View from Zuccotti Park: Is Wall Street Underestimating the 99%?  

On October 5, the day thousands of union members joined the hundreds of protestors of Occupy Wall Street (OWS) in Lower Manhattan, the unfocused, albeit angry, demonstrations gained a legitimacy and gravitas that the movement’s critics in the financial industry, government and media were not expecting.

Perhaps, however, if those critics—who at the time were disdainfully dismissive of the protestors—had actually looked at and listened to the demonstrators, the financial industry wouldn’t be facing an OWS movement that is picking up momentum globally while heaping scorn on Wall Street.

On that day in early October, however, this momentum was in the future; the protestors camping out in Zuccotti Park were simply readying for their march northward to Foley Square to meet with the union members rallying there. The park itself was a nucleus to the movement. In the center was a chaotic mass of sleeping bags, tarps and tents, ringed by tables providing information, news of events and opportunities to help out. Small crowds gathered in front of certain tables participating in open lectures about Wall Street’s power hierarchy; other crowds watched dancers or listened to music.

The protestors, despite the “unfocused and leaderless” label the media has stuck on them, actually seemed intensely organized. There was a large food preparation area (as well as very busy food trucks and a pizzeria on the streets bordering Zuccotti Park), as well as a medical care area. There was a library of donated books where one OWS volunteer was handing out the newspaper produced by the protestors, The Occupied Wall Street Journal. That morning’s edition noted that day’s rally with the union members under the headline, “New York Unites”.

Indeed, in Foley Square, as the larger rally got underway, some of the signs protesters carried showed that this was not some clueless gathering of wannabe-hippies. Messages such as “Bring Back the Glass-Steagall Act” or “Overturn Citizens United” or even “When Hedge Funds Win, Public Pensions Lose”, attested to the serious and depth of understanding of what is driving these protestors out into the streets.

Now, as OWS-inspired protests have spread to more than 900 cities across the globe, even some of those in the financial industry are saying Wall Street might be wise to listen. Laurence Fink, CEO of BlackRock, the world’s largest money manager, said at a recent conference that he was surprised these demonstrations hadn’t happened sooner, adding “I believe we should not turn our backs on these protests.” 

Whether OWS’s action will indeed lead to change on Wall Street, it has already resounded with a large number of people in this country.