6 months later, what has Occupy protest achieved?

[cory777]

Source: Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — As spring approaches, Occupy Wall Street protesters who mostly hibernated all winter are beginning to stir with plans for renewed demonstrations six months after the movement was born.

The global protests against corporate excess and economic inequality are generally thought to have begun Sept. 17 when tents sprang up in a small granite plaza in lower Manhattan. The movement has lost steam in recent months, with media attention and donations dropping off as Occupy encampments across the country were dismantled, some by force.

On March 7, the finance accounting group in New York City reported that just about $119,000 remained in Occupy's bank account — the equivalent of about two weeks' worth of expenses.

The Occupy movement has influenced the national dialogue about economic equality, with the word "occupy" itself becoming part of the public lexicon. In his third State of the Union address, President Barack Obama issued a populist call for income equality that echoed the movement's message. But has anything really changed in the past six months?

Read more: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5i5rPrcr_5rbi4EaDPkWfHsFp1RLA?docId=a555df96c9124839a357b6e633740527

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[msongs]

1. obama and dems are no longer caving in to repubs on deficit reduction lol nt

[CAPHAVOC]

12. It is getting even worse under Obama.

The top .01% are stealing all the money.

[saras]

25. That's not a change, that's a long-term trend. Obama hasn't STOPPED it, true, but...

I think you just didn't notice the first bunch they stole. I lost a culture in the Eighties, when Reaganism killed America, and after that they've just been pulling the copper pipe and wire out of the still-smoldering ruins. I guess if they just got to your corner of the basement it might look like they just started stealing stuff.

[CAPHAVOC]

31. The Reagan,Bush,Clinton,Bush,Obama,

.01% Ripoff? This is bad.

[joshcryer]

30. Heheh, Obama backtracked on a campaign promise!?

Not really, he did what he said he'd do.

[Hissyspit]

2. "The Occupy movement has influenced the national dialogue about economic equality, with the word

The Occupy movement has influenced the national dialogue about economic equality, with the word "occupy" itself becoming part of the public lexicon. In his third State of the Union address, President Barack Obama issued a populist call for income equality that echoed the movement's message. But has anything really changed in the past six months?

Yeah, those things REALLY changed. Duh.

A lot of the American public got to see the 1% police state in action, as well. Quite a learning experience.

[FirstLight]

3. +a brazillion!

Not ENOUGH has changed!... as the rains stop and the sun comes out...we will be back stronger!
I am waiting for more, we have to get this thing turned around, I can;t wait for the weather to stop here locally, and see the stirrings...

[napoleon_in_rags]

4. A fire in the hearts of men.

All this kind of action has consequences on the public mind, it changes how we see the world. Whether that's easily quantifiable or not is another question, but the effect is always there.

[Syrinx]

5. Who controls Occupy's bank account?

Adbusters?

[nxylas]

10. George Soros

He controls everything, that evil, evil Jew

(Edit: on reflection, that post could be read as my accusing Syrinx of anti-semitism. That wasn't my intention, though I think playing up the Adbusters connection unwittingly plays into the Soros conspiracy narrative that I do believe is rooted in anti-semitism).

[Syrinx]

11. What the fuck are you talking about?

I didn't say a fucking word about George Soros, nor about any other living or dead person.

I simply asked an obvious question. Who controls the bank account for a leaderless, bottom-up protest movement, that supposedly has a hundred grand in the bank.

I didn't say a word about "Jews" or a "Soros conspiracy." I think the "Soros" conspiracy people belong tin the same pile as the "Saul Alinsky" people.

Your post doesn't indicate an edit. (EDIT: So NOW you edit,) Therefore, I must conclude it was pre-meditated. You intended to accuse me of "anti-Semitism" all along. I have no idea why. I don't have any history of hating, or even disliking, Jews.

I simply asked who controls the Occupy bank account. I applaud Soros for the help he has provided the progressive movement, which I think has been vastly over-estimated by Fox News and Glenn Beck.

