Viral. A single idea has infected people across the United States, and continues to spread, spreading from state to state like a cold through a school. As teenagers, it’s easy to overlook watching the nightly news, or reading the recent headlines, yet decisions made affect our country.  The movement of Occupying Wall Street affects us, and in the end we must decide how we will react to the movement in order for proper change to be made to make our country a better place.

The movement began as a suggestion, in an anti-consumerist article in the Adbusters. The article simply proposed that Americans should unite together peacefully, to protest the large companies influence on the government. Meaning, those with more money, have more power in the government. After the article was posted the idea suddenly spread. Internet groups such as Anonymous, spread the idea, encouraging people to camp out in lower New York, to create kitchens and living areas. Every group that added to the idea made sure that the protesting would be peaceful, so police couldn’t try to stop the movement.

From there, the protesting took a turn at Zuccotti Park. Because Zucotti Park was privately owned, protesters couldn’t be forced to leave without a complaint from the properties owners. The motto “We are the 99%” is a favorite among the protesters. Funding came in from around the country to pay for meals for the protesters.  Many of the surrounding companies chipped in, and allowed the use of bathrooms, and showers. One story states that a local chef had a restaurant going in the park. Then, on November 15, 2011 the police gave a notice stating that the park must be cleared due to its unsanitary conditions; later that night they entered the park with riot suits on and began to force protesters to leave. The police, in the end the police proved that conditions were unhealthy, and with a complaint from the owner of the park the park need to be cleared.

Across the country police forces have been trying to stop the protests, some claim these events are bringing out the worst in those who are supposed to protect: our police force. For example, on Thanksgiving Day, police tried to stop protesters from playing the drums. They stated people were complaining, yet protesters stated that playing the drums is non-violent, and peaceful, so it’s within their rights.  On November 18, 2011, students in California were peacefully protesting by sitting on a college walkway. When they refused to move, a police official pulled out a can of pepper spray and used it on many of the students. In the defense of the police lawyer John Banzhaf stated“At a university, you have a right to sit-in, to write, to walk around – but not to block people from coming into classrooms”.  The worst example though was the brutal abuse against Jennifer Fox, who when the police came in to move people out, screamed, “I am pregnant, I am pregnant. Let me through. I am trying to get out.” Yet, she was stuck in the middle of the crowd, and then in the chaos Fox claims she was kneed in the stomach by an officer, and was sprayed in the face by pepper spray, resulting in the miscarriage of her baby. Yet, many critics ask why she was at a protest while she was pregnant. Overall, protest, and riots are similar, a simple protest can become violent, and it’s for this reason we rely on the police.

Yet, there’s another side to the protests. Approval rating for the protest started out low, then peeked around 45%, yet the longer it continues the more it drops. Local business owners state that the longer protests continue more “damages” are made.  Even the Mayor of New York, Michael Bloomberg, agreed that the protests are not accomplishing anything. He stated the protests “aren’t productive”; he continued to state “there are some people with legitimate complaints, there are some people who just like to protest.” Many agree with him.  Approval rating is dropping more rapidly day by day, for one reason, protesters are fighting something they can’t change. “In the end, protests won’t change anything,” stated one critic from POLITICO.  The goal of the protest is to stop corruption on Wall Street. Later in the same article, he stated,  “As humans we are imperfect beings, always prone to corruption. Can the Protest change that?”

In the end, some claim nothing has been accomplished, while some believe steps toward change are occurring. Large companies are now aware of what the 99% are capable of and will respect the power they displayed by uniting together. Rumors of a law that will separate money and politics have circulated, but nothing is solid fact. Many countries have supported and will continue to support similar protests on the soil.

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