Part of the social turmoil this fall in the U.S. has been the presence of protestors calling themselves Occupy (Wall Street, Atlanta, Chicago, etc.). The sit-ins began in New York City on September 17, 2011 and were initiated by a Canadian activist group called Adbusters. The core of the protests is the disparity of wealth in the U.S. and other industrialized nations. Protestors attribute this disparity to corporate greed.
At the beginning of the protests, many Americans and some Democrat politicians expressed support for the protestors. Over the past two months, however, as the protestors' encampments have become semi-permanent, the disruption to local small businesses and incidents of rape, theft, and assault have occured, support for the movement has declined. Many celebrities have used the protests to gain attention by going to the protest sites and expressing support, but the average, working American has lost interest.
Some of the loss of support has been due to the protestors' inability to grasp that corporate profits are a major source of income for low-income seniors and other investors who have contributed over the years to mutual fund accounts or are direct shareholders of corporations. Adding to the lack of support is the protestors' refusal to criticize President Obama directly for his acceptance of huge campaign contributions from wall street corporations.
The eventual outcome of these protests, which have now spread across the country, is still undetermined. Presently, their status is one of stagnancy. As the weather worsens, it is likely that the number of protestors will become fewer, the filth of the protest sites will force action on the part of the mayors of those inhabitated cities, and the whole movement may just fade away.