Perhaps you disagree. But I didn't say anything like you accused me of.

[Brettongarcia]

15. "Occupy" probably had some VERY limited operating monies; very small contributions

Obivously though? They were working on less than a shoestring. Sleeping on steps at night? Lots of street people and student activists?

No one should get the idea there's a Big Money scheme behind THIS one.

A few hundred thousand dollars? Behind ... a nationwide movement with a hundred thousand participants? That would work out to maybe a dollar apiece for each of them. Or less.

About enough for a cup of coffee. Or half a cup.

[nxylas]

16. Whenever I see people talking about the Adbusters connection to Occupy...

...the words "Soros-funded" are usually not far behind. Again, I don't believe it was your intent to ally yourself with the "Soros is behind everything" brigade. I was taking a pop at them, not you.

[starroute]

28. I don't believe anyone "controls" it in that sense

I haven't been following it closely, but anything I've seen indicates that disbursements have to be approved by the General Assembly and that all income and expenses are posted publicly in accordance with strict principles of transparency.

This might not be the best possible system if you're concerned with budgeting and planning ahead for contingencies, but it's totally in keeping with the spirit of Occupy.

[Brettongarcia]

6. The occupiers managed to dramatize the people's cause. And make billionaires, the 1%, an issue

In fact? Particularly if Mitt Romney becomes the Republican candidate? We see this issue framing up nicely against, specifically, Mitt Romney. The rich, spoiled son, of a rich man; son of a major corporate head and Governor. Who himself only understands the life of the rich: the life of Bain Capital.

[cosmicone]

7. Occupy movement caused damage to the progressive causes

It was well-intentioned, but hijacked by anarchists and random thugs.

"occupy oakland" and "occupy San Francisco" etc. were stupid. Why occupy bastions of liberal thought and cause their citizens excessive costs for police and fire?

If the movement had targeted conservative lawmakers and the wall street bankers exclusively, it would have had far more credibility.

[patrick t. cakes]

9. Occupy was created by anarchist

(i.e. most people)

and as far as "bastions of liberal thought"

Occupy Oakland and San Francisco have shown us different

Occupy is not going anywhere

[CAPHAVOC]

13. At least they are taking action and doing something.

[SammyWinstonJack]

18. +1.

[EFerrari]

35. The "cause" of those costs was the thuggish response of the City of Oakland

to peaceful protests. And as the Bay Area is a nest of the defense industry, I'm sure some tidy profits were made, too.

[lib_wit_it]

38. So very true. And, as for those "bastions of liberal thought," they've been in serious

decline thanks to relentless bombardment by army of the 1 percent,

[AnOhioan]

8. Occupy is alive and well....they have merely switched gears

Occupiers are now running for office, new protests being planned, etc. Reports of their demise are vastly over-rated.

[pinboy3niner]

14. "Occupy Wall Street protesters who mostly hibernated all winter" is total BS

Occupy has done thousands of actions throughout the Winter. Just because there hasn't been a recent action involving tens of thousands of protesters in one place doesn't mean that the Occupy movement has been hibernating. There have been thousands of Occupy actions, on a smaller scale, throughout the country.

Maybe some AP reporters don't have access to teh google.

[joshcryer]

33. +1, MSM stopped covering them, they didn't hibernate!

This is why I defend them when they march and cause traffic jams (usually at night it doesn't cause traffic jams but that's a common "complaint&quot . The MSM won't cover them if they're not making a ruckus every now and again!

[KG]

17. looking to AP for news about the Occupy movement?

[SammyWinstonJack]

19. heheheh

[drm604]

20. They have changed the national conversation.

I really think that we are talking about things differently now then we would be without the occupy movement.

People are talking about the inequalities that exist. I think most people felt it but didn't want to say it. The occupiers pointed out that the emperor is naked. (When I use "emperor" in this context, I'm referring to the economy and Wall Street, not the President.)

