The Occupy Movement's Attempt for Social and Economic Change

The Occupy movement has been getting a lot of media coverage. But not for the message it’s trying to convey to the world; social and economic change. Instead the media has been covering the police reaction to the protesters; violence. The media has been covering the violence taking place against the protesters. Police have used taser guns, tear gas, and pepper spray against the protesters. Images of such violence have been displayed from different media outlets. Nathan Jurgenson, a graduate assistant at University of Maryland thinks that the violence against the protesters is not justified. Nathan thinks that the violence being directed against the protesters shows the purpose of the movement; the inequality between people with power and people without.

I met with another graduate assistant at the University Maryland, PJ Rey. PJ believes that the Occupy Movement has been successful in getting their message across. He thinks that since people are now aware of the movement and its purpose that some change will occur.  

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The Occupy Movement main purpose is to inform people of the economic and social inequalities of the world. The movement started as Occupy Wall Street and has spread throughout the United States. Different groups have linked up with Occupy Wall Street to spread the message of the injustices taking place in the world. Occupy Wall Street was created to fight against the richest one percent of the world. The occupiers identify themselves as the 99 percent. Occupy Wall Street began on September 17, 2011 in New York. Since then the occupy movement has spread to over 100 different cities. Occupy Together is an organization affiliated with Occupy Wall Street.

Occupy DC
I met a few occupiers on Freedom Plaza in Washington D.C. Shawn Moppin explained the purpose of the Occupy Movement.

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The occupiers also gave me a tour of their camp. There were medical tents set up, a kitchen, an area to sanitize, bathroom area, meditation area. During the tour, the occupiers showed me a media tent where they notified people of the daily happenings of the movement. I found that interesting that they had a computer set up inside the tent, promoting the movement on Facebook. The use of social networks have been important to the Occupy Movement. The occupiers are able to spread their message on Twitter and Facebook and attract attention. The use of these social networks also make it easier for people to get in contact with the people involved in the movement and express their interest in wanting to help. The occupiers showed me the rules that all occupiers must follow at every Occupy camp.

While walking through the Occupy camp I noticed different signs with different messages on them. The occupiers in Washington D.C. just want to inform people of their movement and its purpose, in hopes to acquire some type of world change. The occupiers believe that the movement is just one step towards change. They are aware that in order for these changes to occur everyone must be informed. Moppin explained that they are open for any ideas to help with the movement to in order to help get their point across.

At Freedom Plaza in Washington D.C., the occupiers have a board set up with daily activities. Some of the activities consist of town meetings, traveling to meet with other occupiers to protest at certain Washington D.C locations. With the recent rain storms that occurred in the area, they were trying to recover from the storms. Some of the occupiers have been camped out for months. I met one occupier, Matthew Michael who has occupied at different camps; Pittsburgh and New York. He explained that though there may be different occupy movements going on in the world they all have one motive; end the social, economic, and environmental injustices. The occupiers noted that they participate in protests, marches, and hunger strikes. They are willing to do anything to get their message across the world as long as it’s not violent.

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If these are nonviolent protests, why are the police exerting violence? This is an issue that needs to be examined. If the protestors have been given a permit to protest why are they still being punished and harmed by the police? The government is allowing the people freedom of speech but in a way it seems that they are trying to restrict them by harming the protestors to silence them. Shawn Moppin informed that at a lot of the Occupy camps throughout the world, the police are preventing the media from entering the areas. The Occupy Movement is an important current event going on in the world and people should be aware of it.

http://occupydc.org/