Reactions to Occupy Wall Street
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The Occupy Wall Street demonstrations garnered reactions of both praise and criticism from organizations and public figures in many parts of the world. Over time, a long list of notable people from a range of backgrounds began and continue to lend their support or make reference to the Occupy movement in general. Domestic political responses have been both positive and critical, from the President of the United States to the 2012 presidential candidates. International responses have come from the Egyptian protesters of
Tahrir Square Tahrir Square ( ar, ميدان التحرير ', , English language, English: Liberation Square), also known as "Martyr Square", is a major public town square in downtown Cairo, Egypt. The square has been the location and focus for political dem ...
, Cardinal Peter Turkson, the
Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...
state news agency ( Xinhua), Indian Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh Manmohan Singh (; born 26 September 1932) is an Indian politician, economist and statesman who served as the 13th prime minister of India from 2004 to 2014. He is also the third longest-serving prime minister after Jawaharlal Nehru and Indir ...
, and many others. Most international responses have been supportive of the movement, while some, such as former United Kingdom Prime Minister Tony Blair have criticized it.


Public opinion

National polls from October to December 2011 were mixed, with agreement/approval ratings for Occupy Wall Street varying from 59% to 22%. On December 19, '' MSNBC'' reported a study which showed small-business owners "are almost evenly split on whether they support the protest movement." Among the general public, opinions of OWS have varied over time, and there are contradictions between the data collected by various polling agencies.


September–October 2011

An NBC/ Wall Street Journal survey released October 12 found that 37 percent of respondents "tend to support" the occupy movement, while 18 percent "tend to oppose" it. An October 13 survey by '' TIME'' magazine found that 54 percent of Americans have a favorable impression of the protests, while 23 percent have a negative impression. An October 18 Gallup poll found that 22 percent of Americans agree with the protest's goals, while 15 percent disapprove and the remaining 61% say they don't know enough to decide. Gallup found that Democrats, Independents and Republicans all follow the news about OWS in equal numbers, and those who closely followed OWS were also those who were more likely to approve of its goals and methods. An October
CBS News CBS News is the news division of the American television and radio service CBS. CBS News television programs include the ''CBS Evening News'', ''CBS Mornings'', news magazine programs '' CBS News Sunday Morning'', '' 60 Minutes'', and '' 48 H ...
/'' New York Times'' polls found 43% of Americans agree with Occupy Wall Street while 27% disagree. An October Rasmussen poll found an almost even split, shows that 33 percent of Americans have a favorable view, while 27 percent are unfavorable and 40 percent have no opinion. A Pew poll taken October 20–23 had similar findings, with 39% supporting "the Occupy Wall Street movement," while 35% opposed. An October United Technologies/National Journal Congressional poll found that 59 percent of Americans agree with the movement while 31 percent disagree. An October Quinnipiac University poll of New York City voters found that 67 percent of New Yorkers approved of the movement with 23 percent disapproving. The results also found 87 percent of New Yorkers find it OK that they are protesting. Despite
media criticism Media studies is a discipline (academia), discipline and field of study that deals with the content, history, and effects of various media (communication), media; in particular, the mass media. Media Studies may draw on traditions from both the s ...
that the protesters views are incoherent, the poll also found that 72 percent of New York City voters understand their views.


November–December 2011

A NY1-Marist Poll released show of November 1ed 44 percent of New York voters supported the Occupy Wall Street movement, while only 21 percent supported the Tea Party. A survey of roughly 1,000 adults conducted from November 10 to 14 found that majorities of nearly identical size felt that Occupy Wall Street, and the Tea Party, respectively, did not share their values. A November 3 poll done by the
Quinnipiac University Polling Institute The Quinnipiac University Poll is a public opinion polling center based at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut. It surveys public opinion in Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Minnesota, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Texas, ...
found that 30 percent of American voters have a favorable view of the protests, while 39 percent do not. The same poll found that among independent voters, 29 percent have a favorable view opposed to 42 percent who have an unfavorable view, while 45% of Democrats have a favorable view opposed to 19% who have an unfavorable view. A Pew Research Center poll, released December 15, 2011, found that nearly three months after the start of OWS, 44% support the Occupy Wall Street movement and 35% oppose it. Americans overwhelmingly agree with the concerns raised by the movement, but more disapprove of the tactics used than approve. According to a November Wall Street Journal article, the age group that most strongly supported OWS were 50 to 64, and OWS had the strongest support among those making $50,000 to $70,000 a year, rather than under $30,000, with only 27% of people making over $75,000 a year backing the movement. Managers and other professionals supported the movement more than blue-collar workers, and men over 50 showed the strongest support.Populist Movements Rooted in Same Soil
The Wall Street Journal By GERALD F. SEIB, November 15, 2011 "You know how they have been pigeonholed: The tea-party movement is nothing but a collection of right-wing, under-educated rubes and radicals, while the Occupy Wall Street movement attracts only young, scruffy, unemployed left-wing zealots."
These findings were contradicted by a December Pew Poll, which found opposition to OWS "higher in the older and affluent" while those making under $75,000 a year and those under 29 were the most supportive. The Pew poll (published Dec. 15) also found more support than opposition in Democrats (60/21) and Independents (46/34), and more opposition than support in Republicans (21/59). In an opinion piece in the ''Wall Street Journal'', pollster
Douglas Schoen Douglas Schoen (born June 27, 1953) is an American lawyer, political analyst, author, lobbyist, and commentator. Education Schoen attended Horace Mann School in New York City. While still a high school student, he canvassed the Upper West Side ...
wrote that polling of the protesters revealed "values that are dangerously out of touch with the broad mass of the American people" and have "a deep commitment to left-wing policies: opposition to free-market capitalism and support for radical
redistribution of wealth Redistribution of income and wealth is the transfer of income and wealth (including physical property) from some individuals to others through a social mechanism such as taxation, welfare, public services, land reform, monetary policies, confisc ...
, intense regulation of the private sector, and protectionist policies to keep American jobs from going overseas", and that politicians who support them will be hurt in the 2012 elections. Journalist David Weigel responded in an opinion piece published on
Slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...
characterizing Schoen's opinion piece as "a dishonest column full of claims that couldn't be backed up by his own research", while ''Washington Monthly'' lead blogger
Steve Benen Steve Benen (born May 15, 1973) is an American political writer, blogger, MSNBC contributor and producer of ''The Rachel Maddow Show'', for which he received two Emmy Awards in 2017. His first book, ''The Impostors: How Republicans Quit Governing ...
wrote an opinion piece accusing Schoen of political spin in his analysis and referring to Schoen, a frequent contributor to Fox News, as "the quintessential 'Fox News Democrat'".


Political response


The White House

During an October 6 news conference, President Barack Obama said, "I think it expresses the frustrations the American people feel, that we had the biggest financial crisis since the Great Depression, huge collateral damage all throughout the country ... and yet you're still seeing some of the same folks who acted irresponsibly trying to fight efforts to crack down on the abusive practices that got us into this in the first place." When Jake Tapper of ABC News pushed Obama to explain the fact that his administration hasn't prosecuted any Wall Street executives who didn't play by the rules, he replied, "One of the biggest problems about the collapse of Lehman's and the subsequent financial crisis and the whole subprime lending fiasco is that a lot of that stuff wasn't necessarily illegal; it was just immoral or inappropriate or reckless." On October 18, when interviewed by ABC news, he said "in some ways, they're not that different from some of the protests that we saw coming from the Tea Party. Both on the left and the right, I think people feel separated from their government. They feel that their institutions aren't looking out for them." On November 22, President Barack Obama was interrupted at a speech in New Hampshire by a group of Occupy Wall Street protesters who attempted to chant slogans during the speech; the protesters later delivered a paper message to the press, which read, "Mr. President: Over 4,000 peaceful protesters have been arrested while bankers continue to destroy the economy. You must stop the assault on our First Amendment rights. Your silence sends a message that police brutality is acceptable. Banks got bailed out. We got sold out." The crowd quickly drowned the protesters out with chants of "Obama!" Obama then responded, "I appreciate you guys making your point. Let me go ahead and make mine." Later in the speech, Obama said, "Families like yours, young people like the ones here today — including the ones who were just chanting at me — you're the reason that I ran for office in the first place." Vice President Joe Biden likened the protest to the Tea Party's similar anger at the banks, saying, "Look, guys, the bargain is not on the level anymore in the minds of the vast majority of the American (people). The middle class has been screwed."


