Political Cartoon of the Day

A political cartoon courtesy of politicalhumor.about.com.

To me, this cartoon shows yet another reason why Washington DC is a very important of the Occupy protests. The drawing shows Wall Street tycoons pouring money into the United States Capitol building, and sitting on the buildings like they are comfortable couches. With the Congress controlling a majority the laws and legislation regarding Wall Street and it's conglomerates, it's important for protestors to recognize that it's not only Wall Street that needs to be occupied.

Why Have An Occupy Movement in DC?

While the Occupy Wall Street protests were some of the original and most media-documented of the “Occupy” protests, DC has become an important and central part of the movements. Several blogs, historical analyses/academic journals, and official ‘Occupy” websites have allowed me to further explore this topic and cite several keys reasons as to why an Occupy protest in DC is crucial to the success of the overall movement. Having numerous governmental, business, and other national and international groups headquartered in the city, Washington DC becomes a target city for protestors to make their voice heard. Further, the Occupy DC protests are not geographically far from the Occupy Wall Street protests, allowing cross organizing and movement efforts. Perhaps the most emotional appeal would also be the historical relevance of having a protest in Washington, DC.

With Washington, DC being one of the major political capitals of the free world, it only makes sense that there would be people marching and protesting on behalf of or in the same vain of the Occupy protestors far and wide. Numerous organizations have their headquarters based in the District, thus making it easier for Occupy protestors to target a wide range of groups that they wish to open a dialogue with. Some of the organizations, political bodies, and other groups that have been target include, but are not limited to: the United States Congress, the Presidential White House, Bank of America, the United States Chamber of Commerce, and the Ronald Reagan Building (in protest of the Keystone XL oil pipeline planned to stretch from Canada to Texas). With so many different organizations based in the District the Occupy movement can more quickly and easily reach these organizations. (WashingtonPost.com)

Washington DC is also relatively close to the original Occupy Wall Street movement, thus allowing easier coordination, movement, and intermingling between the DC group and the NY group. I have several close friends who have done this and reported that they made great connections with other members of different protests, increasing communication between the numerous groups. There are numerous inexpensive ways to get from DC to NY and back; bus, train, and organized carpooling are just a few. This allows people from the two groups to more easily make it to different events in the two cities, furthering the idea of “power in numbers”. More and more the two groups have been coming together to plan events and increase their media presence on the eastern seaboard.

Our nation’s capital has also acted as the staging grounds for numerous historical and revolutionary movements that forever changed our social and governmental system. Having an Occupy protest in DC allows protestors to be activists in the same area as people such as Martin Luther King and other freedom fighters once stood. Numerous famous activist marches, such as the Civil Rights March, the Kent State/Vietnam protests, the Levitate the Pentagon, and other historical protests have all occurred in DC. Thus when the Occupy DC protests stage their events, they are often conjuring images of revolutions past, greatly appealing the pathos of the American people. Having strong imagery such as the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, the current Occupy DC protest exists to bring light to the broken economic system that currently exists in the United States. The official movement website states that, “We are here because massive financial, political, and societal inequality is not sustainable, and threaten the country’s ability to thrive. We are here because we are the 99% and the economy is ours too.” (OccupyDC.org) Washington DC acts as a perfect historical, political, and social area for protestors to have their voices heard by the lawmakers, business executives, government officials, and America as a whole.

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Below is a link to a video that was created by the Occupy DC protestors explaining why some of them chose to occupy our nation’s capital.

http://october2011.org/blogs/margaret-flowers/october-2011-occupy-dc-why-are-we-here

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Sources:

OccupyDC.org

October2011.org

Tsesis, Alexander. We Shall Overcome: A History of Civil Rights and the Law. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2008. ISBN 978-0-300-11837-7

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-buzz/post/occupy-dc-nova-protesters-march-on-key-bridge-what-you-need-to-know/2011/11/17/gIQAVlk7TN_blog.html

Critiques of Other Sites and Sources

The 99% Deficit Proposal: How to create jobs, reduce the wealth divide and control spending

http://october2011.org/blogs/kevin-zeese/99-s-deficit-proposal-how-create-jobs-reduce-wealth-divide-and-control-spending

After carefully reading the post in this Occupy Washington, DC blog, I have come to the conclusion that the 99% movement they are fighting for has no clear responsibility in proposing a way to cut this nation's defecit. Furthermore, their proposed plan is way too complex for it to ever succeed, and does not have a specific thesis in what they are fully proposing. The post begins by restating the argument of the 99% movement in that corporations are to blame for our nation's financial struggles. Directly stating, "concentrated corporate interests have acted with intent to take over government". However, by the end of the post it blames our government structure, personel, and programs on our downfalls. Stick with a thesis and expand on it, do not change your position during the written arguments. Not maintaining consistency throughout the post discredits the position the author is attempting to argue. It makes the readers confused and unable to understand the main ideas of the post.

The author emphasizes ways to fix our country's monetary problems, however that is not his responsibility and he includes way too many solutions. Dissolving programs like medicaid, military spending, student debt programs among others are not ways to fix our economy, for either the short or long run. If student debts were erased, everyone would get an education. However good that sounds, that is classic communism. There are reasons why people who work hard in school become successful who receieve scholarships and grants, etc. People who expect their education to be paid for will not work as hard to be successful, it is imposing laziness in our economy. When in a war, it is uncanny to think about taking away the budget for military purposes. The author compares military spending to education spending in that additional funding for education would produce more jobs. This assumption is absolutely ridiculous. Our soldiers job is protecting our country, they are unable to be home with their families. Just because their job is not domestic, since many soldiers are overseas, does not mean their job does not count. This picture with the post reflects the Occupy movement, and I have expressed my side of military dollars being used.

