Occupy Everywhere!

By now, most people have heard of the Occupy Wall Street movement. But it’s spreading like wildfire, across the country and across the globe. There’s even an Occupy Syracuse encampment, with plans of staying in the city’s downtown Perseverance Park for as long as necessary. Not since the 60s has our nation seen such a powerful movement spread so quickly to towns and villages. But unlike the 60s, this movement is multi-generational - it transcends ages, races, and religions. Basically, like so many other things in life, it comes down to money. The 99 percent of Americans who do the grunt work for the top 1 percent are fed up, with good reason.

According to the American Federation of Labor, the average American CEO of a large company received $11.4 million in total compensation in 2010. American CEOs made about 343 times more than their workers’ median pay last year. Meanwhile, the average median household income has fallen over $3,700 in the past decade. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate hit 9.1 percent in August.

Of course, factories have been closing and jobs have been outsourced, but despite these challenges, the top one percent has maintained its financial security. As the middle and lower classes faced tax hikes and rising unemployment, the 1 percent was hardly affected. Through various methods of sheltering their wealth (including shady trusts and stock contracts), the 1 percent has successfully avoided millions of federal taxes - just take a look at Ronald S. Lauder (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/27/business/estee-lauder-heirs-tax-strategies-typify-advantages-for-wealthy.html)
This is the cause of the class warfare that has become synonymous with the Occupy movement.

I commend the occupiers. It’s about time. The working class needs a voice, and out of this movement comes a strong voice, a loud message. We are the 99 percent, and we will not stop until we are heard by the 1 percent.

Recently, the police have been clashing with protesters, most notably in Oakland, Calif. But despite these sometimes-violent conflicts, protesters have shown their resilience, coming back after arrests, police raids of the encampments, and police violence against protesters. Other hotspots of protester-police conflict are Denver, Philadelphia, and Portland, Ore., where other allegations of police brutality have been made. Even the press has complained about police behavior. On Nov. 21, 13 different news organizations in New York sent a letter to the New York Police Department about the problems reporters encountered on Nov. 15 as they tried to cover the movement’s forced eviction from Zuccotti Park.

Perhaps because of the conflicts faced in cities, the movement seems to be shifting to college campuses. This is a smart idea; those most likely to support the movement are the ones who will face thousands of dollars in loans and a bleak job market after graduation. Tamara Draut makes a convincing argument for occupying colleges in ”The Nation”. However, there can be pitfalls - Harvard’s occupation was ridiculed when it proved too exclusive, requiring Harvard IDs and closing off Harvard Yard’s gates to outsiders.

Some of the most notable college protests have been taking place in California, where certain campuses have been dealing with police brutality issues. At University of California, Davis, two police officers have been placed on administrative leave after they used pepper spray on seated protesters. According to the New York Times, “when sprayed in someone’s face, it causes an intense burning sensation of the eyes, resulting in temporary blindness, and restricts breathing, induces coughing and leaves the person at least temporarily incapacitated.” The incident was captured on video and uploaded to the Internet, where it circulated and then morphed into a meme. Thanks to the various visual spinoffs that have emerged online, awareness and support for the UC Davis students has increased dramatically.

A recent graduate of Jamesville-DeWitt High School knows about the power of the Occupy movement firsthand. Katie Murphy, now a freshman at Nazareth College in Rochester, was arrested and spent the night in jail for her occupation of a public park, considered trespassing (a ticketable violation). “The Occupy movement in Rochester was looking to occupy a public park as a 24 hour presence; however when they sought permission to, they were informed that the public park ‘closes’ at 11 p.m. and they would be arrested if they were there any later,” she said in a written statement. On the evening of Nov. 2, Murphy volunteered to risk arrest by remaining in the park peacefully. “At midnight, when the police came, they warned everyone that they needed to leave the park. At this point, the hundred or so who were not willing to risk arrest stood on the sidewalk while 14 of us remained in the park, sitting quietly on the steps of the statue in the center of the park,” said Murphy. “The police came up to me, told me that they could either escort me to the sidewalk or they'd be forced to arrest me and I said ‘I'd like to stay in the park, please.’ At this point, they asked me to stand and I peacefully stood, was handcuffed, and walked to the wagon. As I went by the sidewalk with the protesters, they were chanting ‘Katie, We love you.’” Murphy spent the night in jail and was released the next day by a judge at approximately noon.

That’s right, J-DHS students. One of our own recent graduates has joined the ranks of the Occupy movement, willing to risk a blemished record for the cause. The New York Times has a grid charting the opinions of its readers about the Occupy movement, and there seems to be overwhelming support. New York Times columnist Paul Krugman even says that the 99 percent to one percent ratio is an underestimate - it’s really more like 99.9 percent to .1 percent. The week of Nov. 14, the Occupy movement accounted for 13 percent of all news coverage, according to the Pew Research Center.

If you haven’t taken notice of the movement yet, now is the time. This is the place. This is a call to action. Occupy J-DHS; occupy everywhere!

For more information about the Occupy movement’s purpose, see this video: http://www.thenation.com/blog/164301/what-occupy-wall-street-about