POVERTY AND THE OCCUPY MOVEMENT

By: Sirak Tewolde

BIO

18 years old.

From Springfield, Va.

Middle child with an older and younger sister.

Currently undeclared, weighing options.

Love to play tennis.

INTRODUCTION

All started with The Great Recession in 2008.

Led to 50 million Americans (16%) who were living in poverty.

Unemployment peaked at 10% in October 2009.

THE OCCUPY MOVEMENT

Began in September 2011 with protests being held in New York City’s Zuccotti Park.

Men and women gathered to fight against social and economic inequality in peaceful protests

By October 9th, 70 major cities in the U.S. were holding demonstrations and protests, getting their voices heard.

DOWNFALL OF THE OCCUPY MOVEMENT

Mayor Bloomberg of New York City called for Zuccotti park to be evacuated in November 2011, thus ending the stand on Wall Street.

The movement began to lose its fray, and the groups around the U.S. began to dissemble due to police force and on their own terms.

The last remaining major city to hold any protests was Washington D.C., which held their last one in February 2012.

Was never able to fully flourish and have a huge impact.

CLAIM

The 99% who supported the Occupy Movement in 2011 were faced

with several limitations, and could have had a better and longer

impact if it occurred in our society today.

CURRENT TIMES

Poverty in the U.S. is currently at 14.5%.

The 1% currently make nearly $400,000 on average.

Unemployment rate is currently at 5.8%.

SOCIAL MEDIA

Social Media was used to spread the movement back in 2011.

Social Media sites currently hold roughly 1.8 billion users across platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. Nearly double than 2011.

Would be easier to spread the word to more people online.

Create something similar to the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge by starting a trend that will attract and spread quickly.

CONCLUSION

Although the Occupy Movement did not fully succeed in its 2011

campaign, the use of outlets like social media would help it gain

popularity and allow the movement to have more of an impact in

changing the inequality gap.

WORKS CITED

1. Gamson, William A. “The #Occupy Movement: An Introduction.” The Sociological Quarterly, 27 March 2013. Web. 17 Nov. 2014.

2. Packer, George. “All the Angry People.” The New Yorker, 5 Dec. 2011. Web. 16 Nov. 2014.

3. Mason, Susan E. “The Occupy Movement and Social Justice Economics” Families in Society, 4 Feb. 2013. Web. 17 Nov. 2014

4. Aguirre, Abby. “Accounts Payable” The New Yorker, 19 Dec. 2011. Web. 15 Nov. 2014.

5. Hertzberg, Hendrik. “Occupational Hazards” The New Yorker, 7 Nov. 2011. Web. 15 Nov. 2014.