Following a call to action from Vancouver-based non-profit organization Adbusters, New York City’s Zucotti Park has been occupied in a protest now known as Occupation Wall Street (OWS) since September 17, 2011, bringing the alleged corruption of big businesses and the deregulated economy to light. Protestors have been camping out in Zucotti Park, participating in marches and planned protests throughout the city. Many of these actions have seen and increased involvement from the NYPD, and hundreds of arrests have been made, several followed by claims of police brutality.
HOW IT STARTED
Following the occupation of Tahrir Square in Egypt, Adbusters proposed a similar occupation to the Arab Spring of early 2011 on July 13, 2011, urging those upset with the current economic disparity to occupy Wall Street. On July 26, the movement went viral, with Adbusters proposing a spread of the movement to other cities around the country and world.
As the movement gained momentum and support, on July 28 the New York General Assembly (NYGA) called for a public meeting to organize the occupation for August 2. In a video posted to YouTube on August 4, Larry Holmes, a NYGA leader, is surrounded by several people, holding signs bearing messages about job cuts and bailing out the people – the occupation in its most nascent stages. Holmes shouts passionately, “Let’s get the steam roller rolling”, reminding those around him that this is “only the beginning” of a protest against bank bailouts and trillions of dollars cut from different programs.
Anonymous, a self-proclaimed “hacktavist organization and key component to the growth of the protests, joins the movement in the most media-savvy ways, using Twitter and posting a video manifesto to bring attention to the occupation of Wall Street. The video, which can be found on Youtube, features a computerized voice, truly maintaining the anonymity of the group, proclaiming, “On September 17, Anonymous will flood into lower Manhattan, setting up tents, kitchens, peaceful barricades and occupy Wall Street for a few months.”
Within the weeks leading up to the proposed occupation, actions are taken by the NYGA in preparation for the arrival of the expected protestors on Wall Street. The NYGA calls for donations of food and water, as well as volunteers for the Food committee, and meets continuously in the weeks prior to the occupation. On September 13, occupywallst.org releases an informational pamphlet of resources for protestors, including names and phone numbers of legal organizations and rights given to protestors, following a trial run of the occupation on September 8 that resulted in the arrest of nine occupiers.
On September 17, 5000 protestors march through the Financial District, with intentions of occupying 1 Chase Plaza. After the police interfered, the protesters reconvened and, after forming an official statement, decided to occupy privately owned Zucotti Park.
WHY PEOPLE ARE ANGRY
Deregulation of the economy and the banks began years after the Great Depression, when the financial structure of the United States was still tightly wound. Greenspan, in charge of the Federal Reserve, is attributed to the snowballing of the deregulation. Banks were expanding and joining, i.e. Citigroup, in an act made illegal after the Great Depression. However, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act was passed in 1999, allowing banks to merge.
Derivatives, which allow bankers to make bets on all aspects of loans (i.e. school loans, mortgages), become a fifty trillion dollar unmonitored market by the 1990s, creating an unstable market. Banks relied on these derivatives and fought to keep them unmonitored, a battle they eventually won when Congress made it illegal to regulate derivatives.
Loans were easier to get, as many banks were not concerned with whether or not they could be repaid due mainly to the fact that banks received money based on their rating. During this time, annual cash bonuses to bankers spiked and bankers became extremely wealthy.
Banks neglected to set aside money in the event that loans defaulted. In 2007, auditors raised warnings but were ignored. A third of mortgages had already defaulted by this point. In 2008, home foreclosures skyrocketed as more people could not pay their mortgages.
The Federal Reserves took over Morgan Chase, Freddie Mac, and Fannie Mae as all were on the brink of collapse. The banking industry was sinking fast in 2008; Lehman Brothers collapsed on September 15. The Federal Reserve bailed out the banks at the billion dollars of American taxpayers. On October 4, Bush signed a 700 billion dollar bailout. Stocks continued to fall.
By 2010, foreclosures had reached six million. Banks have become larger, more powerful and more concentrated since the bail out.
Gregg Rule, senior vice president of the portfolio group and financial advisor for Morgan Stanley and Smith Barney, said in email correspondence of the events leading up to the occupation, “A convergence of events over the past 12 years has brought America to an impasse. We are locked into a grinding economic down turn, the great middle class is shrinking, power and prosperity have become ever concentrated …. A few seem to be profiting enormously at the hands of the many... A lack of job creation, a stalled economy, people losing their homes - while, at the same time - a small percentage of the population enjoys unprecedented wealth.”
POLICE INVOLVEMENT IN THE OCCUPATION
Timeline of Confirmed Major Arrests
October 1, Brooklyn Bridge: 700 summonses and desk appearance tickets issued to protestors who neglected to stay on the walkway and took over the bridge
October 15, Times Square: approximately 70 arrests made by 9 PM after groups refused to disperse, resisted arrests, etc.
Many arrests have been made since the beginning of the occupation, but the most controversy surrounding the arrests comes from claims of wrongful arrests and brutality.
Jill Nelson, author of “Police Brutality: An Anthology” and two-time participant at Wall Street, said, “"What is rare is the sight of young, white, middle class looking women being hunted down and pepper sprayed, tossed about, hand-cuffed and in some cases arrested by members of the NYPD. It says something profound about…how dehumanized, culpable and just plain low those who protect economic privilege and property are…” Nelson refers to the Youtube video showing arrests made in Union Square, where young women are corralled and pepper sprayed by NYPD Deputy Inspector Anthony Bologna. Controversy followed this viral video when Bologna and his family received threats after his personal information was posted online.
Combating the many controversial arrests is the New York Civil Liberties Union, who has been at the occupation every day, giving presentations and handing out pamphlets to inform protestors of their rights, according to press representative Jennifer Carnig.
An email sent out to New School students by President David Van Zandt confirmed that three students had been arrested, but the reasons were unspecified.
MOVEMENT GAINS MOMENTUM
The Occupy movement has spread not only nationwide, but internationally, including major cities in Spain, Germany and England. Not only large cities have participated, however; within the United States, smaller towns have begun their own occupation. One woman residing outside of Bethel, Alaska is the lone occupier in the movement, Occupy the Tundra.
Crystal M. Zimmerman of Occupy Amarillo (Texas), said of the offshoot, “We held a solidarity march and rally on the 15th….nearly 100 people showed up….As we walked, people honked in support, gave us a thumbs up, cheered for us, and some even joined in the march.”
Although far from the actual Wall Street, Occupy Amarillo is gaining momentum, and only one example of the many offshoots cropping up worldwide.
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