Critiques of Other Sites/Sources

In this post, I will refute a sources that claim the Occupy movement is pointless because supporters of the movement do not know what they are talking about.

Read the full article here.


The first article, "Occupy Wall Street: An Utterly Pointless, Meaningless, Futile Exercise" from the International Business Times the author, Palash R. Ghosh claims that the Occupy Movement is a pointless and the supports, specifically the celebrity supporter Susan Sarandon, have not the credentials to essentially support the Occupy Movement. In addition, Ghosh claims that is apart of the wealthiest 1 percent and it does not make sense that she supports such movement and even if she some how had the credentials she could not be a loyal supporter.

I must respectfully disagree with Ghosh. First, I must refute this claim that since she is apart of the wealthiest percent, she cannot be a support or a loyal supporter. Such claim is extremely judgmental and does not have sound reasoning. If Gosh honestly believes this claim, then he must agree to the following claim as well, Abraham Lincoln was not a true support or advocate of abolishing slavery because he himself was not Black and on that matter, Anyone who is not black in the United States could not honestly be against the slavery of Blacks. This argument makes no sense and is obviously flaw. Furthermore, Ghosh claims that she does not have the background to be a supporter of such movement because she's an actress and her husband is also not involved with the economic system. This claim again is flawed. Ghosh essentially states one cannot be against an issues of which one does not hold “credentials” or “experience” in. Ghosh makes an additional error in generalizing one supporter with all supporters. Let's say that even if Ghosh flawed arguements was sound, he would only have evidence on one single person, not all the supporters. Ghosh, is wrong to use one supporter and generalize it with the thousands of supporters of the Occupy movement. Once again, if Ghosh actually believed in this connection then he must also agree with the following statement, Tina, a female failed her first time taking the drivers license test but passed the second time. Therefore, all females must fail their first test but past the second one. As one can clearly see, the reasoning of the argument is completely flawed and therefore it cannot be valid.

The Progression of the Movement

Do you wonder how Occupy Wall Street became Occupy DC?
Do you wonder what progress, if any has Occupy movement made?

This post will be dedicated in addressing these two questions by using three different Sources. The first source will be from an academic article showing that Occupy movement targets and how the movement has been able to spread across the nation, the second from the Huffington post article and shows how the Occupy movement has affected Democrats, and finally the third is from think progress, which will show how the Occupy movement has affected Republicans.

The 99 Percent Rise Up
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The article, "The 99 percent rise up" from The Nation, describes that Occupy Wall Street like pretty much anything else, it started out small. The Occupy Wall street movement, struggled for weeks to get the attention from the media, politicians, and even the general public. So how is it that now this movement has moved across the US Nation and even around the world?

The article suggest that the American people has understood and embraced the Occupy movement because it has gotten three things right from the start, the right target, the right numbers, and the right demands. The target the occupy movement chose is right because it explains that instead of aiming activism at the Government as a whole, it targets bankers and CEOs. With this, Occupy movement went to the heart of the problem and it has not gotten distracted by electoral politics because the target is the manipulator of both major parties. The numbers are right because the statement of "We are the 99 percent" invites everyone who isn't a billionaire. This is a brilliant idea because it has allowed the public to recognize themselves as part of a class that has suffered economically. The fact that there are "24 million Americans who can't find full-tie work, 50 million American who can't see a doctor when they're sick, 47 million Americans who need government aid to feed themselves, and 15 million American families who owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth" allows this movement to expand nationally. Lastly, the demands are right. The movement desires to change the system of corporate domination and growing inequality.

This article is very helpful because it allows one to see that the reason this movement has been able to spread across the nation relies on the sole fact that this movement was truly made by the 99 percent for the 99 percent. It allows further insight to demonstrate that the Occupy movement does not support or blame any one individual political party but blames the corporate greed that lies in the high 1 percent. It is for this reason that I feel I must support the movement and demand a change in our system.

Occupy DC Protests the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee

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This article from the Huffington post, explains that protester of Occupy DC began gathering in McPherson Square to march downtown were the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee was hosting a fundraiser with tickets going from $5000 and $75,000! With such prices the protesters were outraged. They stated that they would protest "pay for play" right in from of the Democrats. Throughout this protest there were several TV cameras which allowed them to reach the public through the media as the "Occupiers led chants and shamed the Democrats inside." The article further explains how it was a loud but peaceful protest.

This article helps to demonstrate that Occupy DC has not given up and they are still going strong with protesting. This article is a useful source because it show the strong commitment the protesters are to bringing about change to the system. This enables to have future supports because they will see that protesters are not going to give up.

Top GOP Strategist Admits He’s ‘Scared’ Of Occupy Wall Street Because It’s ‘Having An Impact’

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The author of this article, Zaid Jilani, explains that Occupy Wall Street is having an impact. Frank Luntz, one of top political communications experts in the world is “scared of this anti-Wall Street effort. I’m frightened to death.” Luntz made these comments while coaching the Republican Governor's Association on how they should communicate to the public. He warn those that attended that according to the pollster, the Occupy movement is "Having an impact on what the American people think of capitalism.” Luntz also admits that the fact that the Occupy movement frightens him is a huge victory for the movement. The main points that Luntz advised was not to mention capitalism, to empathize with the 99 percent protesters, and not to mention middle class because the public does not trust the republicans to defend it.

This is article is an extremely important source. This article demonstrates that the Occupy movement is making great progress for two main reasons. One, for Republican Governor's Association to seek out help on how to communicate with the public shows that they see that the 99 percent is standing up and are no longer afraid to voice how they feel. It shows that the 99 percent expect change in the system. Secondly, in order for a well known Pollster to actually fear the Occupy movement's impact on the general public is yet another proof that they are making great progress and that change will eventually occur.

This article and well as the earlier one connects with the first article showing that in fact Occupy movement does not choose sides between the two major political parties. They are protesting and affecting both parties as they both have members that are focused on corporate greed.