It’s the second day of what’s being called “Occupy Philly,” a 99-percenter movement spawned from the spirit of “Occupy Wall Street.” For those of you who haven’t been following the events, they are essentially a rallying cry across the country for accountability from the top 1%, the wealthy, the bankers, the business owners–more specifically–the companies who either deny their fair share of taxes and social responsibility, or those responsible for ensuring that there are no jobs left for the lower and middle class.
The original Occupy Wall Street, promoted and supported by culture-jamming website/magazine, Adbusters, is described as: “…a people powered movement for democracy that began in America on September 17 with an encampment in the financial district of New York City. Inspired by the Egyptian Tahrir Square uprising and the Spanish acampadas, we vow to end the monied corruption of our democracy.”
But where Occupy Wall Street was a protest against the financial district, the top bankers and earners of the Big Apple, Occupy Philadelphia seems to exist mostly to give a voice to the voiceless Middle Class. The motives are slightly different, while the underlying cause remains the same. And that’s good! If the structural base were identical to that of Occupy Wall Street, our city’s protesters will simply be preaching to the choir. They have the support, not only of local government, but of the police force and labor unions as well. The most important thing is that the ideas are spreading, from NYC to Philadelphia, to Boston, Jersey and DC…
After speaking with Hugh Giordano, Green Party candidate and Occupy Philly supporter, I gained a better understanding of what is actually going on in the streets of Center City. There is, it seems, a large voice in the protests that come from disenfranchised college grads who didn’t expect to be over-educated and under-employed, and while I share their sentiment, I still feel slightly worse for the families who are struggling to get by and the people who can’t afford a place to live or acquire a loan. But while the loudest voices of the movement may not be the most agreeable or coherent, they are at least voices that will bring attention to the campaign giving the more tactful representatives of the cause a chance to make some serious change…
…that is, if they can last long enough. Because while the police are being respectful and supportive, they will still do their job if things begin to go to shit. And if the Phillies lose tonight’s game. Things will.
