"The Occupy movement is an international protest movement against social and economic inequality, its primary goal being to make the economic structure and power relations in society fairer”
The Occupy movement is an
international movement - first established in over 100 cities across the US -
that arose from the average individual wanting their views heard in government,
as much expressed by elected officials only reflect their wealthier lifestyle.
The
movement aims to fight back against the system that has allowed the rich to get
richer and the poor to get poorer; to make the system fairer.
The movement was originally initiated
from a blog post by Adbusters magazine to:
“On September 17, we want to see 20,000 people flood
into lower Manhattan, set up tents, kitchens, peaceful barricades and occupy
Wall Street for a few months. Once there, we shall incessantly repeat one
simple demand in a plurality of voices.”
Thousands of people responded and
congregated in Zuccotti Park, which is situated in the heart of New York City’s
financial district. For two months, hundreds camped every night inside the
park, creating their own base camp as a means of protest. This was soon
reflected in hundreds of other cities in the US, and some other countries
worldwide, including London, UK.
The movement works with as little
leadership as possible. Everybody has as equal power and say in the movement as
is possible. It is about empowering the whole.
Occupy wants to build up a system that
empowers the everyday majority, giving the power back to the people instead of
only government officials.
RESIST, RESTRUCTURE, REMIX.
Issues addressed by Occupy:
Corporate influence – political donations and deals that are made
in the interest of profit rather than the benefit of the people.
Corporate personhood – “Citizens United declared money as speech and
corporations as people—allowing for unlimited corporate influence through
monetary contributions. Human beings, not corporations, are persons entitled to
constitutional rights”
Student Debt – a rise against
student fees and unemployment for today’s youth.
Wrongful
repossession of homes – many American’s have been left without homes after having their
homes unfairly taken from them after not being able to keep up on their
mortgages.
“Too big to fail”
banks – money
from the people has been unfairly taken to bail out banks, leaving the people
with very little money.
Healthcare – free healthcare for all. Hospitals
should not make a profit from people’s need for healthcare.
Living wage – workers should be entitled to a
reasonable wage that they can live off.
99% budget cuts – cuts are not the answer anymore and
now people should work together to mutually help others.
Successes of Occupy:
On 5th
Nov 2011 over $50m were withdrawn and accounts closed from big banks, the money
being transferred to local credit unions.
Ending of
illegal foreclosures (housing repossession).
No comments:
Post a Comment