Understanding Occupy Wall Street: Who Are These Made-in-America Protesters?

It is THE big story of the moment. They are presented as “the leftist version” of the tea party movement. The movement itself is an “American October.” Since Sept. 17, the American people, with the slogan “Occupy Wall Street” (OWS) have been camping out in New York’s business district.

No sign of stopping is anywhere on the horizon, however. Observers are claiming that the movement is slowly but surely gathering a previously unheard of level of support, which has not been seen since the Vietnam War protests. It’s also attracting more and more media coverage. A call has been put out for everyone to occupy all strongholds of the world on Oct. 15.

Who are they and what exactly do they want? It’s time to follow them, step by step. The Nouvel Observateur gives the rundown on these Wall Street protesters.

1. How was this movement born?

The movement was spontaneously born on Sept. 17, in the business district of New York City, after a call was made to occupy Wall Street along the same lines as Egypt’s Tahrir Square. Two thousand people decided to occupy, day and night, a public park — Zuccotti Park, redubbed “Liberty Plaza Park” — situated close to the New York Stock Exchange.*

As for the origin of the idea, some claim that there was a call to assembly made by the counter-culture and anti-capitalist Canadian magazine Adbusters in mid-July. The call was mostly relayed by Anonymous, a civil disobedience group. The repression of the Brooklyn Bridge protest, on Saturday, Oct. 1, strengthened the movement and gave it impressive visibility.

In Washington, the movement is called “Occupy DC” and being held at Liberty Plaza/McPherson Square, between the Capitol, White House and Treasury Department. Nearby, in a neighboring square, a rally of 40 NGOs protesting the war in Afghanistan, planned for six months now, has attached itself to the “Occupy DC” movement.

2. Who are they?

Students, the unemployed, young anarchists, young workers … the mixed backgrounds in this movement far surpass what we saw in the 2011 Spanish protests. Its main trait is its rather large base. Many leftist unions have joined the movement as well. Even some of the wealthy have pledged their support.

3. What are their demands?

On their site, the organizers of the movement aren’t all in agreement on all of their demands, but they do agree that “the one thing we all have in common is that we are the 99 percent that will no longer tolerate the greed and corruption of the 1 percent.” According to different statements acquired by the media, the protesters are demanding … the absence of any clear demands.

However, there are actually numerous demands: against inequality, the tax burden, the war, climate change … The protesters also ask for the creation of a special commission to limit the influence of banks on politics. They all share a common disgust over social inequalities, the crisis and the rejection of the ultra-liberal system.

The movement especially wants to show the widening gap between the middle class and the elite.

4. How are they living?

They have a mess hall, a media space, a library with books, poetry and pamphlets, an art studio, a medical emergency unit and a donation center.

5. How are they communicating?

Press conferences twice daily, several internet sites and a daily newspaper (The Occupied Wall Street Journal) exemplify quasi-professional political communication. The movement is very present on the Internet and on social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Scribd … tools that also help disseminate information.

Many videos are posted on their site, where the movement can be followed live …

They also communicate by gestures. For example, 10 fingers moving in the air indicates approval of specific message.

6. Their slogans.

Most of the slogans are anti-capitalist. The protesters have reunited under “We Are the 99 Percent.” They want to demonstrate that 99 percent of the people are experiencing a decreasing quality of life, while 1 percent is continuing to grow ever richer. But several other slogans have since been created.

7. Who are their supporters?

The movement is independent, without a leader, and presents itself as apolitical. The protesters, often young, aren’t connected to any one political party — or to anyone who finances them — nor are they linked to any specific organization.

But several celebrities have taken advantage of the situation to spread their ideas and show themselves alongside the protesters. Michael Moore, Noam Chomsky, actress Susan Sarandon and singer Kanye West have all come out to show support, as well as Nobel Prize winner Eugene Stiglitz. Even billionaires Georges Soros and Warren Buffett have expressed sympathy and “understand the reaction [of the people].” **

8. What do they have in common with the 2011 Spanish protesters?

It’s clear that the movement is indicative of the times. From the protesters at the Puerta del Sol in Madrid to the Israeli demonstrators, via the angry cries of the Arab people, the methods are similar and adaptable in every stronghold of the world. Sit-ins in large public squares in the biggest cities, camps, permanent peaceful protests — the same method is duplicating and adapting itself.

9. How is the White House reacting?

Still fuzzy and vague for some, the movement is, at the moment, only eliciting a few rare reactions from the government. President Barack Obama has said that he has sympathy for the protesters, guessing that “it expresses the frustrations the American people feel.” Vice President Joe Biden has said likewise.

The democratic minority leader of the House, Nancy Pelosi, also emphasized on ABC News that the protesters are “angry that they don’t have jobs, by and large. There’s nothing that makes you angrier than not being able to provide for your family or understand what your prospects are for the future.”

If Democrats are generally in favor of the movement, Republicans are resolutely hostile — but they can no longer ignore it.

The tea party has denounced comparisons between them as “insulting.” “The only commonality that we have is that we are both opposed to the bailouts of Wall Street — and that is it,” it insists in a recent communication, to which was attached a request for financial donations.

10. Is “Occupy Wall Street” going to go international?

American protesters hope to give an international dimension to their movement. From Madrid to New York, calls to protest have been launched in 719 cities and 71 countries for Oct. 15 with “United for Global Change” as marching orders.

“Occupy Wall Street” should happen in Times Square in New York. In Europe, protesters will take it to the streets everywhere, like in Lisbon, where the “Precarious Generation” movement has been presented as a precursor to mobilization.

They mainly hope that the movement will be visible from the heart of London’s financial district or from the European Central Bank in Frankfurt.

Hundreds or thousands more are expected in Brussels, the arrival point of a march that has just crossed Spain and France, Zurich, Geneva and Basel, in front of the stock exchange in Amsterdam and on to Vienna, Warsaw and Prague.

In Madrid, converging from outlying neighborhoods and suburbs, they’ll again walk the path to the Puerta del Sol, the emblematic square occupied by Spanish protesters for a month this past spring.

Protests in France remain very low-key.

* Editor’s note: In fact, Zuccotti Park was formerly called “Liberty Plaza Park.”

** Editor’s note: Unable to verify source of quote, above.