Congress

House Democratic Leader Rep.
Nancy Pelosi Nancy Patricia Pelosi (; ; born March 26, 1940) is an American politician who has served as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives since 2019 and previously from 2007 to 2011. She has represented in the United States House of ...
said she supports the growing nationwide Occupy Wall Street movement. Pelosi said she includes herself in the group of Americans dissatisfied with Congress and stated, "I support the message to the establishment, whether it's Wall Street or the political establishment and the rest, that change has to happen. We cannot continue in a way (that) is not relevant to their lives." Independent Senator
Bernie Sanders Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician who has served as the junior United States senator from Vermont since 2007. He was the U.S. representative for the state's at-large congressional district from 1991 to 2007 ...
of Vermont, who caucuses with the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...
, appeared on ''
Countdown with Keith Olbermann ''Countdown with Keith Olbermann'' is an hour-long weeknight news and political commentary program hosted by Keith Olbermann that aired on MSNBC from 2003 to 2011 and on Current TV from 2011 to 2012. The show presented five selected news stories o ...
'' and supported the protests saying, "We desperately need a coming together of working people to stand up to Wall Street. We need to rebuild the middle-class in this country and you guys can't have it all."
House Majority Leader Party leaders of the United States House of Representatives, also known as floor leaders, are congresspeople who coordinate legislative initiatives and serve as the chief spokespersons for their parties on the House floor. These leaders are ele ...
Eric Cantor ( R- Va), in a speech to a Values Voter Summit, characterized the movement as "growing mobs" and said that Obama's "failed policies" and rhetoric "condon ngthe pitting of Americans against Americans" were to blame. In response, White House Press Secretary
Jay Carney James Ferguson 'Jay' Carney (born May 22, 1965) is an American public relations officer, political advisor and journalist who has served as Amazon's Senior Vice President of Global Corporate Affairs from 2015 to 2022, and the United States Whit ...
accused Cantor of "unbound" hypocrisy, given the Majority Leader's support of the Tea Party protests, adding, "I don't understand why one man's mob is another man's democracy." Carney characterized both movements as examples of American democratic traditions. The Democratic co-chairs of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, Representatives Raúl Grijalva and
Keith Ellison Keith Maurice Ellison (born August 4, 1963) is an American politician and lawyer serving as the 30th attorney general of Minnesota. A member of the Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), Ellison was the U.S. representative for from 2007 to ...
, announced their solidarity with the movement on October 4. The
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) is the United States Democratic Party, Democratic Hill committee for the United States House of Representatives, working to elect Democrats to that body. The DCCC recruits candidates, raises ...
is asking for 100,000 names on its website which will subsequently be added to 100,000 letters to
Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hungerf ...
John Boehner John Andrew Boehner ( ; born , 1949) is an American retired politician who served as the 53rd speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2011 to 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he served 13 terms as the U.S. represe ...
and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, expressing support for the Occupy Wall Street protesters, the middle class, and opposition to tax
loopholes A loophole is an ambiguity or inadequacy in a system, such as a law or security, which can be used to circumvent or otherwise avoid the purpose, implied or explicitly stated, of the system. Originally, the word meant an arrowslit, a narrow verti ...
for millionaires and big oil.


2012 presidential candidates

2012 Republican presidential candidate
Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American politician, businessman, and lawyer serving as the junior United States senator from Utah since January 2019, succeeding Orrin Hatch. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusetts f ...
said that while there were "bad actors" that needed to be "found and plucked out", he believes that to aim at one industry or region of America is a mistake and views encouraging the Occupy Wall Street protests as "dangerous" and inciting "class warfare". Romney later expressed sympathy for the movement, saying, "I look at what's happening on Wall Street and my view is, boy, I understand how those people feel." Former Governor of New Mexico and 2012 Libertarian Party presidential candidate Gary Johnson visited Occupy Wall Street in October 2011 and expressed support, stating "This country is not equal. We don't treat everyone equally. I would like to see us focus on the root cause, which is in my estimation politicians that are getting paid off. That's the corporatism and the outrage." Speaking at a rally which had been disrupted by shouting Occupy Wall Street protestors, Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum responded, "People are allowed to protest and we respect their opinion. We just happen to believe that folks who are at public rallies should let both sides to be heard," and later commented, "Something that maybe these folks over here could ... maybe working a little bit instead of coming to these events and screaming at people." Former Speaker of the House of Representatives and 2012 Republican presidential candidate
Newt Gingrich Newton Leroy Gingrich (; né McPherson; born June 17, 1943) is an American politician and author who served as the 50th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999. A member of the Republican Party, he was the U ...
was quoted as saying at the 2012 Bloomberg/Washington Post Debate,
Let me draw a distinction. Virtually every American has a reason to be angry. I think virtually
very Very may refer to: * English's prevailing intensifier Businesses * The Very Group, a British retail/consumer finance corporation ** Very (online retailer), their main e-commerce brand * VERY TV, a Thai television channel Places * Véry, a co ...
American has a reason to be worried. I think the people who are protesting in Wall Street break into two groups: one is left-wing agitators who would be happy to show up next week on any other topic, and the other is sincere middle-class people who frankly are very close to the Tea Party people who care. And actually ... you can tell which are which. The people who are decent, responsible citizens pick up after themselves. The people who are just out there as activists trash the place and walk off and are proud of having trashed it, so let's draw that distinction.
U.S. Congressman and 2012 Republican presidential candidate
Ron Paul Ronald Ernest Paul (born August 20, 1935) is an American author, activist, physician and retired politician who served as the U.S. representative for Texas's 22nd congressional district from 1976 to 1977 and again from 1979 to 1985, as well ...
(R-TX) stated, "If they were demonstrating peacefully, and making a point, and arguing our case, and drawing attention to the Fed—I would say, 'good!'" In a GOP debate, mentioning the ongoing "Occupy Wall Street" protesters, he stated that crony capitalists are those "that benefit from contract from government, benefit from the Federal Reserve, benefit from all the bailouts. They don't deserve compassion. They deserve taxation or they deserve to have all their benefits removed." When protesters conducted a 'mic check,' at one of Ron Paul's rallies, he replied, "If you listen carefully, I'm very much involved with the 99. I've been condemning that 1% because they've been ripping us off. The people on Wall Street got the bailouts and you guys got stuck with the bills and that's where I see the problem is." Jill Stein, a 2012 Green Party ( GPUS) presidential candidate, has strongly and consistently voiced support for the Occupy Wall Street movement. On October 9, prior to announcing her candidacy, she visited occupied Dewey Square in Boston, where she thanked the protesters for "breaking through the sound barrier," established by the "conglomerate media" which, according to her, have silenced those who have tried to speak out against injustice. Former 2012 Republican presidential candidate
Herman Cain Herman Cain (December 13, 1945July 30, 2020) was an American businessman and Tea Party movement activist within the Republican Party. Born in Memphis, Tennessee, Cain grew up in Georgia and graduated from Morehouse College with a bachelor's d ...
accused the movement of being "
anti-capitalist Anti-capitalism is a political ideology and Political movement, movement encompassing a variety of attitudes and ideas that oppose capitalism. In this sense, anti-capitalists are those who wish to replace capitalism with another type of economi ...
" and argued "Don't blame Wall Street, don't blame the big banks, if you don't have a job and you're not rich, blame yourself!" In an interview with the ''Wall Street Journal'', Cain also expressed his belief that Occupy Wall Street was "planned and orchestrated to distract from the failed policies of the Obama administration," but admitted that he " idn'thave facts" to back up his accusation.


