Though the root cause of the Occupy movement is difficult to discern, the earliest call-to-arms stemmed from a blog post in Adbusters magazine. Inspired by the Arab Spring and Spain's Democracia real YA platform, Adbusters' called for all like-minded individuals unhappy with the current global political and economic system to march on Wall Street and mount an ongoing sit-in-protest. "On September 17, we want to see 20,000 people flood into lower Manhattan, set up tents, kitchens, peaceful barricades and occupy Wall Street for a few months. Once there, we shall incessantly repeat one simple demand in a plurality of voices," read Adbusters' initial blog post. Going on to demand the immediate "ending [of] the influence money has over our representatives in Washington."http://occupywallst.org/
Though the root cause of the Occupy movement is difficult to discern, the earliest call-to-arms stemmed from a blog post in Adbusters magazine. Inspired by the Arab Spring and Spain's Democracia real YA platform, Adbusters' called for all like-minded individuals unhappy with the current global political and economic system to march on Wall Street and mount an ongoing sit-in-protest. "On September 17, we want to see 20,000 people flood into lower Manhattan, set up tents, kitchens, peaceful barricades and occupy Wall Street for a few months. Once there, we shall incessantly repeat one simple demand in a plurality of voices," read Adbusters' initial blog post. Going on to demand the immediate "ending [of] the influence money has over our representatives in Washington."http://occupywallst.org/Following Adbusters’ blog post, as promised, on 17 September protesters descended on Wall Street pitching tents and beginning their ongoing sit-in protest.http://occupywallst.org/The Occupy movement gained significant mainstream attention outside of Adbusters' native U.S. base when the Anonymous collective took notice and publicly voiced its support. Reiterating Adbusters' post, Anonymous issued the below video on its AnonOps Web site citing a series of undisclosed actions perpetrated by "corrupt" governments and corporations as its motivation for the sit-in. "Anonymous will flood into lower Manhattan, set up tents, put up peaceful barricades and occupy Wall Street for a few months. Once there we shall incessantly repeat one simple demand in a plurality of voices; we want freedom," said the Anonymous video's computerised voice. Following the protest’s start the collective has continued its support both on the ground and online.http://occupywallst.org/Almost immediately after Occupy Wall Street began, a number of other Occupy protests began to erupt across America. Beyond America a key turning point was the Occupy movement's expansion outside of America. A massive turning point often attributed as a key moment that turned Occupy from an American phenomenon into a global movement, occurred mid-way through October when Occupy Wall Street and the host of groups associated with it, put out a global call-to-arms asking all like-minded individuals to join it on 15 October. As called for, the Occupy London protest began on 15 October just outside St. Paul's Cathedral. During its opening hours, police, both mounted and on foot, blocked protesters' path to their intended camp site forcing the protesters to set up camp on the steps of St. Paul's. Though the Occupy movement had reasonable exposure prior to the emergence of Occupy protests, it was only after the arrival of the new 15 October protests that many Europeans took notice and extended the call for change to a global rather than American-centric demand.IBTimes UKThe Occupy L.A, Boston, Chicago, Oakland, Philadelphia and Washington protests garnering significant media attention, with reports of police violence breaking after footage of police officers using pepper spray against seemingly peaceful protesters spread across the internet.http://occupywallst.org/Michael Bloomberg likely thought he would bring an end to the Occupy Wall Street protests by evicting its members from Lower Manhattan's Zuccotti Park under the cover of dark early Nov. 15. But he instead reinvigorated a movement that is aimed directly at the massive wealth he and his wealthy friends have accumulated right as it was seeming to taper off. OWS continues to demonstrate all across the city, and its presence worldwide remains strong. And Bloomberg came off looking like an oppressive bully when the full story of the brutal eviction came to light. Not his finest hour.occupywallst.org/
With the Occupy movement looking set to survive into the New Year and tensions between protesters and police reaching boiling point, the International Business Times UK celebrates the movement, chronicling its activities in 2011.
Opening with the movement's humble beginnings in Adbusters magazine, the slide show runs through the protest's entire history. Taking you from the opening Occupy Wall Street, all the way to its global expansion on 15 October.
Moving on to the movement's current troubles, with police forces' attempts to end the protests resulting in numerous clashes between protesters and law enforcement. Ending with the Occupy movement's continuing message of defiance and reiteration that the government cannot silence it as it is the voice of "the 99 per cent."
