Considering the 'Occupy' movement

Since the Occupy movement hit the pavement on Wall Street in mid-September, it’s been celebrated by some media sources, demonized by others, and widely reported by most. A large part of the fascination factor is that the movement appears to be contagious. Splinter Occupy movements have ignited worldwide – including Halifax’s own Occupy NS, which moved from Grand Parade Square to Victoria Park to make room for Remembrance Day ceremonies before being controversially evicted by police on the afternoon of November 11.

Robert Huish, International Development Studies professor, teaches INTD 3003: Development and Activism. As you might expect, the Occupy movement has quickly become required material for his course.

“In the activism class, we look at it as a phenomenon of expressive dissent,” says Dr. Huish, who considers the movement a “living example of the theory and practices of activism, advocacy, if not global citizenship.” He’s even had to revamp his course just to keep up with Occupy Wall Street’s day-to-day developments.

“What we’re seeing here with Occupy is a very public and engaged protest…very similar to methods we’ve seen around the world” – by which, he means major protests in Spain, Israel, India, and Egypt. “This is now a global expression of discontent.”

Addressing the criticisms

It may be global, but critics of the Occupy movement often ask what, exactly, the 99 per cent’s claimed discontent entails; after all, many of those occupying Wall Street carry iPhones, laptops, and travel mugs.

“There are certainly those in the middle class who are participating in Occupy,” Dr. Huish acknowledges. “They’ve got cellular technology, and they’ve got computers, and there’s brand names. They may even go for a Starbucks now and then…but that’s nothing hypocritical.”

Not only does he say it’s not hypocritical, it might actually be vital. “To try to create a global movement of resistance by barring communication…wouldn’t be effective in trying to get people on board… it may be a cheap shot at Occupy to say ‘you’re using iPhones, you don’t have to be an activist.’”

As for the claim that the movement is confused and disorganized, Dr. Huish has a perspective on that as well: “It’s quite contradictory, I think, on the part of any political leader to say that a protest isn’t warranted. It’s the most vibrant expression of dissent.” He cautions against dismissing the movement for any perceived laziness: “When [the authorities] don’t understand it, the easiest thing it to try to dismiss it. But a lot of scholars are not dismissing it, a lot of economists are not dismissing it.”

"We are the 99%"

Dr. Huish compares the Occupy movement to the suffragettes who achieved the votes for women and the civil rights movements of the sixties. “But that took over ten years to really make progress and advance… there’s no quick fix.”

A key part of Occupy Wall Street’s message is protesters’ claims to be “the 99 per cent” – those people outside the top 1 per cent of America’s (and now, the world’s) wealth. By this definition, I’m a part of the 99 per cent. So are you (probably). But why should the masses tagged “the 99 per cent” care about Occupy Wall Street, its actions and its goals?

Dr. Huish offers a functional set of guidelines: keep an eye on Occupy, he says, “if you’re worried about increasing tuition rates, or pension security, or welfare, or regulation of ethical behaviour on the part of corporations.” Of course, not everybody’s cut out to stand in the November rain at Victoria Park, but there are other ways to make a difference. “I’m always shocked at the way a letter can get to a member of parliament and the response that it can draw.”

Nebulous aims

So that’s the why, and the how, of Occupy Wall Street, but what’s the “what”? What are the goals and demands? While the nebulous nature of Occupy’s aims is one of the defining characteristics of the movement, Dr. Huish has a suggestion: “The basis of any democratic society is to make sure the governed are able to influence and control the governors. And I’d like to see that happen, and I think it would be an enormously popular move.”

As winter moves in and local authorities begin to collide with protesters, it’s difficult to say what the future of Occupy Wall Street, and its offshoots, will be. But, says Dr. Huish, Occupy Wall Street is “not positioning itself to die quickly” – even if it turns down the volume a little.

“The Occupy movements aren’t going away. They may not be on the public squares or the library steps…but that sentiment is real, it’s vicious, and it’s quite powerful.”