Other politicians and political groups

Mayor
Michael Bloomberg Michael Rubens Bloomberg (born February 14, 1942) is an American businessman, politician, philanthropist, and author. He is the majority owner, co-founder and CEO of Bloomberg L.P. He was Mayor of New York City from 2002 to 2013, and was a ca ...
said that the protests "aren't productive," although he also expressed sympathy for some of their complaints. On October 8, during his weekly radio show, Bloomberg said that the protesters are trying to "take the jobs from the people working in the city," and said that although " ere are some people with legitimate complaints, there are some people who just like to protest." In an interview with '' The Washington Post'', Former Democratic U.S. Senator Russ Feingold endorsed the movement on October 5 stating, "This is like the Tea Party—only it's real ... By the time this is over, it will make the Tea Party look like ... a tea party." Former
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS) is the presiding officer of the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). The chairman is the highest-ranking and most senior military officer in the United States Armed Forces Chairman: app ...
and Secretary of State
Colin Powell Colin Luther Powell ( ; April 5, 1937 – October 18, 2021) was an American politician, statesman, diplomat, and United States Army officer who served as the 65th United States Secretary of State from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African ...
declared that the demonstrations of the OWS movement were "as American as apple pie," adding ""This is something that our political leaders need to think about. It isn't enough just to scream at our Occupy Wall Street demonstrators — we need our political system to start reflecting this anger back into how do we fix it? How do we get the economy going again?" Former President Bill Clinton was quoted in '' Forbes'' magazine saying, "Occupy Wall Street has done more in the short time they've been out there than I've been able to do in more than the last eleven years trying to draw attention to some of the same problems we have to address." Former Vice President
Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. Gore was the Democratic Part ...
offered his support for the Occupy movement in an October 12 blog post, writing: "From the economy to the climate crisis our leaders have pursued solutions that are not solving our problems, instead they propose policies that accomplish little. With democracy in crisis a true grassroots movement pointing out the flaws in our system is the first step in the right direction. Count me among those supporting and cheering on the Occupy Wall Street movement." Former Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura expressed his support for the movement and attended an Occupy protest in Minneapolis. He also stated his belief that the movement should not be dictated by either party, stating
I think that I have to be the face of this movement; it can't be a Democrat or a Republican because not only do I talk the talk I walk the walk. I never took one dollar of corporate money. I never took one
PAC Pac or PAC may refer to: Military * Rapid Deployment Force (Malaysia), an armed forces unit * Patriot Advanced Capability, of the MIM-104 Patriot missile * Civil Defense Patrols (''Patrullas de Autodefensa Civil''), Guatemalan militia and paramili ...
dollar to become governor of Minnesota." He also went on saying that both the Democrats and Republicans, both parties of which Ventura is known for being a staunch critic of, had "sold themselves out to
Wall Street Wall Street is an eight-block-long street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs between Broadway in the west to South Street and the East River in the east. The term "Wall Street" has become a metonym for t ...
.
David Duke, former
Grand Wizard The Grand Wizard (later the Grand and Imperial Wizard simplified as the Imperial Wizard and eventually, the National Director) referred to the national leader of several different Ku Klux Klan organizations in the United States and abroad. The ti ...
of the
Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and ...
and former one-term Republican Louisiana State Representative showed his support for what he called the "Occupy Zionist Wall Street" protesters. Duke said that "The Zionist media has their paid whores condemning the demonstrations across America against these criminal banks" (citing Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Bill O'Reilly as specific examples), adding that "I cheer the men and women in the streets condemning the international banks that hold America hostage." Media Matters for America (a US progressive media watchdog) commented that "If a Nazi says something nice about you, that doesn't make you a Nazi."


Labor unions

In September, various labor unions, including the Transport Workers Union of America Local 100 and the New York Metro 32BJ Service Employees International Union, pledged their support for demonstrators. Union leaders say that unions and OWS can offer mutual support, with OWS gaining from the union's money, stature, and large membership, and the weakened labor movement absorbing the protesters vitality. The Industrial Workers of the World announced on September 28, 2011, that its General Executive Board (GEB), and the General Defense Committee (GDC) had issued statements of support for Occupy Wall Street. After numerous arrests of protesters on the Brooklyn Bridge, police commandeered city buses to pick up detained protesters and union drivers later sued the New York Police Department. Union President John Samuelsen said, "We're down with these protesters. We support the notion that rich folk are not paying their fair share. Our bus operators are not going to be pressed into service to arrest protesters anywhere". On October 4, representatives from more than 14 of the country's largest labor unions joined the protesters for a mass rally and march. In early November, National Nurses United (NNU), the largest union of registered nurses in the nation, expressed support for OWS and rallied in front of the White House and Department of Treasury. Karen Higgins, co-president of NNU, said, "A real finance tax would generate $350 billion a year in the U.S. alone and bring relief to families out of homes, friends out of work, patients out of care, communities running out of time. The tax starts a revenue flow back to the 99 percent." Noting the growing union support, an article in the progressive-leaning '' Mother Jones'' magazine said that union support could splinter and derail the protests rather than sustain them because while unions are tightly organized, hierarchical, and run with a clear chain of command, Occupy Wall Street is the opposite in that they are "a horizontal, autonomous, leaderless, modified-consensus-based system with roots in anarchist thought." However, the article went on to suggest that if the unions and OWS joined together they could work to create a progressive movement that "effectively taps into the rising feeling among many Americans that economic opportunity has been squashed by corporate greed and the influence of the very rich in politics." As the success of the movement has become apparent, union organizers have begun to embrace some of their social media skills, bold tactics, and the simplicity of the 99% slogan. Damon Silvers, the AFL–CIO's policy director, said, "We think the Occupy movement has given voice to something very basic about what's going on in our country right now. The fact that they've figured out certain concepts and language for doing that, we think is really important and positive." The International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW) has endorsed the movement saying, "We recognize the need to work together and learn from each other. The vitality, energy and dialogue growing from the Occupy Wall Street movement show the potential to organize, build power and win justice for the middle class."


Environmental response

Several environmentalist leaders supported Occupy Wall Street. In 2011,
Greenpeace Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by Irving Stowe and Dorothy Stowe, immigrant environmental activists from the United States. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth t ...
Executive Director Phil Radford expressed Occupy Wall Street, stating:: "We stand – as individuals and an organization – with Occupiers of all walks of life who peacefully stand up for a just, democratic, green and peaceful future."
Bill McKibben William Ernest McKibben (born December 8, 1960)"Bill Ernest McKibben." ''Environmental Encyclopedia''. Edited by Deirdre S. Blanchfield. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2009. Retrieved via ''Biography in Context'' database, December 31, 2017. is a ...
of
350.org 350.org is an international environmental organization addressing the climate crisis. Its stated goal is to end the use of fossil fuels and transition to renewable energy by building a global, grassroots movement. The 350 in the name stands fo ...
stated: "The reason that it's so great that we're occupying Wall Street is because Wall Street has been occupying the atmosphere." Sarah Hodgdon of the Sierra Club stated: "Many Sierra Club staff and volunteer leaders have participated in and/or lent support to these demonstrations standing up for the end to corporate greed. The demands and values of the protesters are very much in line with Sierra Club's strategic priority of confronting the power of the coal and oil industries."


