I know this post might be a bit premature, but I came across this video and had to share it.
There have been many questions and class debates as to exactly what Occupy Wall Street is protesting and stands for. Many of us were confused as to what exactly the protestors mean when they cry, “We are the 99 percent!” Although it is clear that they are striking against the wealth disparity in the United States, I have heard many students sincerely ask, “Well then why don’t they go out and DO something instead of just marching around New York City?”
In fact, many people view Occupy Wall Street as a youthful, hippie movement, rather than a sophisticated strike. Protestors camp out in parks, form drumming circles, and improvise dances. A great number are unemployed college graduates. So is Occupy Wall Street a real protest or is it more like Woodstock in 2011?
New York Times reporter Sarah Maslin Nir records her experience camping out with the protestors in Zuccotti Park. The overall sentiment of the video is one of good times and fun. However, I feel I must see for myself and experience Occupy Wall Street firsthand to fully grasp the situation. Check out this video and see how it makes you feel.
It really does seem more like a hippie movement than anything else. They don’t have a specific list of demands (which is usually a vital aspect of any strike), and any grievances that have been declared by smaller sections of the larger OWS group have been struck down as “too specific and short term.” What the OWS group /does/ have is a “vision… for humanity,” contained in the so-called Liberty Square Blueprint.
This wiki-style document (which can be found at the following link: http://freenetworkmovement.org/commons/index.php?title=Liberty_Square_Blueprint) is “a collection of loosely defined goals authored by about 250 Occupy Wall Street protestors.” There are 11 of these “core visions” and among them are: creating “an economy in harmony with nature,” ending “all war,” and eliminating “all discrimination and prejudice.” (If these things do not scream “hippies” I do not know what does.)
Obviously, I would love to see more concern for the environment and an end to war and hatred, but I don’t know if the goals are not /too/ broad (and therefore completely impossible to accomplish (How long have people been wishing for an end to all war?)). I also don’t think–if the goals /are/ possible to accomplish–that sitting around in a park and singing and dancing is /how/ they will be brought about.
Excellent post and excellent observations. I responded to a similar post with the idea that it might be difficult to really get a sense of the power and importance of the movement since we are so close to it. Using the Woodstock example, the people who attended the Woodstock event would not have recognized the carefully edited version of the experience that was the movie and became the received history of the event.