The blistering growth of various civil rights movements and other forms of protest peculiar to the last several decades could evidence the significant changes in the mentality of people and the way society accepts some issues. Yet, the reconsideration of values and priorities resulted in the growth of individuals self-consciousness. They recognized the necessity of struggle to guarantee the improvement of their living conditions and prove the great impact people might have on the government and world.
Additionally, the adherence to the humanistic approach conditioned the appearance of numerous opportunities to show dissatisfaction with the current situation and attain some improvement. In these regards, the different resistance practices obtained a powerful stimulus for their development as they became the main tool used by people to show their dissatisfaction and insist on the reconsideration of a certain approach.
Besides, several events could be analyzed in terms of the wide usage of the above-mentioned practices to attain success. Occupy Wall Street movement could be considered a bright example of the process that helped people to highlight their ideas and state the necessity of changes. Analyzing the background for the appearance of the given phenomenon, one should admit the democratization of society and power that conditioned the development of this sort of civil movement.
People obtained the possibility to use various forms of resistance to struggle for their rights not being afraid of some penalties or punishment. Furthermore, the increased self-consciousness also gave rise to several concerns related to the rights of discriminated peoples or minorities that suffered from unequal conditions or disregard of their basic needs.
Turning to the Occupy Wall Street movement, the social and economic inequality served as the main reasons for protests. Being not satisfied with the existing pattern according to which the minority owns the bigger part of all funds, people initiated the campaign to attract attention to the given question and promote some changes in the situation. The protestants adhered to the peaceful form of resistance aiming at blocking the most important financial districts and introducing numerous inconveniences to firms and their representatives. Yet, the given form turned out to be rather efficient as it conditioned the initiation of vigorous debates about economic inequality and the fair distribution of funds.
Furthermore, the popularity of the given event and the new ideas that appeared due to the discussion promoted the further development of the concerns also related to inequality and discrimination. They tended to reveal the state of indigenous groups and their living conditions. Having the symbolic meaning for the USA, Wall Street also became associated with the new movement, called Decolonize Wall Street.
The fact is that the state of indigenous people and their main needs have been ignored for a long period o time. There were several movements related to the state of the African-American population and other ethnic groups while these issues remained untouched. Moreover, society accepted their status and did not realize any need for change or some improvements. However, the rapid growth of various movements along with the Occupy Wall Street event triggered the reconsideration of the role indigenous people might play in modern society.
While Occupy Wall Street emerged as an important social movement challenging the existing institutional politics, Decolonize Wall Street could be considered it’s a logic continuation. Brady and Antony (2012) state that it was another form of resistance aimed at the attraction of attention towards the problems of indigenous people living in the USA. Yet, along with the appeals to occupy a certain place, there were the ideas that it had already been occupied long ago, and the conqueror’s depressed people who lived there (Brady & Antony, 2012).
For these reasons, the new movement tended to reveal the nagging problem of local people and show their complicated destiny. Furthermore, the usage of such terms as occupiers and occupation should trigger the development of significant processes in society. In general, the main goal of this movement is to demonstrate the one instance in a long history of ambivalence in the relations between local people and newcomers.
Investigators of the given phenomenon also tend to outline several tactics that are used to attain success. Yet, it is obvious that the positions of the participants of this very
movement are vulnerable; that is why all tactics could be considered in terms of the concept of victories of the weak over the strong (Brady & Antony, 2012). In other words, the minority could also win and obtain some benefits in case the right strategy is chosen. This form of resistance could be taken as the most efficient in the modern world (Brady & Antony, 2012).
A common person or even a certain social group could hardly resist the pressure of the state machine; however, the actions that will attract publicitys attention and highlight the great scale of the problem might guarantee the success of any movement. Brady and Antony (2012) state that Decolonize Wall Street and other forms of indigenous activism tend to mobilize a Pan-Indigenous social movement that will have more significance and be able to condition significant changes in the structure of society.
Furthermore, accepting the fact that the modern forms of resistance try to attract peoples attention and promote the importance of a certain movement, visual appeal also becomes significant. The usage of various posters and attributes might help to create the unique image of any campaign and contribute to its further development. Decolonize Wall Street exploits the images of indigenous people in their traditional suits or posters like Occupied since 1625 (Brady & Antony, 2012) that state the unfair character of the governmental actions. Some researchers are sure that adherence to this practice will help to attain success and guarantee the growth of the popularity of a certain idea. The creation of the visual culture becomes an integral part of any significant social movement that aims at the involvement of numerous people.
Additionally, Brady and Antony (2012) admit the choice of symbols and places to attract attention and emphasize the controversial character of the movement. Decolonize Wall Street movement tends to present the idea that indigenous groups of people were the first to inhabit these lands, and they have the rights for their usage. For this reason, they use the artworks depicting ancient maps of the given territory and other symbols that emphasize the role of local people and compare it with the newcomers who settled on these lands. The creation of these artworks could be considered an efficient method that is used to inform people all over the world about the current state of the movement and its grounds. Nevertheless, the given aspect of resistance is crucial for the promotion of a certain idea.
Finally, it is also vital to admit the role New York plays in the movement. The bright history of the given place conditions the appearance of numerous debates. Situated on the territories where ancient tribes resided, it was colonized by the Dutch and then conquered by Britain. When the USA became independent, it was an important financial, economic, and industrial center that sheltered millions of immigrants (De Cereteau, 1983).
However, there was no place for indigenous people who lost their rights and territories. At the moment, New York is the most important US city with over 8 million people living here. Besides, indigenous groups are still discriminated against. For these reasons, their appeals to decolonize Wall Street could be taken as the desire to restore justice and accept their rights to live and govern these lands. The usage of various forms of resistance should contribute to the reconsideration of the existing approach and guarantee the improvement of their living conditions and significance.
Altogether, the last significant process in the US society conditioned the appearance of the Decolonize Wall Street movement that tends to attract attention to the state of indigenous people, their rights, and their needs. Being the movement of the minority, it still uses numerous resistance strategies that could guarantee success and promote the further development of the concerns related to the given issue to reconsider the existing approach to this question.
References
Brady, M., & Antonie, D. (2012). Decolonize Wall Street! Situating Indigenous Critiques of the Occupy Wall Street Movement. American Communication Journal, 15(1), 1-10.
De Cereteau, M. (1983). The Practice of Everyday Life. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
Brady and Antony argue that the idea of the victories of the weak over the strong is appropriate for understanding the roots of Decolonize Wall Street movement. This idea states that even a minority could win if it uses the right strategy. Would you agree?