Federal Reserve response

During a hearing before the Joint Economic Committee October 4, 2011, Federal Reserve Chairman
Ben Bernanke Ben Shalom Bernanke ( ; born December 13, 1953) is an American economist who served as the 14th chairman of the Federal Reserve from 2006 to 2014. After leaving the Fed, he was appointed a distinguished fellow at the Brookings Institution. Durin ...
said, " ople are quite unhappy with the state of the economy and what's happening. They blame, with some justification, the problems in the financial sector for getting us into this mess, and they're dissatisfied with the policy response here in Washington. And at some level, I can't blame them. Certainly, 9 percent unemployment and very slow growth is not a good situation."Garofalo, P. (October 5, 2011
"Bernanke on Occupy Wall Street"
''ThinkProgress.org''
On November 2, he again expressed sympathy with frustrations about the economy but also said many of the complaints levied at the Fed, including those made against the steps it took during the financial crisis, are misguided. "The concerns about the Fed are based on misconceptions," he said. "A very simplistic interpretation of that riticismwas that we were doing that because we wanted to preserve banker salaries. That was obviously not the case." Dallas Federal Reserve President
Richard W. Fisher Richard W. Fisher (born 1949) is the former President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, having served in that post from April 2005 to 2015. He is a Senior Advisor to Barclays Plc, a British bank holding company, a Director of Peps ...
said that he was "somewhat sympathetic" to the views of the protesters, and added, "We have too many people out of work. We have a very uneven distribution of income. We have a very frustrated people, and I can understand their frustration."Nichols, M. (October 7, 2011
"Protests spread to more than a dozen cities"
''Reuters''


Media response

Five days into the protest,
Keith Olbermann Keith Theodore Olbermann (; born January 27, 1959) is an American sports and political commentator and writer. Olbermann spent the first 20 years of his career in sports journalism. He was a sports correspondent for CNN and for local TV and r ...
criticized the initial media response for failing to adequately cover the protests. The protests began on Saturday, September 17. The following Wednesday, '' The New York Observer'' reported on the nascent protests in Zuccotti Park. On Friday, September 23, Ginia Bellafante panned the movement in ''The New York Times''. Joanna Weiss of '' The Boston Globe'' found it difficult to take the protests seriously, criticizing Occupy Wall Street for its "circus" atmosphere." In a September 27 article, Lauren Ellis of ''Mother Jones'' magazine criticized the movement's lack of a clear message. By October 4, economist Richard Wolff commented that the unclear shape of the movement is "mostly irrelevant" at this early stage and the priority should be to invite all interested parties. Kalle Lasn, co-founder of ''Adbusters'', believed that the protests had gone mainstream and expressed the opinion that "it's become kind of a political left movement in the U.S., hopefully to rival the Tea Party."Wall Street rallies could be left’s Tea Party
msnbc.com. Accessed: October 7, 2011.
Michael Daly, of '' Newsweek'' and '' The Daily Beast'' characterized the position of the protesters as a "feeling that there is just a fundamental unfairness. From their point of view, the very people who almost wrecked the U.S. economy on Wall Street continue to get wealthy while working people are struggling to pay their bills.""Occupy" protesters garner increased support
. ''CBS News''. Accessed: October 9, 2011
On October 11, Katrina vanden Heuvel, who writes a weekly column for '' The Washington Post'' and is the editor and publisher of '' The Nation'', said "most understand that the main task ahead is growing the movement," and pointing to recent legislation, she suggests that the movement has already influenced public dialogue. Writing for CNN,
Sonia Katyal Sonia Katyal is an American legal scholar, professor, and Associate Dean of Faculty Development and Research at UC Berkeley School of Law. Before coming to Berkeley, Katyal was Joseph M. McLaughlin Professor of Law at Fordham University School o ...
and Eduardo Peñalver said that "A straight line runs from the 1930s sit-down strikes in Flint, Michigan, to the 1960 lunch-counter sit-ins to the occupation of Alcatraz by Native American activists in 1969 to Occupy Wall Street. Occupations employ physical possession to communicate intense dissent, exhibited by a willingness to break the law and to suffer the -- occasionally violent -- consequences." Another CNN report by
Douglas Rushkoff Douglas Mark Rushkoff (born February 18, 1961) is an American media theorist, writer, columnist, lecturer, graphic novelist, and documentarian. He is best known for his association with the early cyberpunk culture and his advocacy of open sourc ...
, said that even though the protesters are not ready to articulate an exact array of problems or how to solve them,"Anyone who says he has no idea what these folks are protesting is not being truthful. Whether we agree with them or not, we all know what they are upset about, and we all know that there are investment bankers working on Wall Street getting richer while things for most of the rest of us are getting tougher. What upsets banking's defenders and politicians alike is the refusal of this movement to state its terms or set its goals in the traditional language of campaigns ... They mean to show that there is an inappropriate and correctable disconnect between the abundance America produces and the scarcity its markets manufacture".Think Occupy Wall St. is a phase? You don't get it
By Douglas Rushkoff, Special to CNN October 5, 2011 "...there are a wide array of complaints, demands, and goals from the Wall Street protesters: the collapsing environment, labor standards, housing policy, government corruption, World Bank lending practices, unemployment, increasing wealth disparity and so on ... they believe they are symptoms of the same core problem. Are they ready to articulate exactly what that problem is and how to address it? No, not yet. But neither are Congress or the president ..."
In a special for CNN, Sonia Katyal and Eduardo Peñalver said that "What has puzzled many observers about the Occupy Wall Street protests is precisely the lack of an obvious connection between their disobedience (the occupation of parks and streets) and their political and economic complaints. This is why Occupy's turn toward foreclosed housing is so important. While it takes heroic acts of imagination to connect the dots between the occupation of Zuccotti Park and worries about economic inequality, political corruption and the excessive power of banks, the connection between these issues and the occupation of foreclosed housing is obvious".
By Sonia K. Katyal and Eduardo M. Peñalver, Special to CNN December 16, 2011


International response

* Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff said, "We agree with some of the expressions that some movements have used around the world in demonstrations like the ones we see in the US and other countries." * Canadian Prime Minister
Stephen Harper Stephen Joseph Harper (born April 30, 1959) is a Canadian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Canada from 2006 to 2015. Harper is the first and only prime minister to come from the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada, ...
said that because there was nothing like a Canadian TARP program, he did not think Canadians were as angry as Americans. Finance Minister
Jim Flaherty James Michael Flaherty (December 30, 1949 – April 10, 2014) was a Canadian politician who served as the federal minister of finance from 2006 to 2014 under Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper. First elected to the Legislative Assembly ...
expressed sympathy with the protests, citing high unemployment amongst the youth. Comparing Canada to the U.S., he said that unlike the U.S., Canada has a progressive income tax system that favors the vulnerable, and the government has regulated and supervised its financial institutions. * People's Republic of China state news agency Xinhua said the protests had exposed "fundamental problems" with the US economic and political systems, and that it showed "a clear need for Washington, which habitually rushes to demand other governments to change when there are popular protests in their countries, to put its own house in order." * Egyptian protesters from Tahrir Square have spoken out in support of Occupy Wall Street. A message of solidarity issued by a collective of Cairo-based protesters declared: "As the interests of government increasingly cater to the interests and comforts of private, transnational capital, our cities and homes have become progressively more abstract and violent places, subject to the casual ravages of the next economic development or urban renewal scheme. An entire generation across the globe has grown up realizing, rationally and emotionally, that we have no future in the current order of things."Tahrir Square protesters send message of solidarity to Occupy Wall Street
by Jack Shenker and Adam Gabbatt The Guardian, Tuesday October 25, 2011 "Much of the tactics, rhetoric and imagery deployed by protesters has clearly been inspired by this year's political upheavals in the Middle East ..."
* Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou supported the U.S. protests saying, "We fight for changing the global economic system, like many anti-Wall Street citizens who rightly protest against the inequalities and injustices of the system." * Indian Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh Manmohan Singh (; born 26 September 1932) is an Indian politician, economist and statesman who served as the 13th prime minister of India from 2004 to 2014. He is also the third longest-serving prime minister after Jawaharlal Nehru and Indir ...
stated, "There are reasons why people are protesting. People are protesting in Wall Street, in Europe about the fat salaries that the bankers are getting when people are being asked to tighten their belts. There is problem of growing unemployment in the United States. There is also worry in Europe. So there are problems which the system must have credible answers to take them on board." * The Korean Central News Agency of North Korea commented that the Occupy Wall Street movement were "in protest against exploitation and oppression by capital, shaking all fabrics of society." * Former president of Poland and cofounder of the Polish Solidarity Movement, Lech Wałęsa, has expressed his support for Occupy Wall Street and is considering a visit to the site. * Former Soviet Union President
Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet politician who served as the 8th and final leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country's dissolution in 1991. He served a ...
compared it to the
perestroika ''Perestroika'' (; russian: links=no, перестройка, p=pʲɪrʲɪˈstrojkə, a=ru-perestroika.ogg) was a political movement for reform within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) during the late 1980s widely associated wit ...
period and the dissolution of the Soviet Union superpower, calling the protests justified. He said Americans should put their own house in order before attempting to do such with other countries. * Former United Kingdom Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the protests were about fairness. "There are voices in the middle who say, 'Look, we can build a better financial system that is more sustainable, that is based on a better and proportionate sense of what's just and fair and where people don't take reckless risks or, if they do, they're penalized for doing so.'" * Former United Kingdom Prime Minister Tony Blair criticized the movement, stating, "a protest is not the same as a policy. Someone who's demonstrating will often make demands, but they don't necessarily have answers." * Vatican City Cardinal Peter Turkson, a senior Vatican official, defended the protests: "Do people at a certain time have a right to say: 'Do business differently, look at the way you are doing business because this is not leading to our welfare, to our good'? Can people demand this of the people of Wall Street? I think people can and should be able to." The comment was in light of a new publication the Vatican released entitled ''Towards Reforming the International Financial and Monetary Systems in the Context of Global Public Authority'', which agreed with many of the protesters' issues. * Venezuela President
Hugo Chávez Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías (; 28 July 1954 – 5 March 2013) was a Venezuelan politician who was president of Venezuela from 1999 until his death in 2013, except for a brief period in 2002. Chávez was also leader of the Fifth Republ ...
condemned what he claimed to be "horrible repression" of the Occupy Wall Street activists and expressed solidarity with the movement.


