Occupy Wall Street

Occupy Wall Street was a protest movement that began on September 17, 2011, in Zuccotti Park in New York’s Wall Street financial district. The main issues raised by the protestors were perceived economic inequality, corporate greed, public sector corruption, and the undue influence of corporations, especially financial services firms, on government. The protests galvanized opinions in the United States and elsewhere in the world, where similar Occupy movements and protests soon started. Some public commentators were at least initially supportive, lauding the high ideals displayed by the protestors. James A. Forbes, a Manhattan religious minister, said, “The Occupy Wall Street project feels like a burning ember that might light the torch of justice and inflame our longing for freedom.” The independent Vermont senator Bernie Sanders ...