Ever since World War I, American policies have been coloured by a conflict between democracy and capitalism. Fundamentally the tension is caused by the combination of a political system where power is grounded in the majority of people and an economic system where those who make more money have more power. So the government policies try to provide people with equal political power, while at the same time securing private property and the rights of companies to make profit. Problems arise when corporations start to have more and more impact on political decision making, and thus distorting the democratic ideal of equal power.
Many Americans have, nevertheless, benefitted from this marriage of the two ideologies, but economic crises often bring the issues to surface as people lose their jobs and houses. This happened in the 1930s after the economic slowdown and the Wall Street stock market crash and also in present after the western world was plunged into a recession. While there are differences between the reactions of people back then and now, there is at least one thing in common - solidarity.
The Occupy Wall Street movement has been occupying Zucotti Park more or less constantly since September 17 despite the pepper sprayings, arrests and the cold. As the movement lacks clear leader and, some say, focus, various newspapers have come up with their own descriptions of the movement. For example, the
Wall Street Journal describes the movement as "a social media fueled protest against U.S. banking institutions" while
NY Daily News says that people protest against "dysfunctional economic system that unfairly benefits corporations and the mega-rich". According to the arguably less biased, unofficial
de facto online resource the protests are targeted against "the corrosive power of major banks and multinational corporations over the democratic process, and the role of Wall Street in creating an economic collapse".
Signs at Occupy Whitewater.
The movement has attracted a lot of students and unemployed graduates who feel like they have been let down by the system after doing everything that they were expected to do. They were told that studying hard and earning a degree guarantees a job with wages that enable full participation in the consumerist society. Instead they are left with no job, no future, massive debt and a deadbeat stigma. I can relate. (Drawing ideas from
here.)
Coming from a country where higher education is supported primary through taxes, I find it quite stunning that tuition for a semester in relatively inexpensive state university costs roughly between 3.500 - 7.500 dollars (depending whether one is from in or out of state). I only have to pay about 1-2% of this, meaning 75 dollars. With such figures, it easy to see how students in the US have mounted a considerable debt by the time they graduate. To make matters worse, due to a state budget lapse, the tax funding of the University of Wisconsin systems is cut considerably to balance the budget. The university system will bear 38% of the reductions on state spending while it only represents 7% of the state's expenditures, which many people understandably find unfair. Moreover, these reductions are added on top of the prior 250 million dollar budget cuts. (Sources:
this and
a message regarding the budget lapse.) These cuts will reflect directly on the benefits, pensions and insurance payments of the faculty, which in turn acts as a push factor for professors to abandon ship. All in all, to cut it short, the budget cuts are likely to lead to increased tuition and a decrease in the quality of education as reducing bureaucracy is not likely to be enough to compensate for the cuts.
After all this, it is hardly surprising to see the Occupy Wall Street movement spreading to such small town as Whitewater, WI. Like protests around the US and the world, Occupy Whitewater (November 17, 2011) infuses local issues with the general protest against the influence of corporate power in politics. I find it interesting how the lack of clear objectives for the OWS moment gives local protests an opportunity to protest against the policies of governor Walker and the handling of the budget lapse, for example. It seems to me that this kind of localization of the movement adds to it's appeal and partly explains it's popularity across the globe.
Occupiers in front of the Anderson Library at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.
As the movement landed on campus, I couldn't stay away. For me, it was both a chance to display my support for the Occupy Wall Street movement and the local students and a cultural experience. I felt like I was part of something greater, something historical. And yet, there I was close to my dorm with the core couple dozen protestors some of whom I already knew. We spent the evening singing Solidarity Forever, eating pop corn and alternating between defying the power of the "1%" and the cold. I'm glad we had hot chocolate.
To reveal a secret - I wasn't really all that angry.
All in all, I had a blast - even to the extent that I decided to wrap myself up in all the clothes I have and sleep in a tent. I didn't get too much sleep but at least I got an amazing experience and even more respect for the people who have slept in Zucotti Park, NY for months now. Solidarity, you know.