Other notable responses


Authors and academics

Kate Pickett Kate Elizabeth Pickett (born 1965) is a British epidemiologist and political activist who is Professor of Epidemiology in the Department of Health Sciences at the University of York, and was a National Institute for Health and Care Research Ca ...
, coauthor of '' The Spirit Level: Why More Equal Societies Almost Always Do Better,'' said in '' The Guardian'' that "Few doubt that it was the actions of the rich and the super-rich, the 1%, that created the crisis. But sadly, debate has not yet been translated into action ... This is why we need the Occupy movement and the staunch actions of the trade unions – why we need protest and demonstrations and activism." Canadian writer Naomi Klein has spoken at the protest several times. Writing in the ''New York Times'' she said she is "delighted" that OWS has not given in to issuing a list of demands. "This is a young movement still in the process of determining just how powerful it is, and that power will determine what demands are possible. Small movements have to settle for small reforms: big ones have the freedom to dream." Professor and author Cornel West addressed the frustrations that some critics have expressed at the protest's lack of a clear and unified message, saying, "It's impossible to translate the issue of the greed of Wall Street into one demand, or two demands. We're talking about a democratic awakening."
Harvard law Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...
professor Lawrence Lessig who has called for a
Second Constitution of the United States The calling of a Second Constitutional Convention of the United States is a proposal made by some academics and activists from across the political spectrum for the purpose of making substantive reforms to the federal government of the United Sta ...
agreed with the demands of OWS protestors but felt that too many demands generated "noise"; he called for clarity. Philosopher
Slavoj Žižek Slavoj Žižek (, ; ; born 21 March 1949) is a Slovenian philosopher, cultural theorist and public intellectual. He is international director of the Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities at the University of London, visiting professor at New Y ...
gave a speech on Wall Street in which he expressed support for the protests saying, "They tell you we are dreamers. The true dreamers are those who think things can go on indefinitely the way they are. We are not dreamers. We are awakening from a dream which is turning into a nightmare." American political philosopher
Jodi Dean Jodi Dean (born April 9, 1962) is an American political theorist and professor in the Political Science department at Hobart and William Smith Colleges in New York state. She held the Donald R. Harter ’39 Professorship of the Humanities and So ...
, while critical of the movements focus on autonomy, leaderlessness and horizontality which she argues was self-destructive, says that "Occupy ruptured the lie that 'what is good for Wall Street is good for Main Street'." On November 15, when police closed the park to overnight use by the protesters,
Chris Hedges Christopher Lynn Hedges (born September 18, 1956) is an American journalist, Presbyterian minister, author, and commentator. In his early career, Hedges worked as a freelance war correspondent in Central America for ''The Christian Science Mon ...
, who has been participating since the onset, wrote in his weekly column that he believed that through a rigid adherence to nonviolence and a verbal respect for the police, the movement would continue to move forward to see the realization of its goals. In another column, he said that OWS had popular support and "articulated the concerns of the majority of citizens." Author
Barbara Ehrenreich Barbara Ehrenreich (, ; ; August 26, 1941 – September 1, 2022) was an American author and political activist. During the 1980s and early 1990s, she was a prominent figure in the Democratic Socialists of America. She was a widely read and awar ...
, in response to the dismantling of the occupations, stated that "One of the appalling things here is that there are so many Democratic mayors involved in these crackdowns or in Bloomberg's case, someone who is seen as a liberal." Over one thousand authors have announced their support for the movement via "Occupy Writers", an online petition that states "We, the undersigned writers and all who will join us, support Occupy Wall Street and the Occupy Movement around the world." The initiative began when Jeff Sharlet e-mailed Salman Rushdie to suggest a petition for writers who support Occupy Wall Street, and signatories range the spectrum of literary genres and academic disciplines and include
Margaret Atwood Margaret Eleanor Atwood (born November 18, 1939) is a Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, teacher, environmental activist, and inventor. Since 1961, she has published 18 books of poetry, 18 novels, 11 books of non-fiction, nin ...
, Noam Chomsky,
Neil Gaiman Neil Richard MacKinnon GaimanBorn as Neil Richard Gaiman, with "MacKinnon" added on the occasion of his marriage to Amanda Palmer. ; ( Neil Richard Gaiman; born 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, gr ...
, Daniel Handler also known as
Lemony Snicket Lemony Snicket is the pen name of American author Daniel Handler (born February 28, 1970). Handler has published several children's books under the name, most notably ''A Series of Unfortunate Events'', which has sold over 60 million copies and s ...
, and Alice Walker. The site also features original work from the writers expressing their take on the Occupy movement. Authors and academics supporting include professor of economics and best-selling author
Ravi Batra Raveendra Nath "Ravi" Batra (born June 27, 1943) is an Indian-American economist, author, and professor at Southern Methodist University. Batra is the author of six bestselling books, two of which appeared on The New York Times Best Seller list, ...
, anthropologist
David Graeber David Rolfe Graeber (; February 12, 1961September 2, 2020) was an American anthropologist and anarchist activist. His influential work in economic anthropology, particularly his books '' Debt: The First 5,000 Years'' (2011) and ''Bullshit Jobs ...
,
Stéphane Hessel Stéphane Frédéric Hessel (20 October 1917 – 26 February 2013) was a diplomat, ambassador, writer, concentration camp survivor, French Resistance member and BCRA agent. Born German, he became a naturalised French citizen in 1939. He be ...
, philosopher
Judith Butler Judith Pamela Butler (born February 24, 1956) is an American philosopher and gender theorist whose work has influenced political philosophy, ethics, and the fields of third-wave feminism, queer theory, and literary theory. In 1993, Butler ...
, Nobel Prize–winning economists Paul Krugman, and
Joseph Stiglitz Joseph Eugene Stiglitz (; born February 9, 1943) is an American New Keynesian economist, a public policy analyst, and a full professor at Columbia University. He is a recipient of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences (2001) and the Joh ...
,
Jeff Madrick Jeffrey G. Madrick is a journalist, economic policy consultant and analyst. He is editor of '' Challenge: The Magazine of Economic Affairs,'' visiting professor of humanities at The Cooper Union, and director of policy research at the Schwartz Cen ...
, Wikipedia founder
Jimmy Wales Jimmy Donal Wales (born August 7, 1966), also known on Wikipedia by the pseudonym Jimbo, is an American-British Internet entrepreneur, webmaster, and former financial trader. He is a co-founder of the online non-profit encyclopedia Wikipedi ...
, and professor of economics
Richard D. Wolff Richard David Wolff (born April 1, 1942) is an American Marxian economist known for his work on economic methodology and class analysis. He is professor emeritus of economics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a visiting professor ...
.


