Occupy Wall Street began largely as a grassroots movement, initiated locally and spread globally through use of social media. It began relatively small: a group of activists were tired of seeing what the economic crisis has done to themselves, their friends and families, and the country at large. In mid-September, many little online communities received an invitation to take part in an event the main organizers were calling “Occupy Wall Street.” The purpose of this event was to march on Wall Street and stage a manifestation in the symbolic ground zero of the economic meltdown that has engulfed not only our country, but much of the Western world. In the month or so since, many have organized similar events in their home cities, and the movement has gone global and found hundreds of thousands of participants.
The news media, online pundits, PhD commentators, and certain government officials have sought to paint Occupiers as everything from disgruntled, unemployed neo-liberals with no real agenda to hippies and college students with nothing better to do with their time. The catchphrase of the movement is "We are the 99 percent," referring to the statistical fact that the majority of the wealth in the United States (and indeed, most of the Western world) is held by one percent of the population.
However, there is still some confusion as to who the occupiers of Zuccotti Park and over 150 other communities throughout the United States, really are. According to a recent poll of 1,619 visitors to the official website of Occupy Wall Street, here is the statistical breakdown:
While 26.7 percent of the participants are current college students, eight percent only earned high school diplomas. More than half of the respondents are employed full time, and another 20 percent work at part-time jobs. The percentage of unemployed is 13.1, just above the official national unemployment figures. With regard to the charge that this movement is the left-leaning Democrats' answer to the Tea Party, 70 percent of those surveyed identify themselves as Independents.
To put a more human face on the movement, these are some of the people who make up Occupy Wall Street:
"Lauren" is an unemployed computer programmer and mother of four who works part-time as a banquet server. Her husband “Jack” is a contractor who has had to take odd jobs as a handyman since he lost his primary employment in 2008. They lost their four-bedroom home to foreclosure two years ago and now live in a two-bedroom apartment. Until the 2000 presidential elections, she voted a straight Republican ticket, and previously volunteered as an election official.
"Bradley" is a veteran of both Iraq and Afghanistan who has been since been discharged from the army. He is currently seeking employment in the private sector, but has had no luck.
"Sara" is part of the one percent. She is 22 years old, and has inherited her wealth. She claims she supports Occupy Wall Street because she doesn't think it's fair that she gets a free ride because of luck, while so many others have to struggle to eat and pay their bills.
The answer to the question "Who are the people of Occupy Wall Street?" is simple. They are students, teachers, activists, parents, professionals, veterans, men and woman, black and white. They are your neighbors, your co-workers, your parents, your children, your friends. They are the face of America.
