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Hannah Wolf moved to New York City from Juneau just over five weeks ago, taking her experience with Perseverance Theatre, where she worked for two years, to intern with the Vineyard Theatre’s literary department, an off-Broadway house that produces “Avenue Q” and “[Title of Show].”
To afford living in New York with an unpaid internship, Wolf also nannies and said she is considered lucky to have employment. Wolf is just one of several thousand faces representing the Occupy Wall Street movement on any given day, also known as “99 percenters.”
New York is not the only city to see protests; Anchorage was one of many cities to see dissatisfied citizens gathering in public spaces.
Wolf shared she didn’t hear about the protests until two weeks in; “at the beginning, any media surrounding [the protests] was so suppressed that many people in New York had no idea,” she said.
It was a Facebook post showing the tent city in Liberty Plaza that piqued her interest and spurred her to visit the site, where she found herself in the midst of a general assembly march.
“What really surprised me is how many of the protesters and campers are my age, in a similar situation,” she said.
Wolf describes her demographic as educated, raised on the promise of an “American dream that America can no longer support,” with high unemployment rates and overwhelming debt.
The driving force behind the protests, Wolf said, is frustration. Though she said her demographic is well represented, she describes it as a movement not of one demographic, nor the political left or right, but of “the American people who are angry when they are told that hiring is right around the corner, that the recession is ending and that our elected officials are working for us,” only to find that the government is stalled and unemployment rates persist.
From the outside looking in, it can be difficult to discern the goals of the movement, aside from voicing the anger and frustration participants are feeling. Signs read “I am the 99 percent” or “You have the right to remain silent, but I don’t recommend it.”
Wolf said she is a registered voter who votes in all elections and even volunteered with candidate campaigns in the past, but who doesn’t feel her voice is heard.
“At this point, individual complaints are futile, but the Occupy Wall Street movement has provided a platform where I can feel like I contribute and that my voice means something,” she said. “My issues with government are not my own anymore, but reflect the temperament of the country and my single voice can help with this.”
Wolf provided a list of demands of the movement, which she described as a living document, changing as the movement develops: ending corporate personhood, institution of taxes on stock purchases, nationalized banking, socialized medicine, fully funded government jobs, lifted restrictions on labor organizing, turning foreclosed homes into public housing and investing in green energy infrastructure. The demands are big, but Wolf claims that the voice of the movement is reflective of a general group consensus. Organized labor has recently joined the movement, and Wolf anticipates the protests will be more organized and the goals clearer.
“Fully formed movements don’t just spring up, they have to grow and evolve,” she said.
Wolf said Occupy Wall Street has become a national movement that cannot be ignored. Talking more of her experiences, Wolf said she participated recently in a march that turned violent, though she said that violence was instigated by the New York Police Department.
Like the recent Arab Spring protests, the movement is being propelled by social media; Wolf found out via Facebook, while platforms such as Twitter and Tumblr also keep participants and the general public informed. During general assembly and marches, the energy, anger and excitement are palpable, Wolf said.
Functioning without a permit for a sound system, the thousands have managed to communicate and coordinate using social media and “the people’s mic,” in which a speaker shouts a line and, in waves, the crowd will hear and repeat the phrase so that all can hear.
“We’re watching history unfold,” Wolf said, “This protest is giving hope that something will eventually happen, that someone will listen and we can work together to right the direction of the country.”
She also expresses the old sentiment “seeing is believing” when she describes seeing the amount of people participating.
“If you tell me 14 million Americans are unemployed, I have no context, but when I see thousands of unemployed and angry [people] in one area, it makes that number mean something,” she said.
The Occupy Wall Street movement, which started in New York, has seen similar protests across the country. When asked what she would like to see Alaska take from this movement, Wolf said, “I heard that there is an Occupy Anchorage movement taking place, I’d love to see an Occupy Juneau movement stake a claim in front of the Capitol. Alaska has had it very easy through the economic and unemployment crisis, but I think the other shoe is about to drop. I know that Juneauites are as angry as the rest of the U.S. when it comes to these issues and would support a movement like this. Show the lawmakers that Alaska’s prosperity doesn’t mean that these issues can be slid to the wayside,” she said.