Business people

John Paulson John Alfred Paulson (born December 14, 1955) is an American billionaire hedge fund manager. He leads Paulson & Co., a New York-based investment management firm he founded in 1994. He has been called "one of the most prominent names in high fina ...
, billionaire and founder of the hedge fund Paulson & Co., criticized the protesters for "vilifying our most successful businesses," citing that "The top 1% of New Yorkers pay over 40% of all income taxes, providing huge benefits to everyone in our city and state." Businessman and CEO Peter Schiff wrote an opinion column where he stated, "I own a brokerage firm, but I didn't receive any bailout money ... Yes, I am the 1% - but I've earned every penny. Instead of trying to take my wealth away, I hope they learn from my example." The lobbying firm Clark Lytle Geduldig & Cranford proposed to the American Bankers Association a plan to respond to the Occupy movement by researching the 'backers' and doing public relations work against them like putting negative stories in the media.
Vikram Pandit Vikram Shankar Pandit (born 14 January 1957) is an Indian-American banker and investor who was the chief executive officer of Citigroup from December 2007 to 16 October 2012 and is the current chairman and chief executive officer of The Oroge ...
, head of
Citigroup Citigroup Inc. or Citi (Style (visual arts), stylized as citi) is an American multinational investment banking, investment bank and financial services corporation headquartered in New York City. The company was formed by the merger of banking ...
, called the protesters' sentiments "completely understandable" and said that Wall Street had broken the trust of its clients. Bill Gross, manager of
PIMCO PIMCO (Pacific Investment Management Company, LLC) is an American investment management firm focusing on active fixed income management worldwide. PIMCO manages investments in many asset classes such as fixed income, equities, commodities, asset ...
's Total Return Fund, the world's largest mutual fund, stated "Class warfare by the 99%? Of course, they're fighting back after 30 years of being shot at." PIMCO's co-CEO
Mohamed El-Erian Mohamed Aly El-Erian ( ar, محمد العريان, Muḥammad al-ʿAryān; born August 19, 1958) is an Egyptian-American economist and businessman. He is President of Queens' College, Cambridge, and chief economic adviser at Allianz, the corpor ...
argued that people should "listen to Occupy Wall Street". Karl Denninger, former
CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
and one of the original co-founders of the Tea Party movement, expressed support for the movement, saying "The problem with protests and the political process is that it is very easy, no matter how big the protest is, for the politicians to simply wait until the people go home, and then they can ignore you. Well, Occupy Wall Street was a little different, and back in 2008, I wrote that when we will actually see change is when the people come, they set up camp, and they refuse to go home. That appears to be happening now."
Jeff Immelt Jeffrey Robert Immelt (born February 19, 1956) is an American business executive currently working as a venture partner at New Enterprise Associates. He previously served as the CEO of General Electric from 2001 to 2017, and the CEO of GE's Medi ...
, CEO of General Electric and a member of Obama's Economic Recovery Advisory Board, stated "It is natural to assume that people are angry, and I think we have to be empathetic and understand that people are not feeling great." Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater Associates, the world's largest hedge fund, stated in an interview with
Charlie Rose Charles Peete Rose Jr. (born January 5, 1942) is an American former television journalist and talk show host. From 1991 to 2017, he was the host and executive producer of the talk show '' Charlie Rose'' on PBS and Bloomberg LP. Rose also co-an ...
, "I think the number one problem is that we're not having a quality dialogue ... I certainly understand the frustration, I understand the dilemma, I understand the discontent." Other business leaders lending their support include George Soros and
Russell Simmons Russell Wendell Simmons (born October 4, 1957) is an American entrepreneur, writer and record executive. He co-founded the hip-hop label Def Jam Recordings, and created the clothing fashion lines Phat Farm, Argyleculture, and Tantris. Simmons' ...
.


Celebrities

On September 19, Roseanne Barr, the first celebrity to endorse the protest, spoke to protesters calling for a combination of capitalism and socialism and a system not based on "bloated talk radio hosts and that goddamn
Ayn Rand Alice O'Connor (born Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum;, . Most sources transliterate her given name as either ''Alisa'' or ''Alissa''. , 1905 – March 6, 1982), better known by her pen name Ayn Rand (), was a Russian-born American writer and p ...
book". Filmmaker
Michael Moore Michael Francis Moore (born April 23, 1954) is an American filmmaker, author and left-wing activist. His works frequently address the topics of globalization and capitalism. Moore won the 2002 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature for ' ...
also spoke in support, saying, "They have tried to take our democracy and turn it into a kleptocracy." Rapper
Lupe Fiasco Wasalu Muhammad Jaco (born February 16, 1982), better known by his stage name Lupe Fiasco ( ), is an American rapper, singer, record producer, and entrepreneur. He rose to fame in 2006 following the success of his debut album, ''Lupe Fiasco's ...
, one of the initial supporters of Occupy Wall Street, wrote a poem, "Moneyman", for the protest. Susan Sarandon spoke at the demonstration saying, "I came down here to educate myself. ... There's a huge void between the rich and the poor in this country." Actor and activist Mark Ruffalo has supported the Occupy Wall Street protest saying, "Peaceful Resistance. That is what changes the world. We must be peaceful. This movement is about decency." Jeff Mangum of Neutral Milk Hotel played a solo acoustic set for the protesters on October 4, and Tom Morello performed on October 13. Folk singer Pete Seeger led a group of several hundred protesters on a march through the streets on October 22, singing several songs, including " This Land Is Your Land" and " We Shall Overcome". Other musicians joining them included Arlo Guthrie,
Tao Rodríguez-Seeger Tao Rodríguez-Seeger (born 1972) is an American contemporary folk musician. A founder of The Mammals, he is the grandson of folk musician Pete Seeger. He plays banjo, guitar, harmonica and sings in English and Spanish. Biography Rodríguez-Seege ...
,
Tom Chapin Tom Chapin (born March 13, 1945) is an American musician, entertainer, singer-songwriter, and storyteller. Chapin is known for the song " Happy Birthday", released in 1989 in his ''Moonboat'' album. It takes its melody from "Love Unspoken", a so ...
, David Amram, and Guy Davis. On October 23, musicians Sean Lennon and Rufus Wainwright showed their support for the Occupy movement and played among a large crowd in Zuccotti Park. On October 25, international street artist Above completed a 255 foot long mural in Miami, Florida that read "Give a wall st. banker enough rope and he will hang himself" next to
Interstate 95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from U.S. Route 1, US Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Miami, Florida, to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between M ...
. The artist installed a controversial effigy that mimicked a 'wall st' banker hanging from a noose. On November 8, folk-rock singers David Crosby and Graham Nash appeared at Zuccotti Park to offer their support and sing to the occupiers. Three days later, on November 11, folk singer Joan Baez sang there as well. Many of the young protesters were not familiar with her songs and were unaware of her long history as an activist.