Again, I understand why Occupy Washington, DC feels a need to rescue our nation's economy because the 99% are the group of people who are taking it the hardest. This is the group of people they are protesting for and argue for a solution. However, the 99% they are representing do not agree with everything they are protesting for. Their plan to fix the economy is unrealistic and too complex to actually help anything. Writing letters to senators and congressmen is a more realistic way to get your ideas rolling. But posting a blog with more than 10 suggestions on how to improve our economy is not going to do any good.

This critical analysis of the Occupy Washington, DC blog is personal and is my own opinion. People have different views and this is my spin on the argument at hand.

Introduction: Carla

Hi Everyone!

My name is Carla Castro. I am currently a Senior at University of Maryland, College Park. I am a Criminal Justice and Criminology major with a minor in Philosophy. I am extremely involved on and off College park campus. I have been involve with several organizations on campus such as The Latino Student Union, Coalition of Latino Student Organizations, Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, Student Government Association, America Reads America Counts, La Familia Peer Mentoring Program and Resident Life as a Resident Assistance.

Off campus, I am extremely involved with a non-profit organization in D.C. that focus on children at risk locations such as Adams Morgan area in D.C. Since working in D.C, I have been able to see the daily struggle low income families endure everyday. I do not normally follow politics but because of my experiences in D.C I feel that I can no longer sit back and do nothing. The economic system is broken and there is extensive financial and societal inequality. This is why I support the Occupy D.C movement and feel that we, the 99% should have a say on what is going in our nations economy.

Introduction: Victoria

Hi Readers-

My name is Victoria and I am currently a Senior Government and Politics major at the University of Maryland. I have been independently living in the District of Columbia for five years. Because of this I have witnessed many political and social movements firsthand. My major has also caused me to have an acute awareness of politics in the United States and abroad.

My group and I chose to created a blog discussing the current Occupy protest that are occurring around the nation, specifically concentrating on the one closest to our school- Occupy DC. This is particularly important to me because this is all occurring right within my own city. As a DC resident there are numerous people from my community involved in the movement, causing me to have a personal invested interest.

While at first I did not know much about the Occupy protests (other than what the main media outlets were telling me) I have spent a great amount of time speaking one-on-one with participants and researching other alternatives news outlets. After this I have begun to lean more towards sympathizing and agreeing with the protesters of the Occupy movement. While I may occasionally disagree with some of their methods and propaganda, I generally feel that there is currently major discontent with the government and those that enable it.

For the coming weeks I will be posting my own experiences, opinions, and other related pieces about the Occupy movements, specifically focusing upon the Occupy DC movement. I look forward to hearing your input and opinions!

Introduction: Liza

Hey everyone, my name is Liza Jones. I am a junior at the University of Maryland College Park studying Government and Politics. I am from Boyds, Maryland in Montgomery County. My interests include all sports, mainly hockey and the Washington Capitals. I also enjoy staying physically fit, playing with my dogs Buster and Lexie, and high fashion.

I am generally neutral on many subjects; I take in to account both sides of an argument and relate the pros and cons for either. That will probably be the same situation for many of my posts in this blog. I am certainly not an expert on Occupy DC/Wall Street/etc. however, i'm very excited to learn more about it and possibly help some followers who know less than I do. I believe this project is not about choosing a side to defend, but the knowledge that you gain and the understanding of the movement at hand. The other authors and I are going to have some differences in our views, which I believe will make for a more interesting blog. Pertaining specifically to the Occupy DC/Wall Street movement, I believe people make their own fate and work hard for the benefits they receive. The 1% is fortunate, lucky, and hard workers that have earned their fate. I am not suggesting that the 99% percent has not, but there is an inevitable divided line in society and this is one of them.
I look forward to the coming weeks and expressing my criticisms, expressions, and views on Occupy DC.

Introduction: Jordie

Jordie: For the Occupy Wall Street

My name is Jordie Lopez. I am a senior Communications major at the University of Maryland, College Park. I am currently taking COMM230, which is an argumentation and debate class. In this class we were given the task of creating a blog on a current issue that we felt was of interest and affected us. I was very excited when we decided on the topic of Occupy Wall Street. Our group specifically chose to focus on the movement happening in Washington D.C. because it is closer to this area and is more accessible for personal interviews and photos. I was previously aware of this movement, but was unaware of what they really stand for. After doing some further research, I have decided that I agree with the movement and there should be a reform. I do agree that there is a lot of social and economic inequality. I also am aware of the increasing unemployment rate. I don’t think its fair that large corporations are practically able to control the economy and distribute the wealth as they please. A large amount of this money is only going to a select few people, so almost no one is benefiting from this.

There needs to be a large amount of changes with the power of these corporations or there is going to be an increasing gap between the rich and the poor.

Introductions: Megan

Hi, my name is Megan. I’m a sophomore at the University of Maryland, College Park, and I am currently double majoring in English and Secondary English Education. Having lived in the Washington, D.C. area all my life, I am familiar with the city and very interested in what goes on there. I also like following politics, or following enough to know what is generally going on with this country and the world. While the idea of “occupying” various cities in the United States, which started on Wall Street in New York City, is controversial, I believe that the general message that has spread to cities such as D.C. is an important one for us to realize: that, for too long, we have idly and ignorantly let corporations and the “1%” make the decisions, some of which have adversely affected our lives, or, at least, prevented us from progressing. The fact that there is an Occupy D.C., in the nation’s capital, where these decisions are made, is especially noteworthy.

When I went to a concert in D.C. recently, I passed by McPherson Square, the location of the Occupy D.C. camp. I believe seeing it in person further intensified my interest in what was going on there and who exactly is involved. I hope that through the posts of the other authors and myself, you can also learn more about the Occupy D.C. movement and why it is important.