News and Society

Last year on September 17th about 1,000 people set up camp in Zuccotti Park to express their frustration with the system they believed broke the promise of the American dream. The people who joined this protest and those who expanded it to other cities captured the attention of the media, academics and Congress, causing them to wait with bated breath to see what this new movement would do. However, almost a year later, the mainstream media considers Occupy to have fizzled out. The question now is, "is Occupy dead?" I believe that the answer is "no."

The media claims that Occupy failed because there was no underlying message, so when authorities tore the encampments down, the movement also collapsed (1). However, even though the original protestors had different reasons for converging on Wall Street, they seemed to agree that the place that once symbolized the ideals of class mobility and equality of opportunity had come to represent the source of their destruction. Occupy became a platform for the "99%" to voice their discontent with (among other things) the lack of jobs for those who desperately wanted them, the corporate influence on politics, and the unfair compensation of members of the "1%." The tents that the protestors erected symbolized their reclaiming of property that was intended to be for the people whose labor created it - not for those who bought it. The encampments reflected the shared belief among the protesters that there was something deeply wrong with the United States (2).

The media latched onto Occupy because it was theatrical and, therefore, filmable; however, when the authorities across the country dismantled the encampments, the news stations lost their ability to record the story of the new movement. It is fairly simple to document a movement when it is in almost every state and is doing something "newsworthy" such as violating ordinances and societal norms by setting up encampments in parks and other public areas. But when that movement's physical expression is mostly gone and only the ideas remain, the mainstream cameras can no longer capture it (2).

So where does Occupy stand? The mainstream media has judged Occupy's success by comparing it to the Arab Spring and, by those standards, has determined it has failed. However, because the issues that gave Occupy shape and energy still exist, it follows that this new movement is not dead but, instead, changing or solidifying its form (1). Last fall, Occupy created its political shape and gained support by using Facebook, Tumblr and Twitter. Much like in the Arab Spring, the Internet served an important role in creating the messages of Occupy. But unlike the Arab Spring, the goals of Occupy were never to tear down the existing government and start from scratch; instead, the objectives were to change the existing system. The standard for comparison of these two movements is erroneous, and the use of this standard has led people to conclude that Occupy has failed.

There are at least three differences between the movements. The media has pointed to economic disparity as a triggering factor for both Occupy and the Arab Spring; however the inequality of wealth in the US has not risen to the level of that which ignited the Arab Spring. Another difference is that Occupy protesters had a constitutional right to voice their concerns, whereas the "rebels" in the Arab Spring did not. In addition, Occupy protesters were able to set up tents and document it on their smartphones in comparative safety while the Arab Spring protesters were being killed by the thousands by their own governments for daring to demand the liberties that the Occupiers enjoyed (2). The differences do not diminish the significance of Occupy, but they do explain why, when comparing these two movements, the media has concluded that Occupy failed. In short, Occupy did not produce the immediate headlines seen in the Arab Spring.

The issue is that some people do not recognize that although these movements occurred around the same time, they were caused by different factors, occurred in different political environments and, therefore, will behave differently. Occupy is, in some ways, more complicated than the Arab Spring because it is more difficult to determine, and agree upon, what about the US needs to change. Because various groups that compose Occupy have different goals, it will take time for a primary goal to emerge around which the entire movement can rally. Furthermore, because this movement seeks to reform the current government as opposed to replace it with an entirely new system, the change will take place over a longer period of time.

In order to discover its unifying message as well as the best way to achieve its central goal, Occupy would do best to return to where it garnered most of its support: the Internet. If Occupiers brought their concerns, goals and proposed courses of action to the Internet, there would be a process of natural selection where the strongest and most persuasive ideas would survive and evolve. The benefit of returning to forums and social media sites would be that people would be forced to work together to create and objectively evaluate goals and plans. Instead of the loudest or most well connected people's beliefs gaining sway, the ideas would be evaluated on their merits. The lack of tangible action that would occur during this time of discussion would be worth the result of having a well-articulated message that would set out clear objectives as well as tactics for achieving them.

Journalists and academics have criticized Occupy for not having a central message; however the inclusive nature of this new movement has also been what has drawn many to it. Selecting the strongest ideas would result in less favored ones falling by the wayside, potentially causing some people to leave the movement. Nevertheless, the benefit of having a clear direction and purpose would outweigh any loss in participation; and it is likely that if Occupy were to have a strong message, more people would become involved, bringing to it additional momentum and resources.

This lull in mainstream activity is not a sign that Occupy is dead, but more likely that it is incubating on the Internet in social media sites, forums and discussion groups, preparing to manifest in a stronger and more focused form.

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