Occupy Wall Street

The middle class has always been considered the working class of America. This percentage of America is what occupies the majority of jobs and helps keep the economy rolling. The 1% of Americans that make the millions and billions of dollars however, are the ones that are not having to pay as much in taxes and help the economy keep going. In a country in financial crisis it is that 1% that could make a change. They should not be paying less, but be paying more to help their country.

The Occupy movement is that movement to help keep the middle class together and have the 1% pull their weight. The physical context started on Wall Street in New York City however, it has spread throughout the United States. They are using Facebook to get people organized. They are many and are organized thanks to social media. It is amazing to me as I have been watching what they post and the number of people who like and comment on the posts. Some posts have over a thousand likes in just minutes. That is some amazing power that social media has given to the 99%. They post where they will be protesting and when and thousands of people are commenting immediately saying that they will be there. If it was not for social media it would be next to impossible to organize thousands of people in a matter of minutes.

The social aspect of the movement is apparent on Facebook you can see the interaction that they have with the people who support their movement. It is awesome to watch this happen. Through Facebook they are able to get immediate feedback from people who are directly involved in the movement. They are also able to know what is going immediately around the world. Many people have become citizen journalists by posting on the Facebook page what is going on right then. The information given via Facebook helps us know what the participants are going through.

There is also so much psychological context in this movement as well. The movement touches all those that are involved on such a personal level. Many of the people involved are your average working citizens just trying to make the future fair and bright for their children. They want to be heard and want what they believe to be fair. I think that what they are doing is something that many have been talking about, but have not tried to do anything about it.

It is also interesting when you read different articles from different cities about the movement you can tell the how each city is united however, they are different according to the culture of that city. When you look at articles written about the the Occupy Salt Lake and Occupy New York there is a difference in the way the people present their selves because of the obvious culture differences. Many of the people in the Occupy Salt Lake movement are much more conservative and non-violent compared to the Occupy Wall Street participants.

The movement is constantly uploading photos and videos to make sure that everyone is informed as to what is going on immediately. They have their own youtube channel in order for this to happen and be accessible on all devices. The movement was something that started out something small in New York City and thanks to social media it has become a huge movement all over the United States. The youtube videos help people feel what is going on and if they feel the same as these people it helps them to get involved.

The Occupy movement has become something now that the government can not just ignore thanks to social media they have become a force to recognize and hear out. It has now not only impacted the whole United States but has moved to impact the world. Many countries have now started their own Occupy movements. Many of the movements can be seen on the youtube channel.

I think that the movement is something that needs to happen. I agree with a lot of their arguments. It is not fair that the 99% of America is paying for more than the 1% of the wealthy. It is only making the rich richer and dissolving the working middle class. The movement has done extremely well reaching out to people through social media. Because so many people have smart phones today they are able to find out what is happening and how they can help instantly. This movement is still evolving and we can keep up with the movement via Facebook, Twitter or youtube. Social media has now evolved from being a way to contact friends and family to being a way to change the world.