The Occupy Movement and the Accountability Question

What does accountability look like?

This was one of the many complicated questions that came up at a panel discussion about the Occupy Wall Street movement that WNYC host Brian Lehrer moderated at the Jerome L. Greene Performance Space in lower Manhattan on Tuesday, Nov. 1. Former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer; Crain’s New York Business contributor Greg David; Occupy Wall Street organizer Jesse LaGreca, who blogs at the Daily Kos and Kathryn Wylde of the Partnership for New York City, who is deputy chair of the New York Federal Reserve’s Board of Directors, certainly offered a variety of opinions and insights into the grassroots movement that has increasingly captivated the country in recent weeks. The panelists agreed that economic inequality in this country is unacceptable, and they suggested to varying degrees that the so-called 99 percent are justifiably angry at corporate America and their surrogates on Wall Street and on Capitol Hill.

Democracy is not an neatly packed form of government as a stroll through the Occupy Wall Street encampment in Zuccotti Park near Ground Zero earlier today literally proved—corporate money in American politics, war, unemployment and even civil rights were among the topics to which Occupiers drew attention. One can certainly argue that dissent is the highest form of patriotism. The question remains, however, whether organizers within the Occupy movement are able to offer tangible solutions to the country’s social, economic and political inequalities that can effectively hold the powers that be accountable.

The answer is as complicated as the form of government under which the Occupy movement is able to expand.

Does the Occupy Movement Have Clearly Defined Goals?

Does the Occupy movement have clearly defined goals?

I continuously asked myself this question as I walked around the Occupy Boston encampment on the Greenway outside South Station on Monday, Oct. 17. The anger and frustration towards Wall Street, corporate America, the federal government, the police and even the media was certainly palpable. Occupy Boston organizers have even begun to organize General Assemblies and caucuses that clearly indicate they have no intentions of leaving Dewey Square. As impressive as these efforts are, the question remains whether they are enough to effectively captivate an angry electorate ahead of the 2012 elections?

Sixty-three percent of respondents to a Gallup poll conducted over the past weekend said they did not know enough about the Occupy movement to say whether they approved or disapproved of its goals. Another 55 percent said they did not know enough about the Occupy movement to say whether they approved or disapproved of the way the protests are being conducted. The poll further indicates that only 56 percent of Americans are following the Occupy movement closely.

Occupiers certainly have justifiable grievances against corporate greed and the political system that continues to disenfranchise the vast majority of Americans. The democratic traditions upon which this country was built continues to allow the Occupy protestors to air them, but it remains to be seen whether the movement will achieve more than providing a colorful snapshot du jour of an increasingly frustrated, angry and polarized country.

Postcards from Occupy Boston

A week after Boston police arrested more than 140 Occupy Boston protesters, dozens of tents remain in the Greenway near Dewey Square adjacent to South Station.

Boston is among the dozens of cities around the world in which protesters remain encamped as part of the Occupy movement. Others include New York City, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and London.

Postcards from the Occupy DC Protest

The U.S. Capitol provided an arguably appropriate backdrop for the Occupy DC protesters who remained camped out across from the Wilson Building in downtown Washington, D.C., on Monday, Oct. 10.

Those with whom this reporter spoke had no expectations that Congress or President Barack Obama would take their message seriously--they contend that they continue to contribute to the country's ongoing economic malaise and increasing socioeconomic inequalities.

Do Occupy DC and other protests that have sprung up across the country in recent weeks provide a zeitgeist of angry American voters ahead of the 2012 elections?

Protesters Camp Out at Philadelphia City Hall

Protesters remained camped out on the plaza around Philadelphia City Hall on Saturday, Oct. 8, in response to what they say is corporate greed on Wall Street and the politicians in Washington, D.C., who they maintain continue to support it.

The Occupy Philadelphia protest is among a series of actions that have sprung up in New York City, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and other cities in recent weeks.