Wealthy supporters

Several wealthy supporters have joined the protest, and have started a blog, we stand with the 99 percent, in which they say, "I am the 1%. I stand with the 99%," and give their stories.Super-Wealthy Join Protesters on Wall Street
, By Rebecca Rothbaum, Wall Street Journal, October 20, 2011.
The granddaughter of oil tycoon
H. L. Hunt Haroldson Lafayette Hunt Jr. (February 17, 1889 – November 29, 1974) was an American oil tycoon. By trading poker winnings for oil rights according to legend, but more likely through money he gained from successful speculation in oil leases, he ...
, Leah Hunt-Hendrix, 28, was quoted as saying "We should acknowledge our privilege and claim the responsibilities that come with it." Farhad Ebrahimi, who received an inheritance as a teenager, has been participating in the Occupy Boston protest wearing a T-shirt that says, "Tax me. I'm good for it."
Russell Simmons Russell Wendell Simmons (born October 4, 1957) is an American entrepreneur, writer and record executive. He co-founded the hip-hop label Def Jam Recordings, and created the clothing fashion lines Phat Farm, Argyleculture, and Tantris. Simmons' ...
, hip-hop artist and successful businessman, has actively supported the OWS movement saying that he believes that it is his moral duty to do so. "You give what you get. I want to do what I can to relieve suffering and improve the quality of other's lives."


Police response

During the park occupation the New York City Police Department assigned Rick Lee, a First Precinct community relations detective, to duty at the demonstration. He acted as one of the main liaisons with the protesters on behalf of the police department, and advised protesters on such matters as avoiding arrest and getting along with police as well as attempting to get information of the protester's plans. As a plainclothes officer, he was referred to as the "hipster cop" for his attire consisting of glasses, cardigan sweaters, skinny ties and skinny trousers. Reaction to his presence was mixed. It was reported that Occupy Wall Street cost the New York City Police Department $17 million in overtime. According to a ''New York Times'' article, the dangers the camp posed to protesters and nearby residents was difficult to assess due to an informal divide that sprang up between who patrolled inside or outside of the park; while NYC police were stationed around the periphery, police "seem dto have ceded patrols of the park interior to protesters."


Criticism

Conservative criticism of OWS has sometimes been vitriolic, casting the demonstrators as a thoroughly marginal group. Andrew Hartman wrote in ''
The Chronicle Review ''The Chronicle of Higher Education'' is a newspaper and website that presents news, information, and jobs for college and university faculty and student affairs professionals (staff members and administrators). A subscription is required to rea ...
'' that "many conservatives and pundits view the Wall Street protesters as envious ingrates looking for government handouts because they fear responsibility."Occupy Wall Street: a New Culture War?
The Chronicle Review ''The Chronicle of Higher Education'' is a newspaper and website that presents news, information, and jobs for college and university faculty and student affairs professionals (staff members and administrators). A subscription is required to rea ...
November 12, 2011 By Andrew Hartman
Kate Zernike said in The New York Times that the Tea Party Patriots "portrayed Occupy protesters as freeloaders, or would-be freeloaders: 'Those occupying Wall Street and other cities, when they are intelligible, want less of what made America great and more of what is damaging to America: a bigger more powerful government to come in and take care of them so they don't have to work like the rest of us who pay our bills.'" Brian Montopoli, writing for
CBS News CBS News is the news division of the American television and radio service CBS. CBS News television programs include the ''CBS Evening News'', ''CBS Mornings'', news magazine programs '' CBS News Sunday Morning'', '' 60 Minutes'', and '' 48 H ...
said that "The conservative criticism of the Occupy Wall Street movement is that it is a "growing mob" (House majority leader Eric Cantor) of "shiftless protestors" (The Tea Party Express) engaged in "class warfare" (GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain) whose grievances - whatever they are - are far outside the political mainstream."Occupy Wall Street: More popular than you think
By Brian Montopoli October 13, 2011
Matthew Continetti, also writing for CBS, said that conservatives "dismiss the movement as a fringe collection of left tendencies, along with assorted homeless, mental cases, and petty criminals."The roots of American disorder
By
Matthew Continetti Matthew Joseph Continetti (born June 24, 1981) is an American journalist and a senior fellow in Social, Cultural, and Constitutional Studies at the American Enterprise Institute. Life and career Continetti was born in Alexandria, Virginia. He is ...
, CBS news November 22, 2011
"Conservatives ave tried todefine the Occupy protesters before the protesters define themselves." Ed Morrissey, writing in '' The Week'', insisted that the Occupy movement wants "seizures and redistributions, which necessarily means more bureaucracies, higher spending, and many more opportunities for collusion between authorities and moneyed interests in one way or another." Linda Colley said in '' The Guardian'', "A prime reason for he diffidence between Democratic and Republican responses to OWSis suggested by some of the Republican attacks on Occupy. The demonstrators were "mobs", said Eric Cantor, the House minority leader. Occupy was waging "class warfare", claimed Mitt Romney, an accusation some Republicans also level at Obama. But it was a rival of Romney for the Republican nomination, Herman Cain, who voiced the criticism Democrats and demonstrators here fear most. Occupy, and those backing it, according to Cain, are "anti-American"." Douglas Rushkoff, in a special to CNN said that "Like the spokesmen for Arab dictators feigning bewilderment over protesters' demands, mainstream television news reporters finally training their attention on the growing Occupy Wall Street protest movement seem determined to cast it as the random, silly blather of an ungrateful and lazy generation of weirdos. They couldn't be more wrong and, as time will tell, may eventually be forced to accept the inevitability of their own obsolescence." On October 5, 2011, conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh told his listening audience: "When I was 10 years old I was more self-sufficient than this parade of human debris calling itself Occupy Wall Street."''Forbes''
Occupy Wall Street: No Whining!
November 3, 2011. Accessed September 21, 2013.
Glenn Beck Glenn Lee Beck (born February 10, 1964) is an American conservative political commentator, radio host, entrepreneur, and television producer. He is the CEO, founder, and owner of Mercury Radio Arts, the parent company of his television and rad ...
said on his internet television network GBTV, "Capitalists, if you think that you can play footsies with these people, you are wrong. They will come for you and drag you into the streets and kill you. They will do it. They're not messing around."Glenn Beck: Protestors ‘Will Come For You, Drag You Into The Streets, And Kill You’
by Jon Bershad
Newt Gingrich Newton Leroy Gingrich (; né McPherson; born June 17, 1943) is an American politician and author who served as the 50th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999. A member of the Republican Party, he was the U ...
said, "All the Occupy movements starts with the premise that we all owe them everything. Now, that is a pretty good symptom of how much the left has collapsed as a moral system in this country and why you need to reassert something as simple as saying to them, go get a job right after you take a bath."Gingrich Takes GOP Lead, Takes On 'Occupy'
National Public Radio transcript November 21, 2011
Religion on display in Republican debate
by Anna Fifield in the Financial Times, November 20, 2011
Rick Santorum also told the protesters to get jobs. A group of bloggers, led by political commentator Erick Erickson, organized a website criticizing the movement entitled "We Are the 53%," referring to the 53% of Americans who earn enough income to pay federal income taxes. An opinion piece by CBS contributor Jim Edwards, comparing the We are the 99% blog to the 53% blog, commented that "once you've looked at both blogs, the impression you come away with is that the recession is as devastating to conservatives as it is to liberals, but that conservatives regard their misfortunes as their own fault whereas the liberals see structural forces at work -- lack of health insurance, student loans -- that they cannot overcome."


