Recently, there has been a number of major protests in the US. The most noted of these is the Occupy Wall Street. But there has also been Occupy Seattle, Occupy Oakland, Occupy London, etc. The protests in Greece and Spain have a lot in common to the Occupy movement.
But what is all this about? I of course cannot speak for the protesters, but will give what I see as the reasonings behind it.
There are really two main themes that the protesters are really fighting for: real democracy and economic (and social) policies which address people's interests before considering business interests.
I have many times in this column talked about corporatocracy. The protesters want their voices heard. They want a government that listens to the people and not to where the money flows. I have already at length discussed the cause and effects of this and solutions in my article on Corporatocracy.
What I find disturbing is the reaction to the protests by the police and local governments. They have acted as bullies, not allowing the freedom of speech and assembly the protests are entitled to. This is being done with the encouragement of businesses who claim the protests are hurting there business. In reality the protests are hurting there political postition.
It is interesting to see the response of the US (both federal and state) to the Occupy movement. They applaud the protest movements in Tunisia, Egypt, and Syria as examples of people regaining power; but when the protests are in there own country, it is somehow wrong.
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