I write these words to you far after the wake of your movement has subsided, nine years later to be exact, as a means of reflection. The movement as you know it may have ended, but the idea has not. People are just as fed up with the 1%’s domination now as ever. I still see the effects of the Occupy movement to this day, and I haven’t forgotten the economic injustice that continues to plague this country.

I would identify as a part of “the 99%”, the majority of the country that makes up a minority of the wealth in comparison to the 1%. This disparity is the basis for your entire movement, but you don’t need me to tell you that.

  People often criticize your movement to occupy wall street as being too unorganized and lacking a central goal. There has always been the consensus of “dismantle the 1%. We are the majority and we deserve to live comfortably”, but a strong solution to this problem that everyone rallies behind is something I haven’t seen from your movement. The effects of the Occupy movement cannot be understated, as they are still felt by many people today. Expressing anguish about the domination of the 1% over the economy is still a hot topic. This is a big factor in why so many people (especially those of the younger generations like the Millenials and Gen Z) support Bernie Sanders. He speaks for the 99% in their desire to even out the economy, and tip the economic scales away from the abnormally rich 1%. Michael Levitin pointed out in his article on the aftereffects of the Occupy movement that “Inequality and the wealth gap are now core tenets of the Democratic platform, providing a frame for other measurable gains spurred by Occupy” (Levitin 2015). Although the Occupy Wall Street movement itself didn’t yield sufficient results as people hoped, it did have tremendous cascading consequences that influenced events not just in America, but around the globe. Although the movement didn’t necessarily solve the issue it was addressing, it addressed it nonetheless, and that was enough. It kickstarted the conversation about economic inequality in America into overdrive. It foreshadowed a decade of economic and political unrest that has come to a crescendo today, in the very start of the next one.

Something I’ve noticed since the Occupy Wall Street movement broke out is its effect on how we approach protests in the present day, and how the movement has affected protest art. Your movement, people of Occupy Wall Street, wholly embodied that fervor, anger, and rage that many of the younger generations feel. It had a heavy sense of anarchy to it that is easy to get behind, and the same feeling is present in modern-day protests of which I have been a participant. The art of the movement reflected this as well. Art sprayed on walls and printed on posters was harsh, aggressive, anarchical. There was heavy use of the infamous Guy Fawkes mask, which only made it even more famous. The art of the movement effectively reflected the oppressive feeling that you all felt. 

The biggest thing I’ve taken away from the Occupy Wall Street movement is its use of the increased interconnectivity of the modern-day by means of social media sites like Twitter and Facebook. Instead of having one organization that everyone would have to rally behind, you all had networks. There were networks of people “both strengthened through social media and activated by social media” (Calhoun 2013). It showed the power of the internet in its ability to bring people together. It allowed people of different beliefs and backgrounds to connect with the movement in many different ways. Due to the internet, and social media specifically, being a relatively new concept in the grand scheme of things, the Occupy movement was the catalyst for our present-day sense of connectivity, unity, and power. The Occupy movement showed us how much power we truly have as a connected network of people.

2012

1a. Rationale: While this song isn’t necessarily about anti capitalism specifically, it wholly embodies the spirit of anti-government/being ashamed of America. It’s a powerful protest song that gives off an intoxicating sense of revolution. It fits right in line with other 60’s folk songs, and reminds me a lot of the famous, anti-establishment centered Bob Dyland records. I picked this song because it feels very powerful to me. It makes me want to take to the streets and revolt. This makes it a great song to put in a playlist with the Occupy movement.

2. Song #2: M.I.A., Paper Planes, 2008, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewRjZoRtu0Y&feature=emb_title

2a. Rationale: The themes of this song deal heavily in American capitalism and consumer culture. It’s a super fun song that gets you excited and wanting to party, which reflects the glorification of consumerism and violence that the song represents. It’s honestly a great anthem for revolution that has a tone which juxtaposes the revolutionary aesthetic in a cool way.

3. Song #3: The Times They Are A-Changin’, Bob Dylan, 1964, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90WD_ats6eE

3a. Rationale: This is a relatively obvious pick and cliche pick, but that doesn’t make it any less effective of a protest song. Due to the ambiguity of the lyrics, The Times They Are A-Changin’ is a timeless song (somewhat ironic given the title). It speaks for anyone anguished by any kind of government institutions, and it has that powerful, folksy brooding energy that gets the people going.

4. Song #4: Jump Into The Fire (LCD Soundsystem) Cover, Harry Nilsson, covered by LCD Soundsystem, 2011, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUzYu5GPBM8

4a. Rationale: This song is pretty ambiguous in its lyrical meaning, but I think it can easily be applied to any kind of revolution. He repeats throughout the song, “You can climb a mountain, you can swim the sea, You can jump into the fire, but you'll never be free”. This could be viewed as deterring the act of revolution, stating that they’ll “never be free”, but I think that’s exactly what is motivating about the song. It has this air of “we have this person telling us we won’t be free, let’s take that and use it to empower ourselves”. This feeling is supported by the gradual lurking in of synths and the rest of the band in the background, crescendoing into a full blown screaming jam session. It’s as if the song is screaming for the people, and has always instilled in me a sense of wanting to jump out of my seat and rock out. I chose this version of the song specifically because it has far more energy than the original, and is clearly designed to be a fiery, rock banger.