• Contact reporter Melissa Griffiths at 523-2272 or at melissa.griffiths@juneauempire.com.
Comments (76)
Add commentSwimmer...just like me? How
Swimmer...just like me?
How the heck is Ms. Wolf just like me? I'd like to hear that one. You say I'm jaded. I'd suggest Ms. Wolf is the one that may be jaded. To suggest that the American dream is no longer attainable is basically saying time to throw in the towel.
My reference to her working as a nanny was basically to point out how ridiculous this "us vs. the wealthy" beef is. Apparently it's ok to bash the wealthy as being a small group of people living off the hard work of poor me, but these same people have no problem taking employment from the same hands they want to bite. Hmmmmm...a wealthy person spending money on services to help provide a wage for somebody further down the line. Almost sounds like trickle down.
of course not, milspec
You are special. Different. Lucky.
Look - all I'm saying is that it is EASY to find one person in a crowd with a 'fringe' attitude. Just like it was easy to find one person in the tea party crowd who wanted to wear their six-shooter to work every day, or put women back in the home.
As I said to island - I think it's a huge mistake, and frankly illogical, to somehow assume that all of the 13.2 million unemployed people in this country aren't JUST like me and you, only not as lucky. Maybe they worked the same specialized job for 15 years and got laid off. Maybe they didn't have the benefit of an advanced education like you and I, maybe they had medical issues.
Here's a different story:
David Bowman, 53, of Avondale, Ariz.
On Dec. 31, Bowman lost his part-time job doing sales and marketing at a friend's plumbing wholesale business. He started the job in August after he had to stop driving a truck because he had a defibrillator inserted due to heart trouble. That meant Bowman neither had a long enough work history before he was laid off nor was he working full time, both conditions for collecting unemployment in Arizona.
Bowman said he's been applying for jobs every day, but hasn't gotten an interview in more than a month. He gets a pension from the Army, but it's not enough to make ends meet, he says. He's depleted savings, lost his home in foreclosure, is behind on his rent and has filed for bankruptcy.
Now why don't you look at unemployment numbers in this country and see this guy - army vet, hard worker, health issue....etc.?
Calypso - your 'sources'
....read EXACTLY like "The Enquirer", you know that, right?
Here's what I don't get - why is it that you, Calypso, are OK with me (and you, presumably) paying $8,000-$9,000 in taxes every year, and GE, with profits in the billions, paying ZERO? Why is that ok with you?
Why is it you are NOT upset that after folding together what they knew were toxic assets to generate more money out of nothing, and then taking a bailout from the government, that banks chose then to go ahead with multi-million dollar bonuses AND sit on that cash to save their own arses, instead of loaning it out like they were supposed to? Why do you think that is just fine and dandy? I don't get it!
I'm not saying there isn't enough blame to go around, and frankly, I DONT CARE which party, or who 'dunnit'. If there was criminal action, regardless, that person should go to jail. I'm guessing that there would be people on both sides of the aisle that would be liable, don't you think? Finger-pointing doesn't change the fact that corporations are sending jobs overseas, while reaping record profits, while you and I pay more taxes than they do. I'm not saying I don't want to pay taxes, I'm happy to contribute - I drive on the roads and expect the fire dept to come to my house if it's on fire. I'm just saying that I expect ALL of us to pay according to our means. And that includes GE, Warren Buffet, and Dick Cheney.
Another story - this one local...
Deleted - just wanted to share for a short period of time.
swimmer
Can you let me know where you learned of Mr. Bowmans plight? You infer that he could no longer drive "because he had a defibrillator inserted due to heart trouble." & "That meant Bowman neither had a long enough work history before he was laid off nor was he working full time, both conditions for collecting unemployment in ArizonaI"
But then you finish up with " He gets a pension from the Army, but it's not enough to make ends meet, he says."
I do not understand why he would not have been eligible for social security's disability benefits. So again ( & I'm not trying to be rude or belittle you or anyone) I would like to see for myself where this information came from.
Thanks
Swimmer....GE, Buffet and
Swimmer....GE, Buffet and Cheney ARE paying according to their means, based on the tax code that is currently on the books. If we are all playing by the rules, I have no problem with them paying whatever amount they are required to pay. If there is a glitch in the rules that allows a person or company to go without paying any tax, then that isn't the responsibility of the paying party to correct. Don't hate the player, hate the game.
