Blog #4: The Future

     The Occupy Wall Street movement represents one of the least effective American protests of the 21st century. Not only did the movements accomplish very little change, but it also did not garner a great deal of publicity and attention resulting in relatively lackluster turnout and participation. Not to mention that during the few months of Occupy movements, life on Wall Street continued as normal, albeit a few altered work commutes and perhaps a degree of increased traffic congestion in lower Manhattan. However, this is not to say that Occupy Wall Street was completely ineffective and unnecessary. In fact, it was just the opposite. The movement encouraged individuals to ponder the financial divide that exists in the United States for the first time and served as the spark that would continue to light the fires of economic and financial equality across the nation for years to come. Not only this, but it served as a wake-up-call to the government, notifying them that American citizens were becoming increasingly dissatisfied with preexisting financial practices/laws and prompting them to take a second look at the shortcomings of the financial industry. 

The protest, though lacking in prompting immediate change or bringing about critical financial regulations, had a lasting impact in the way in which wealth is thought about in the United States. For instance, as a result of the movement, the terms "the 99%" and "the 1%" are used ubiquitously when referring to societal financial matters. More importantly, the biggest impact of the Occupy Wall Street movement exists in its long term impacts and the fact that it brought conversations of financial inequality to the forefront of American culture. Many democratic politicians including Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Elizabeth Warren's ideas regarding financial equality in the U.S. stems from this movement and the issues it fought for. Thus, the Occupy Wall Street movement was not an effective movement in itself during its duration, however, it serves as a highly influential event in history that has contributed to the fruition of subsequent conversations, policies, political ideologies, and movements regarding financial inequality and diminishment of the wage gap in the United States in present times. 

Works Cited for Blog #3 and #4

Bierut, Michael. “The Poster That Launched a Movement (or Not).” Design Observer, 30 Apr. 2012, https://designobserver.com/feature/the-poster-that-launched-a-movement-or-not/32588. 

Estes, Adam Clark. “Look at All the Famous People Supporting Occupy Wall Street.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 30 Oct. 2013, https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2011/09/look-all-famous-people-supporting-occupy-wall-street/337375/. 

Jennifer. “2011 Occupy Wall Street Logos and Posters (160+ Pictures).” Jennifer Chronicles, 3 June 2020, https://www.jenx67.com/2011/09/occupy-wall-street-logos.html. 

St. Pete for Peace. “OccupyArrests.com: A Running Total of the Number of Occupy Protesters Arrested around the U.S. since Occupy Wall Street Began on Sept. 17, 2011.” St. Pete for Peace, www.stpete4peace.org/occupyarrests.

Weisenthal, Joe. “Here's How Occupy Wall Street Came to a Sudden, Unexpected End Today.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 15 Nov. 2011, www.businessinsider.com/how-police-cleared-occupy-wall-street-2011-11