Popular culture references

CNBC correspondent Jane Wells reported that the Occupy Wall Street movement sparked parodies which connect the movement to pop culture icons from ''
Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...
'' and '' The Lord of the Rings'' and others. An image of Luke Skywalker holding a protest sign was published: "It wasn't glamorous but I had a steady living working on my uncle's moisture farm ... my aunt and uncle were unjustly murdered and the farm destroyed. I was forced to leave my home and join an extinct cult just to survive. I am now a member of an upstart movement to take down a greedy corrupt establishment. I AM THE 99%." Skywalker's enemies, the Imperial Storm Troopers, joined the protest on another image circulating on the Internet holding signs: "End Galactic Corporate Greed", "Get Our Troops Off Tatooine" and "Keep Your Empirical Hands Off My Healthcare". Parodies relating to Middle Earth include a woman who had written her complaint in Elvish, allegedly translated: "I spend every waking hour fighting Orcs while Elrond and Galadriel eat lembas bread all day. I am the 99%." Other parodies include Occupy Narnia and Occupy Sesame Street. Occupy Sesame Street went viral and, following violent encounters between NYPD and the protesters, Tumblr posted pictures of Elmo arrested, Grover restrained, and
Count von Count Count von Count (known simply as the Count) is a Muppet character on the PBS/HBO children's television show ''Sesame Street.'' He is meant to parody Bela Lugosi's portrayal of Count Dracula. He first appeared on the show in the Season 4 premiere ...
pepper-sprayed. Occupy Wall Street and its related protests were satirized in the ''
South Park ''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boys Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand th ...
'' episode "1%", which aired on November 2, 2011. Remy Munasifi wrote and sang a song called "Occupy Wall Street Protest Song", which criticized the protestors for not understanding, in his opinion, how well off they are. According to AFP, the song went
viral Viral means "relating to viruses" (small infectious agents). Viral may also refer to: Viral behavior, or virality Memetic behavior likened that of a virus, for example: * Viral marketing, the use of existing social networks to spread a marke ...
in early October. Popular culture images are also employed by protesters to make statements. For example, Guy Fawkes masks from the graphic novel '' V for Vendetta'' (and the feature film of the same name) are worn by protesters in New York and around the world as visual symbols of resistance against corporate greed. Despite Rush Limbaugh's claims about '' The Dark Knight Rises'' being a critique of
Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American politician, businessman, and lawyer serving as the junior United States senator from Utah since January 2019, succeeding Orrin Hatch. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusetts f ...
, the film was also analogous to Occupy Wall Street. The film was inspired by Darth Vader in the characterization of its villain Bane, who had significantly deviated from the
source material A source text is a text (sometimes oral) from which information or ideas are derived. In translation, a source text is the original text that is to be translated into another language. Description In historiography, distinctions are commonly m ...
, similarly to other characters of Christopher Nolan's trilogy about
Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...
. In addition, the film was released in the same year when Romney was
campaigning Campaign or The Campaign may refer to: Types of campaigns * Campaign, in agriculture, the period during which sugar beets are harvested and processed *Advertising campaign, a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme *Bli ...
for the
presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The pre ...
, with Bain Capital, a company where Romney was extensively involved as a co-founder, had presumably influenced Bane as the film's main antagonist. Batman's consistent comparisons to Darth Vader could connect Bane to
Palpatine Sheev Palpatine, also known by his Sith name Darth Sidious, is a fictional Character (arts), character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise created by George Lucas. Initially credited as the Emperor in the original trilogy films, ''The Empire Strikes ...
, who was a politician seeking power like Romney while actor Liam Neeson had portrayed the mentors of both Darth Vader and Batman, specifically Qui-Gon Jinn in '' The Phantom Menace'' and Ra's al Ghul in '' Batman Begins'', respectively.


Music videos

On October 26, 2011, the first video setting footage of Occupy Wall Street to the song
Love, That's America "Love, That's America" is a song written by Melvin Van Peebles in 1970 for his film '' Watermelon Man''. He re-recorded it for his 1971 album ''As Serious as a Heart-Attack''. In 2011, the song became associated with the Occupy Wall Street movemen ...
by Melvin Van Peebles was uploaded to YouTube. In an interview with Van Peebles several weeks later, he discussed the song going viral. Turkish newspaper Radikal described the song as becoming the surprising unofficial anthem of the movement. On January 17, 2012, Van Peebles performed at the
Players' Club The Players (often inaccurately called The Players Club) is a private social club founded in New York City by the noted 19th-century Shakespearean actor Edwin Booth. In 1888, Booth purchased an 1847 mansion at 16 Gramercy Park, reserved an ...
to honor the fact that the song has become a theme for the Occupy Wall Street movement. On February 22, 2012, Van Peebles commented further, "''When I found out that the song had been co-opted by Occupy Wall Street, my jaw dropped. It went viral online. People were remixing it and mashing it up with videos from the protests. The time I wrote it was a time of social upheaval — the Stonewall Riots had just happened. Forty years later, the same thing was going down in the streets of New York City.''"


See also

Occupy articles *
List of Occupy movement topics This is a list of Occupy movement topics on Wikipedia. The Occupy movement is the international branch of the Occupy Wall Street Social movement, movement that protests against social inequality, social and economic inequality around the world, it ...
*
List of Occupy movement protest locations The Occupy Wall Street protests, which started in 2011, inspired a wide international response. There have been hundreds of Occupy movement protests worldwide over time, intended and organized as non-violent protest against the wealthy, as well ...
*
The People's Library The People's Library, also known as Fort Patti or the Occupy Wall Street Library (OWS Library), was a library founded in September 2011 by Occupy Wall Street protesters in lower Manhattan's Zuccotti Park located in the Financial District of New ...
* Occupy Our Homes Other U.S. protests * Bonus army 1932 *
Poor People's Campaign The Poor People's Campaign, or Poor People's March on Washington, was a 1968 effort to gain economic justice for poor people in the United States. It was organized by Martin Luther King Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCL ...
1968 * 1971 May Day Protests *
2011 United States public employee protests In February 2011, a series of public employee protests began in the United States against proposed legislation which would weaken the power of labor unions. By March, eighteen states had proposed legislation which would remove some collective barg ...
*
2011 Wisconsin protests Eleven or 11 may refer to: *11 (number), the natural number following 10 and preceding 12 * one of the years 11 BC, AD 11, 1911, 2011, or any year ending in 11 Literature * ''Eleven'' (novel), a 2006 novel by British author David Llewellyn *''El ...
International *
Impact of the Arab Spring The impact of the Arab Spring concerns protests or by the way attempts to organize growing protest movements that were inspired by or similar to the Arab Spring in the Arab-majority states of North Africa and the Middle East, according to commen ...
*
2010–2011 Greek protests The anti-austerity movement in Greece involved a series of demonstrations and general strikes that took place across the country. The events, which began on 5 May 2010, were provoked by plans to cut public spending and raise taxes as austeri ...
*
15 October 2011 global protests The 15 October 2011 global protests were part of a series of protests inspired by the Arab Spring, the Icelandic protests, the Portuguese "Geração à Rasca", the Spanish "Indignants", the Greek protests, and the Occupy movement. The protes ...
Related articles *
Bank Transfer Day Bank Transfer Day was a consumer activism initiative calling for a voluntary switch from commercial banks to not-for-profit credit unions by November 5, 2011. As of October 15, 2011, a Facebook page devoted to the effort had drawn more than 54,900 ...
* Corporatocracy *
Corruption Perceptions Index The Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) is an index which ranks countries "by their perceived levels of public sector corruption, as determined by expert assessments and opinion surveys." The CPI generally defines corruption as an "abuse of entru ...
* Empowered democracy * Grassroots movement * List of countries by income equality *
List of countries by inequality-adjusted HDI This is a list of countries by inequality-adjusted Human Development Index (IHDI), as published by the UNDP in its 2022 Human Development Report. According to the 2016 Report, "The IHDI can be interpreted as the level of human development when in ...
* Plutocracy * Selected Historical income tax rates in the U.S. (1913–2010) * Social peer-to-peer processes * '' The One Percent''documentary about the growing wealth gap between America's wealthy elite compared to the overall citizenry * Wealth inequality in the United States


References


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Occupy Wall Street * Occupy movement in the United States 2011 politics in New York (state) Protests in the United States Reactions to Occupy Wall Street