Unless you live under a rock, you have heard of MTV’s True Life documentaries. If not, they are a series of documentaries that follow people through real life issues and events. It so happens the most recent one followed two young people around the streets of New York as they “Occupy Wall Street” in Ziccotti Park. Bryan is a New York City resident who strongly believes that the government and big banks have not only hurt the unemployment rates, but have also hurt the economy. He has been camped out in Ziccotti Park since Occupy Wall Street began in September and will continue to stay until there is a call for reform. Kait is a college student in NYC who had just become interested in these protests. After visiting Ziccotti Park and talking to the people, she to decide that she was being affected the power that government and big companies have over the distribution of wealth. As a student, she explains how she is already has thousands of dollars in loans, and that there is no promise for a well paying job that will help her after college. Both of these people really show that they believe in this cause and will not stop until their voices are heard.
Although this documentary may not take place in the Occupy DC location, it does however show the living conditions that these people are willing to live in just to prove their point. Bryan is in charge of sanitation control. The NYPD monitor the conditions and can kick the protestors out at anytime they see it as unlivable. This video shows them constantly scrubbing brick, picking up trash, and sweeping the area they are sleeping. These people sleep bricks and dirt with thin blankets. They only have tarps to protect them from the wind and rain. Food is usually donated and scarce. Occupy DC conditions are no different. Its really inspirational and motivating to watch these people give up their lives for something they truly believe in.
‘Free Franklin’ Protesters Get Arrested During Demonstration
Huffington Post, 11/20/11
Many are aware that there has been controversy with police involvement with demonstrations. This article discusses the event last week that had eleven protesters in Washington D.C. arrested. This particular group calls them selves ‘Free Franklin.’ These demonstrators were arrested inside of a vacant school building that is known as Franklin School. This school has recently been known for providing services to the homeless. The reason for this protest was that the lot and building of the old Franklin School is supposed to be sold without any regards to the community it serves. The ‘Free Franklin’ protestors say they are in support of Occupy DC, but are not apart of the group. Many of the Occupy DC protestors came to support the event and some even arrested.
Below is a video from the protest:
The issue here is that these protestors were arrested for doing nothing wrong. As quoted from this article:
"This is a public sidewalk," an observer on the legal team commented to HuffPost. "I'm not sure what harm there is in being here."How can people he arrested on a sidewalk for sitting or standing? The Franklin School is also a public building, and the people were not being violent, so there was no need to arrest. What ever happened to the First Amendment? This amendment clearly states that you have the right to protest something that you think is wrong. This article simply and clearly shows that the police and government are taking advantage of the system. Not only the Occupy DC protestors, but also people that believe in the movement all over the world, are occupying an area that does not belong to anyone. It’s important to realize that many of these protestors are practicing in a non-violent way. In a sense they are having their rights as a United States citizen physically taken away from them.
Rage Against the Machine
The Economist 10/22/11
http://www.economist.com/node/21533400
http://www.economist.com/node/21533400
This is a great article in The Economist that is accompanied by a video. It does an overview that is easy to follow of what this movement is and why people are joining this movement. The video starts out by saying that Wall Street is where the American Dream went. This reinforces that only the one percentile are able to achieve the so called “American Dream.” The article explains that this is not just a movement in New York or in Washington D.C., but a movement all over the world, such as in Sydney, Australia and Europe. They are trying to show that the world’s over all economy is favoring the upper middle class and rich giving nothing to the poor.
This article and video emphasize a different audience that maybe no one has considered. Many think these protests and occupy camps are aimed to gaining the government and wealthy peoples attention, however the audience seems to be directed at the middle class. The middle class, whether they realize if these economical changes affect them, will be affected. The middle classes make up a large majority of the people contributing to the economy. As quoted “the middle class have not had a voice till now,” this states that these protests are bringing awareness to middle class and asking them to get involved. Is this movement working? I’d say so. If you go to any news site or look at any newspaper you are bound to see something about the Occupy Movement. Something has intrigued the attention nationally and even worldwide. I look forward to watching this movement progress, and hopefully sparking an urge to reform the economy.
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