One of the most distinctive features of
the Occupy Wall Street was the lack of
any real face attached to the movement. When thinking of Occupy Wall Street and
its prominent players, it is difficult to think of one leader or even a
specific agenda within the movement. This was done intentionally by the participants
and protestors to represent their commonality and interconnectedness in their
dissatisfaction with the disparity of wealth in America. Despite not having a
distinctive leader, there were a few key players within Occupy Wall Street.
1. Adbusters: This Canadian based
not for profit, anti-consumerist, pro-environment organization was founded by
Kalle Lasn and Bill Schmalz in Vancouver, British Columbia In mid-2011
they proposed a peaceful occupation of Wall Street where they would protest against
corporate influence on Democracy, the growing disparity in wealth and absence
of legal repercussions behind the recent global financial crisis. Senior Editor
of Adbusters magazine Micah White said they had suggested the protest via their
email list and it was "spontaneously taken up by all
people of the world".
2. Anonymous: Rather than having official organizers, the protest instead relied on a massive scale group assembly of "hacktivists" under the banner of the virtual collective Anonymous. These hacktivists were able to participate not only in street protests but also in online activism, using their social network accounts as an organizational tool. Anonymous used social network applications such as Twitter to supress potential violence and keep the protests peaceful and avoid disorder. The idea of Anonymous only served to reinforced the goal of the movement which was to be portrayed as a leaderless organization and as more of a united effort.
3. General Assembly: The General Assembly was considered by many to be the backbone of the Occupy Wall Street movement, especially in the decision making process. It was a parliament like organization of activists, artists and students who had first convened to occupy the City Hall in New York to protest the Mayors plans for budget cuts and layoffs. They represented an autonomous, leaderless organization who learned from their experiences and wanted to repeat the process on a larger scale with greater impact. The General Assembly along with OWS as a whole, borrowed much fromthe social movements happening all around the world in places like Tahrir Square in Egypt and Madrid's Puerta Del Sol. .
5. Pete Dutro: Dutro was known amongst many Occupiers as "Pete the Heat" and was dubbed by CNN as Occupy Wall Street's "money man". Pete, a tattoo artist and former software project manager who dropped out of pursuing an NYU finance degree to participate in OWS, was part of an eight member finance team for the movement. Once OWS started receiving major media attention, donations came flocking in. Dutro was in charge of accounting for the movement which raised more than $300,000 in donations. He described the job of financing for OWS "like doing an office job in a mosh pit".
2. Anonymous: Rather than having official organizers, the protest instead relied on a massive scale group assembly of "hacktivists" under the banner of the virtual collective Anonymous. These hacktivists were able to participate not only in street protests but also in online activism, using their social network accounts as an organizational tool. Anonymous used social network applications such as Twitter to supress potential violence and keep the protests peaceful and avoid disorder. The idea of Anonymous only served to reinforced the goal of the movement which was to be portrayed as a leaderless organization and as more of a united effort.
3. General Assembly: The General Assembly was considered by many to be the backbone of the Occupy Wall Street movement, especially in the decision making process. It was a parliament like organization of activists, artists and students who had first convened to occupy the City Hall in New York to protest the Mayors plans for budget cuts and layoffs. They represented an autonomous, leaderless organization who learned from their experiences and wanted to repeat the process on a larger scale with greater impact. The General Assembly along with OWS as a whole, borrowed much fromthe social movements happening all around the world in places like Tahrir Square in Egypt and Madrid's Puerta Del Sol. .
5. Pete Dutro: Dutro was known amongst many Occupiers as "Pete the Heat" and was dubbed by CNN as Occupy Wall Street's "money man". Pete, a tattoo artist and former software project manager who dropped out of pursuing an NYU finance degree to participate in OWS, was part of an eight member finance team for the movement. Once OWS started receiving major media attention, donations came flocking in. Dutro was in charge of accounting for the movement which raised more than $300,000 in donations. He described the job of financing for OWS "like doing an office job in a mosh pit".
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