Reason.com - Free Minds and Free Markets
Reason logo Reason logo
  • Latest
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Subscribe
    • Crossword
  • Video
  • Podcasts
    • All Shows
    • The Reason Roundtable
    • The Reason Interview With Nick Gillespie
    • The Soho Forum Debates
    • Just Asking Questions
    • The Best of Reason Magazine
    • Why We Can't Have Nice Things
  • Volokh
  • Newsletters
  • Donate
    • Donate Online
    • Donate Crypto
    • Ways To Give To Reason Foundation
    • Torchbearer Society
    • Planned Giving
  • Subscribe
    • Reason Plus Subscription
    • Print Subscription
    • Gift Subscriptions
    • Subscriber Support

Login Form

Create new account
Forgot password

Politics

What We Saw at the "Occupy Wall Street" Protest

Anthony Fisher | 10.7.2011 10:06 AM

Share on FacebookShare on XShare on RedditShare by emailPrint friendly versionCopy page URL
Media Contact & Reprint Requests

Down with banks, student-loan debt, and expensive elections!

Up with barter…capitalism…and…Mitt Romney?!?!

On October 4, 2011, Reason.tv visited the Occupy Wall Street protests at Liberty Square in lower Manhattan, on Day 18 of the ongoing demonstration.

The crowd was relatively small at about 300, and included educated but unemployed workers, college students and recent graduates, homeless drifters, performance artists, 9/11 truthers, and a not-insignificant number of journalists.

The "leaderless" movement is made up of more than a dozen smaller groups, such as the "Information" group with Macbooks hooked up to generators who maintain the "OccupyWallStreet" Twitter feeds and liveblogs, a "People's Library" consisting mostly of donated leftist literature, and a well-stocked kitchen where organic vegetables are sliced for communal salads.

Student loan debt, campaign finance reform, and general anger with the sluggish economy were the more frequent grievances aired, but the demonstrators are hardly monolithic in their passions or opinions. Among the boilerplate anti-capitalist rhetoric included a lifelong Democrat professing his support for Mitt Romney, an unemployed aviation mechanic declaring his continued support of capitalism and disgust at corporate welfare, and a homeless man expressing skepticism that any of the protestors would remain in the park if just "one bad wind" rolled through the area.

Also in the crowd was Republican New York City Councilman Daniel J. Halloran, who took all questions from the assembled crowd, and even won them over after forcefully denouncing taxpayer bailouts of corporations and eminent-domain abuse.

Though the message of Occupy Wall Street is muddled and the future of the protest remains unclear, similar "Occupy" demonstrations are popping up in cities all over the United States, and the quasi-anarchist community residing in Liberty Square shows no signs of relinquishing its post.

About 6 minutes. Produced by Anthony L. Fisher. Camera by Nathan Chaffetz.

Reason recapped the list of demands of the self-professed "99%," which include free college education for all and a minimum wage of $20 per hour. And check out this riveting eyewitness account and analysis from NYC.

Go to Reason.tv downloadable versions and subscribe to Reason.tv's YouTube Channel to receive automatic notifications when new material goes live. 

Start your day with Reason. Get a daily brief of the most important stories and trends every weekday morning when you subscribe to Reason Roundup.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

NEXT: Occupy Boston Protesters in Their Own Words

Anthony Fisher
PoliticsEconomicsCultureCountercultureReason.tvOccupy Wall Street
Share on FacebookShare on XShare on RedditShare by emailPrint friendly versionCopy page URL
Media Contact & Reprint Requests

Show Comments (172)

Latest

Trump Directs DOJ To Penalize States and Cities That Use Cashless Bail

Tosin Akintola | 8.25.2025 5:21 PM

An Appeals Court Says the $464 Million Fine in Trump's Civil Fraud Case Violated the Eighth Amendment

Jacob Sullum | 8.25.2025 3:35 PM

Trump's Executive Order Prohibiting Flag Burning Is Unconstitutional

Robby Soave | 8.25.2025 2:24 PM

Trump Says He 'Paid Zero' for the Government's $11 Billion Stake in Intel. Here's the Downside.

Joe Lancaster | 8.25.2025 1:15 PM

Bluesky Blocks Mississippi Users

Elizabeth Nolan Brown | 8.25.2025 11:00 AM

Recommended

  • About
  • Browse Topics
  • Events
  • Staff
  • Jobs
  • Donate
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
  • Media
  • Shop
  • Amazon
Reason Facebook@reason on XReason InstagramReason TikTokReason YoutubeApple PodcastsReason on FlipboardReason RSS

© 2025 Reason Foundation | Accessibility | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Take Reason's short survey for a chance to win $300
Take Reason's short survey for a chance to win $300
Take Reason's short survey for a chance to win $300