Wall Street protests: What’s all the hubbub about?

It started Sept. 17 under the banner of “Occupy Wall Street” in New York City. The protesters were a small group then, but the movement began to grow. Over time, protests cropped up in Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Seattle and just in the last few days, Anchorage. Why? That question has been on my mind ever since I heard about this.

I’m not the only one asking this question — a lot of people are wondering. The answers are many, but it seems to boil down to a good deal of people out there blame Wall Street and major corporations for the current economic mess we live in today. The blame doesn’t stop there. The president and Congress are blamed as well. But Wall Street is getting the full treatment, the full focus of anger for its part of much of this nation’s woes. As the grassroots movement grows each day, so does the list of grievances — lack of jobs, corporate greed, billions spent fighting two wars, a broken economy, a nearly bankrupt nation, a polarized Congress unable to work anything out, a president hamstrung by not only the opposing party, but even by some members of his own, and a banking and investment system high on greed that cares very little for the people of this nation. They looked only, it seemed, to make billions in profits at our expense. People have had enough, according to the protesters.

Who are they? Well, that does bear some scrutiny. Because it is not just out-of-work college kids waving signs and shouting. From the news reports and interviews I have seen and read of many of the protesters, it is a wide range of people, from out-of-work executives to grandparents. In recent days, even union workers have joined the swelling ranks in downtown New York City and other sites being affected. Some see them as a bunch of “hippies.”

How are they doing this? The same way the Tea Party movement began, the same way as the protests in the Middle East started — by the media, Internet and social media websites like Facebook and Twitter. It is taking on a life of its own. This seems to be the way of these times.

A website set up to help organize the effort — wearethe99percent.tumblr.com — also has a series of photos and stories posted there by participants in the Occupy Wall Street protests. The page describes the effort this way, “On Sept. 17, 2011, the 99 percent will converge on Wall Street to let the 1 percent know just how frustrated they are with living in a world made for someone else. Let us know why you’ll be there. Let us know how you are the 99 percent.”

Welcome to the world of 21st century protests.

Now, some of these protests are small, like the ones in Anchorage and Seattle. Those in New York are huge. The “street theater” has been amusing (I liked the corporate zombie thing). For the most part peaceful, but there have been quite a few arrests, close to 700 in New York alone. That is to be expected during any large protests. It has been interesting to follow.

Where this is going is anybody’s guess. This protest, like any other, attracts all sorts of people with their own agendas.

But the core of it is centered on pent-up anger directed toward those in the financial sector. And it is spreading rapidly.

I just wonder why it took us so long to begin protesting against Wall Street?

Wasilla resident Daniel D. Grota retired from the U.S. Army after more than 21 years of service.