[Bohunk68]

21. You're absolutely

correct. The fact that we are even talking about them now is proof of that. The spring is almost here and things will once again be happening, of that, I'm sure. I only wish that instead of focusing on the flooding disaster recovery here in the Schoharie Basin that I could be with my brothers and sisters in the Occupy movement. But, I need to do what I can in my own community.

[sofa king]

22. I'm glad they did what they did, when they did it.

I think the most important political thing the Occupy movement did was to forcibly wrest away the GOP's message--projected through the bought media--that there was a conservative grass-roots movement which would eventually reclaim its total domination over American politics. The illusion was going to be fronted with carefully presented 500-person Tea Party "demonstrations" that were going to be the darling of the media, reinforced by the usual election theft that has become an assumed component of any Republican political plan.

The press even dutifully waited for nearly a month before they reported on an actual demonstration movement that eclipsed the Tea Party sham by orders of magnitude. Has anyone even seen a Tea Party "demonstration" televised in the past year? That scam is over, but not until after it cost the Koch brothers years and millions of dollars.

Now that the conservatives have been stripped of any pretense of an actual base of support, it's going to be much more difficult to dupe voters into going against their own best interests. Authoritarians require the illusion of a majority to truly motivate them, and that attempt was instantly and unceremoniously shouted down by the Occupiers.

That's what the Occupy movement did: it targeted and toppled a greenscam movement designed to influence politics in favor of the filthy rich, and replaced it with genuine, dangerous emotion and strong motivation against the filthy rich. Now they're bleeding money and have no chance to strengthen their political positions except through criminal means, or to give up. I assume they'll take the criminal route.

[dixiegrrrrl]

23. Just a reminder to the OP:

We now have an Occupy group on DU:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=forum&id=1252

Technically this OP is not LBN and would fit better in the Occupy group, but I am not locking it at this late date.

dixie, LBN host

[uppityperson]

34. To OP, it also would fit in Good Reads or GD being an editorial piece, NOT lbn.

The question mark typically is a mark of editorial, not LBN. But also, at this late date, I am not locking it as a LBN host.

[LanternWaste]

24. A much more open dialogue, and much greater awareness of income disparity

"6 months later, what has Occupy protest achieved?"

A much more open dialogue, and much greater awareness of income disparity, and of the monied-interests working directly against the lower- and middle-classes.

That, in and of itself, is a greater catalyst for change than I have seen come out of Washington in 30 years.

[randome]

27. Do you think YOU'RE accomplishing anything?

You aren't.

[Brettongarcia]

29. It may be that there were some excesses in the Occupy movement; but it has served a larger purpose

It may be that the "Occupy" movement may slip away; in part because of perception of its excesses; the inevitable garbage that accompanies most movements. But? It has served its purpose.

Even if it disappears, the Occupy movement has served to get the dialogue going, in point of fact, on some critical issues.

[joshcryer]

32. I saw the accounting breakdown and it was completely legit.

If only the government or corporations were so transparent.

[librechik]

36. EVERYBODY knows there is an occupy, now de rigeur coverage of protests on TV

that's more than a lot of groups do in the first 6 months

[Strelnikov_]

37. "the fact that you won't be hearing this song on the radio is more than enough justification . ."

"the fact that you won't be hearing this song on the radio is more than enough justification for the writing of it."

- Phil Ochs on "I Ain't Marchin' Anymore"

[LiberalLovinLug]

39. Its only going to get bigger this Spring

And the federal government knows it, that's why they've passed the new anti-protest laws where the police can declare a "security zone" anywhere they want to. The Rethugs don't want any more attention given to the pandering to the 1% as that's what their party is all about, and the Dems don't want any disruption on the seemingly smooth ride back into the Whitehouse for Obama. They are, after all, fighting for that same SuperPack money that the Rethugs are.

IMO that new law will only hurt the Democrats especially if and when Obama or his top officials badmouth the Occupy Movement when they get too influential and send in the riot police, especially with the younger, college age group.

But its not going away. I for one cannot wait until May 1st. It will be hard for the MSM to ignore what's coming!