesters Become Nomads". Huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved January 30, 2012.
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  101. Celona, Larry (October 18, 2011). "Thieves preying on fellow protesters". www.nypost.com.
  102. Siegal, Ida. "Man Arrested for Breaking EMT's Leg at Occupy Wall Street". NBC New York. Retrieved November 12, 2011.
  103. "Michael Bloomberg: Crime at Occupy Wall Street goes unreported". Free Daily News Group Inc. Retrieved 11-11-11. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  104. "Occupy Wall Street protesters at odds with Mayor Bloomberg, NYPD over crime in Zuccotti Park". New York: NYDailyNews.com. Retrieved 11-11-11. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  105. "Occupy Wall Street Erects Women-Only Tent After Reports Of Sexual Assaults". The Gothamist News. Retrieved November 21, 2011.
  106. Schram, Jamie (November 3, 2011). "Protester busted in tent grope, suspected in rape of another demonstrator". NY POST. Retrieved November 21, 2011.
  107. "Man Arrested For Groping Protester Also Eyed In Zuccotti Park Rape Case". WPIX. Retrieved November 21, 2011.
  108. Dejohn, Irving; Kemp, Joe. "Arrest made in Occupy Wall St. sex attack; Suspect eyed in another Zuccotti gropingCase". New York: NY Daily News. Retrieved November 21, 2011.
  109. "Occupy Protests Plagued by Reports of Sex Attacks, Violent Crime". NY Daily News. November 9, 2011. Retrieved November 21, 2011.
  110. http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/blogs/national-affairs/exclusive-homeland-security-kept-tabs-on-occupy-wall-street-20120228#ixzz1nkxlehSX
  111. Memoli, Michael A. (July 13, 2011). "Obama news conference: Obama: Occupy Wall Street protests show Americans' frustration". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 7, 2011.
  112. Salazar, Cristian (October 6, 2011). "Obama acknowledges Wall Street protests as a sign". BusinessWeek. Associated Press. Retrieved October 7, 2011.
  113. "Pelosi Supports Occupy Wall Street Movement". ABC news. October 9, 2011.
  114. "Occupy Wall Street gets union support". United Press International. September 30, 2011. Retrieved October 2, 2011.
  115. Stoeffel, Kat (September 26, 2011). "Occupy Wall Street's Media Problems". The New York Observer. Retrieved October 6, 2011.
  116. "Will Bunch on mainstream media's failure to cover Occupy Wall Street protests". Countdown with Keith Olberann. current.com. September 21, 2011. Retrieved September 22, 2011.

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