Thousands of protesters have taken to the streets to complain about big corporations, unfair distribution of wealth, lack of jobs, and many other things they believe are unjust. In the last three months, the Occupy Movement has spread from Wall Street to major cities throughout the U.S. Wikipedia lists over 300 cities in the United States alone where occupiers have made a stand — and there are many more in other countries.
But as the protests go on, more and more city governments and private landowners where the occupiers live and protest appear to be losing their faith in the movement. Many of the protesters have been removed from various locations due to unhealthy living conditions, high crime, the cost of added police details, and other reasons.
When the movement began, it had laudable goals and generated lots of favorable publicity. Now however, at least locally here in Portland, stories in the paper focus on the occupy movement in Lincoln Park being filled with homeless people, unsanitary conditions, assaults, arrests, and the need for regular police intervention.
The troubling issue often expressed was the diversity of the message from the occupy protesters. It seemed that they lacked a coherent focus and that you could get a different reason for the protest from each protester you spoke with. From the beginning, I wondered how anything could be changed without a clear and consistent message.
So what exactly has the movement accomplished in three months? What policies have been changed directly due to the movement? What local or state governments have revised their proceddures? What businesses have changed how they operate? Other than a general message that many people are unhappy with a wide variety of matters today, what good have the protests done? What goals of the protesters have been met?
Hello.
Anyone?
