“占领华尔街”运动有潜力影响美国大选

    “如果把左翼的所有动机都放入搅拌机，得到的就眼下这摊烂泥。”——福克斯新闻（Fox News），2011年10月1日

    “别谴责华尔街，别指责大银行。没工作没钱只能怪自己！”——赫尔曼•凯恩，2011年10月2日

    “我来这里是为了接受教育……这个国家贫富差距悬殊。”——苏珊•萨兰登，2011年9月30日

    “那些贪婪的王八蛋抢走了我们的钱，我们已经受够了。这场运动能持续下去吗？废话，看看周围吧！”——国际服务业员工工会（Service Employees International Union）负责人，2011年10月5日

    目前尚不清楚这些抗议活动是否会对银行系统（抗议的最主要目标）或整体经济造成巨大影响，但这场运动正日益展现出这种潜力。另外，正如上述言论所示，在2012年选举季节日益临近之际，这场运动蕴含的火星可能加速阶级斗争口水仗的到来。

    “占领华尔街”抗议活动的大本营在祖科蒂公园（Zuccotti Park），也就是更广为人知的“解放公园广场”。该广场坐落在曼哈顿市中心华尔街以北的地方。许多人认为，“占领华尔街”运动的灵感来自于“阿拉伯之春”，尤其是开罗塔希尔广场（Tahir Square）的抗议运动。7月末，加拿大反消费文化杂志《Adbusters》在向其联系人邮箱列表发出的邮件中提出了占领华尔街的想法，这或许就是这场抗议活动的直接导火索。

    9月17日，“占领华尔街”抗议活动在纽约爆发，短时间内就引起了美国和全球媒体的关注。这场运动的影响力也显著扩大，短短三周便取得了以下成绩：

    • Twitter粉丝超过6.3万人；

    • Facebook粉丝超过17.5万人；

    • 在以下城市举行了大型的游行示威活动：曼哈顿，洛杉矶，波士顿，芝加哥，费城，迈阿密，波特兰（缅因州和俄勒冈州），西雅图，丹佛，卡尔加里，多伦多和蒙特利尔；

    • 获得了苏珊•萨兰登，科内尔•韦斯特，罗素•西蒙斯，玛格丽特•阿特伍德，亚力克•鲍德温，乔治•索罗斯和约瑟夫•斯蒂格利茨等名人的支持；

    • 游行示威活动蔓延至全球70个城市；

    • 得到了美国14个大型工会的联合支持；

    • 得到了众议员罗恩•保罗，参议员伯尼•桑德斯，和前参议员罗斯•范戈尔德的政治支持。

    "If you put every single left-wing cause into a blender, this is the sludge you'd get." -Fox News, October 1, 2011

    "Don't blame Wall Street, don't blame the big banks, if you don't have a job and you're not rich, blame yourself!" -Herman Cain, October 2, 2011

    "I came down here to educate myself.... There's a huge void between the rich and the poor in this country." -Susan Sarandon, September 30, 2011

    "We're tired of the greedy sons of bitches taking our money. Does this movement have legs? Shit, Look around you!" -Leader of Service Employees International Union, October 5, 2011

    It's not yet apparent that these protests will have a major impact on the banking system, which is where their reforms are most focused, or the economy generally, but the movement is increasingly showing that it has potential. Further, as the quotes we've highlighted above suggest, the true catalyst coming out of this movement could be an acceleration of class warfare rhetoric heading into the 2012 election season.

    The Occupy Wall Street protest is headquartered in Zuccotti Park, more commonly known as "Liberty Park Plaza." This is a plaza located just north of Wall Street in downtown Manhattan. Many believe that the Occupy Wall Street movement has its inspirations in the Arab Spring and, in particular, the protests in Tahir Square in Cairo. The specific catalyst for the protest appears to have originated with a Canadian based anti-consumer magazine, Adbusters, which floated the idea of occupying Wall Street to its email list in late July.

    The Occupy Wall Street protest began on September 17 in New York. In a relatively short period of time, the protest has gained national and global media coverage. As well, the footprint of the protest had broadened dramatically. In just three weeks, the protest has done the following:

    • Acquired more than 63,000 followers on Twitter (@OccupyWallSt);

    • Acquired more than 175,000 followers on Facebook;

    • Held key demonstrations in the following cities : Manhattan, Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, Miami, Portland (Maine and Oregon), Seattle, Denver, Calgary, Toronto, and Montreal;

    • Received celebrity support from Susan Sarandon, Cornel West, Russell Simmons, Margaret Atwood, Alec Baldwin, George Soros, and Joseph Stiglitz;

    • Demonstrated in 70 cities globally;

    • Received union support from 14 of the largest labor unions in the United States; and

    • Received political support from Congressman Ron Paul, Senator Bernie Sanders, and former Senator Russ Feingold.