Occupy Wall Street is a people-powered movement that began on September 17, 2011 in Zuccotti Park, located in New York City's Wall Street financial district, and has spread to over 100 cities in the United States and actions in over 1,500 cities globally. It was initiated by the Canadian activist group Adbusters.
The protests are against social and economic inequality, high unemployment, greed, as well as against corruption. The movement is fighting back against the corrosive power of major banks and multinational corporations over the democratic process, and the role of Wall Street in creating an economic collapse that has caused the greatest recession in generations.
The movement is inspired by popular uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia, and aims to fight back against the richest 1% of people that are writing the rules of an unfair global economy that is foreclosing on our future. The protesters' slogan “We are the 99%” refers to the growing income and wealth inequality in the U.S. between the wealthiest 1% and the rest of the population.
The protesters targeted Wall Street because of the part it played in the economic crisis of 2008 which started the Great Recession. They say that Wall Street's risky lending practices of mortgage-backed securities which ultimately proved to be worthless caused the crisis, and that the government bailout breached a sense of propriety.
The protesters want, in part, more and better jobs, more equal distribution of income, bank reform, and a reduction of the influence of corporations on politics. The General Assembly, the governing body of the OWS movement, has adopted a “Declaration of the Occupation of New York City,” which includes a list of grievances against corporations, and to many protesters a general statement is enough.
Occupy Wall Street is leaderless resistance movement with people of many colors, genders and political persuasions. The one thing they all have in common is that they are the 99% that will no longer tolerate the greed and corruption of the 1%. The protests in New York City have sparked similar protests and movements around the world.
