Occupynwallstreet has in many circles become some what of a joke due to the lack of effective change it has been able to create. The nice thing about the movement is the complete range of people who attended this protest. From grandparents t college kids to graduate school types to professors to the ‘Joe the plumber’ (I hate using that term but in some places it works) it becomes difficult to respect the movement at times when multiple individuals have left their paying jobs to come down to wall street to protest unemployment.
What too is often forgotten is the origin of the movement. el 15 de M in Madrid when people took to the streets and camped out in the central square to be heard. It was an intellectual space where ideas where exchanged freely and ‘Los indignados’ had real optimism that change was possible. The major difference between Los indignados and the occupy movement is possibly the history of protest in each country.
Although in the 60’s and 70’s protesting the government was effective, in more recent years protesting has done very little to change government policy. Where as here since the start of war with Iraq public opinion and protest actually convinced the government to pull out of the war. Will Los indignados have an effect in the future? We can only wait and watch.