5. Song #5: Dirt And Grime, Father’s Children, 2011, 

5a. Rationale: This song, broadly, is about the struggle of a people and their desire for betterment or liberation. A common theme among my selections for this playlist was the energy. There’s a certain ratio of brooding/intenseness that makes up a protest song. Dirt And Grime has that immediately ominous and nasty feel to it, and as the singers come in saying “Dirt and grime, and filth and slime, The story of my lifetime”, it has this slow and nasty groove that can’t help but make you move. It sounds like the kind of music you’d put over a slow motion montage of protest footage. It sounds like people slumping out of the mud and shaking the dirt off themselves, ready to revolt, which is what the title of the song allues to. 

Gillham, Patrick F., et al. “The Mobilizing Effects of Economic Threats and Resources on the Formation of Local Occupy Wall Street Protest Groups in 2011.” Sociological Perspectives, vol. 62, no. 4, Aug. 2019, pp. 433–454. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1177/0731121418817249.

This is a very solid source as it pertains to my topic. It explains the history of the movement well. It also explains a lot of the nuances going on before, during, and after the movement. It goes into which countries the Occupy movement were more likely to pop up in and why. It discusses many of the economic nuances that are the reason for the movement.

This is a good source for the history of the movement, so I’ll most likely use it for general knowledge. It does provide some deeper analysis of the Occupy Wall Street movement than some of my other sources, so I can use this for a little bit of a deeper understanding of the movement.

2.

Calhoun, Craig (2013) Occupy Wall Street in perspective. British journal of sociology, 64 (1). pp. 26-38. ISSN 0007-1315

This journal article is an extensive overview of the Occupy Wall Street movement. Author Craig Calhoun addresses five major points of the movement. First is how the Occupy Wall Street movement is a part of  “an international wave of mobilization”. The second is that Wall Street helped define and limit the movement. Third relates to the police and media. Fourth discusses how Wall Street was “the first mobilization that focused clearly on financial apparatuses that caused the crisis”. And lastly, Calhoun discusses how Wall Street was more of a dramatic performance than a movement.

I’m using this article as my main source of history on the Occupy Wall Street movement. It has just about all the info I need to know about the movement, and provides a clear and accurate description that is easy to follow and understand.

3. 

Conover MD, Ferrara E, Menczer F, Flammini A (2013) The Digital Evolution of Occupy Wall Street. PLoS ONE 8(5): e64679. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0064679

This article provides an analysis of how the rise of the digital age and the increased connectivity of people due to the internet has impacted the Occupy Wall Street movement. They examined Twitter and studied how “Occupy participant engagement, interests, and social connectivity” changed over a period of fifteen months. It found that while being active in the months during the movement, the participants' activity regarding the movement started to wane heavily in the months afterwards. 

I can use this source in my letter when discussing the fallout of the movement, and how it’s been viewed in the present day. This article is particularly relevant to me since I use twitter, instagram, and other social media, and would use these to participate in the movement if it were happening today.

4.

 Patrick F. Gillham, Bob Edwards & John A. Noakes (2013) Strategic incapacitation and the policing of Occupy Wall Street protests in New York City, 2011, Policing and Society, 23:1, 81-102, DOI: 10.1080/10439463.2012.727607

This article discusses the tactics used by protesters in the Occupy Wall Street movement. It discusses “strategic incapacitation”, which is a strategy the police use to suppress and attempt to govern protesters. The research in this article “seeks to better understand the implementation of strategic incapacitation tactics through a detailed analysis of the policing of the first 2 months of Occupy Wall Street”. It looks at interviews from participants of the movement, posts by participants on Twitter and Facebook, news reports, police reports, and other sources for its data.

I can use this source to look at the police and government response to the Occupy Wall Street movement. I’ll probably bring it up in my letter and use it to discuss the interaction I’ve seen between participants of the movement and the police.

5.

Levitin, Michael. “The Triumph of Occupy Wall Street.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 11 June 2015, www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/06/the-triumph-of-occupy-wall-street/395408/. 

This article discusses the noticeable present day fallout of the Occupy Wall Street movement. It talks about the 2016 election and how the platforms for both Bernie Sanders and Hilary Clinton addressed the same arguments that were central to the Occupy movement. It then dials back and goes into some history of the Occupy movement and why it’s relevant in the present day and in the 2016 election. It discuss things like oil companies, the student debt crisis, and how the Occupy movement has changed the Democratic party.

I can use this article to discuss a specific reason why the Occupy movement is still relevant in the present day. I’ll most likely discuss the part about how the movement pertains to Bernie Sanders and its effects on the Democratic party.