Americans Are Expanding the Circle of Protest

A campaign protesting large corporations has taken hold in America and gained new momentum. The scope of the protests is beginning to expand to other areas of the country amid expectations that they will gradually increase in size. The protests are due to difficult economic conditions as well as the U.S. administration’s inability to address the issue of unemployment.

The campaign to Occupy Wall Street entered the financial heart of New York three weeks ago on Monday. Other cities also witnessed protests against New York’s Wall Street, including the emergence of hundreds of demonstrators in Los Angeles — who have been demonstrating every day since Saturday — as well as the hundreds of people marching through the streets of Boston.

In Chicago, about 50 protestors have been marching for eleven days straight throughout the business districts, which include Chicago’s major financial companies and markets.

American media sources reported that the framework of the campaign, which its New York organizers say is inspired by the mobility of the Arab revolutions, continues to be limited, but this gradual escalation will soon attain the status of a real protest as it begins to attract more individuals. All of this will occur because of current dissatisfaction with the economic situation and in general, with the poor management by Obama of living conditions and unemployment.

Demonstrators in New York

Despite the differences between the goals of some protestors, sources say that the headlines about the Wall Street protestors and their counterparts in other cities agree on a number of issues, the most important being the economic stimulus packages and the bailouts of large corporations. Other issues include the overwhelming amount of student debt and unemployment, climate change and police brutality in dealing with the protestors. Many Americans were not afraid, while others were, that the protests would change from being peaceful to violent. Some of this unfounded fear was influenced by the recent protests in Britain where cases of looting and violence did occur. In particular, the American left is dissatisfied with incompetence of President Obama, while everyone is angry at the policies of both the Democratic and Republican parties alike.

Nothing has enhanced the possibilities of change like the sympathy of George Soros, one of the world’s richest men, for the protestors; he is aiding them behind the scenes with financial support. This is due to the large companies failing to address the true reasons for the protests.

However, U.S. sources have reported that the biggest problem facing the protests thus far is attracting media coverage. According to the organizers of the protests, this coverage would allow room for expansion and an increase in the number of demonstrations, similar to what happened in Tahrir Square in Cairo.