Maybe it should end for their own good

I read four articles about Occupy Wall Street and its current events. Out of these articles two of them caught my attention, “Occupy Wall Street takes a new direction” from Crains New York and “Occupy movement plans spring offensive as momentum stalls” from The Guardian. These two articles explain what has grown out of Occupy Wall Street. As you read these articles, you see that people get encouraged by seeing how this protest has grown so big with plenty of people protesting all over the world.

I’m learning more about Occupy Wall Street right now, and in particular what I’m wondering about is: How has the movement captured the attention of so many people? Why are people viewing Occupy Wall Street as dangerous or just people with nothing to do? I was researching this question online, and these two newspaper articles caught my attention because one article “Occupy Wall Street Takes a new direction” tells how one person, George Machado, compared protesters to “just some well-meaning liberal arts college kids with money—same old, same old.” The college dropout later joined the movement which surprised me. It shows that Occupy Wall Street movement can actually encourage others to join and speak up.

Another quote from the newspaper article “Occupy Wall Street takes a new direction” that caught my attention was: “The media is focused on the park—crime, incessant drumming, occupiers urinating on sidewalks—but organizers are quietly building the movement beyond it.”

Massey, D. (2011) Occupy Wall Street takes a new direction. CrainsNewYork, [blog] 13th November, Available at: http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20111113/economy/311139975 [Accessed: 14th November 2011].

This quote I chose here is basically saying that the media is focused on the bad things about the protest. They are not focused on what these protesters are trying to say with this protest. The media is making people think that the Occupy Wall Street movement is just breaking the law. This movement looks dangerous to the public which worries them.

I think this is just inappropriate because people are giving their time, their effort, and some are even putting their life at risk. It makes me wonder why the media has to only emphasize the bad details instead of the good. I feel that the media really should focus on the main reason of Occupy Wall Street and support them instead of giving people the bad. I guess this is the only way media gets paid by showing the bad side of Occupy Wall Street.

Another couple of sentences that Massey wrote that stands out for me are:
“An accomplished hip-hop artist, Mr. Martinez also recorded a music video in Zuccotti—the “Occupy Wall Street Hip-Hop Anthem”—to spread the message.
“Sometimes all we need is a spark,” the song goes. “I take money from the rich and invest it in the poor/It's been a long time coming/Time we settle the score.”

I think that its great how people are making Occupy Wall Street part of history. How they spreading this event in different way so people can open their eyes and realize how this is affecting the world. It’s amazing how Mr. Martinez had the time to create a song. This shows people’s effort to show how much work they are doing just to be heard. I feel that people should really pay attention and actually take their time to listen.

A quote from the second newspaper article “Occupy movement plans spring offensive as momentum stalls” that stood out for me is: “It would include civil disobedience, he said, adding: ‘The only way we will get the level of media interest we have had is through civil disobedience.’”

McVeigh, K. (2011) Occupy movement plans spring offensive as momentum stalls. The Guardian, [blog] 11th November, Available at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/nov/11/occupy-movement-winter-what-... [Accessed: 14th November 2011].

This quote I chose here is also saying that Occupy Wall Street is just being viewed as civil disobedience. The only way they capture media’s attention is through the violence and the danger that people are going through in this protest.

I think this is a negative way to view Occupy Wall Street because it makes me wonder why the media is doing this? I think people from this protest should help make this protest be viewed in a positive way. I’m not saying I want this protest to end but maybe it should for these peoples own good. The media should also change their perspective of this protest and should actually encourage people because they are part of it too, unless they controlled by the government.

What I appreciate about these two writers' work is that they explain how Occupy Wall Street has grown from a small group of people protest in Wall Street to a huge amount of protesters. These two writers show how Occupy Wall Street is now planning to spread and actually become part of history. I look forward to seeing what they both write next, because they put in a lot of details and has answered my questions. Now I know how and in what ways has the movement captured people’s attentions. I now understand why people view Occupy Wall Street as a threat to the public.