I have a good job, no
I have a good job, no financial difficulties, plenty of self-actualization time, and the means to work on a graduate degree without having to lower my standard of living.
I also have no illusions about how I came to be in this position. Hard work? Hardly. I was lucky to be born into an environment in which I had plenty of opportunities. If I had shunned all opportunity, I wouldn't be here, but it takes a very special kind of person to do that. The rest of it is luck. Most people in my position, like certain posters here, like to take credit for all that goes right in their lives, but I'm willing to bet they wouldn't take credit for being laid off or contracting some horrible disease or suffering some other catastrophe that impacted their financial position. Yet they seem totally okay with blaming others for theirs. Think about that for a moment.
Anyway, akbrdguru does have a point in that the game is messed up and the players are (mostly) following the rules. But don't forget that the players exert their enormous influence to put those rules into place. Money is power, even though it shouldn't be under our system of government.
guru....I thought I'd been clear
that it is the game I dislike. The examples given are simply that, examples of how 'the game' doesn't work. I should have included Paris Hilton, Lindsey Lohan, and others like them, for those of you who think someone working a 'regular' job, busting concrete or driving truck or whatever simply isn't "enough" work by your standards, apparently.
Island - I simply googled "unemployment US" I believe it was a Newsweek story. The point remains - why is this guy somehow your enemy, or not trying hard enough for you? What exactly do you expect? If you had a certain number of calamities happen in short order, is there really no circumstance where you would not be in this man's shoes as well? where is our compassion?
Much Ado about nothing
This has come to be aptly known and the
FLEA-PARTY FAUX-TEST.
Personally I like capitalism. These misguided souls should be protesting against BOzo and congress, it was they who approved the bailouts.
In watching interviews of some of these people... "Why are you here?" "Protest" "Protesting what?" "I uhhhhh, I don't really know... OH! the Koch brothers(screamed by an onlooker)!!!" "What about the Koch brothers? I uhhhh, I don't really know....
C'mon, seriously?
And as far as BOzo's Jobs bill, it was never intended to be passed. The whole intent was for it to be blocked by the R purely for propaganda purposes. 457B-B-Billion Dollars, are you kidding me? Hey the first 2 rounds got flushed down a toilet - lets do it again!!!
Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. ~Albert Einstein
I get the issue - if I rob a bank, I go to jail. If the bank robs me they get a free pass.
Vote with your wallet by putting YOUR money someplace safe.
Hannah Wolf - You go, comrade.
@KetchikanJan: if we vote
@KetchikanJan: if we vote with our wallets, then some of us have more votes than others. Does that sound like democracy to you?
Also, your understanding of economics seems vacuous at best. According to virtually all economists, the stimulus prevented the recession from turning into a full-blown depression. Which is sort of a pity, really, because I think a depression would have [filtered word] off people to the point of doing something to really revolutionize the system, not just slap a band-aid on it and hope it doesn't get infected (which it seems it has).
Taxes
Those top 1% of wage earners in the US are already paying 38% of the tax debt according the URL below.
http://ntu.org/tax-basics/who-pays-income-taxes.html
I think we need to trash the tax code for a flat rate for corporations AND individuals. No more hiding money and dodging the tax man.
Attention!
Attention you lap dogs of the rich, they'll never let you in their club. They own the politicians and the media. They use things like "gays" and "abortion" to fool you into looking the other way while they game the system to funnel all of your money to the top. They use their mouth pieces on Faux News and talk radio to convince you to vote against your own best interests. They've convinced you that pooling our talents as a collective bargaining tool to leverage against their mountains of cash is un-American. They tell you that the common man is your enemy, and you believe it.
You better wake up!
The lap dogs will be the first against the wall.
The Campaign to mock us
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=fZA3y05Dcz8
Darn those Koch brothers,
Darn those Koch brothers, hoarding all their money! Ich, it must be hard to read with your head so far up....well, you know.
David Koch contributed $20 million to Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore.
... contributed $30 million to the Memorial Sloan–Kettering Cancer Center in New York
... contributed $25 million to the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston to establish the David Koch Center for Applied Research in Genitourinary Cancers
... contributed $15 million to New York-Presbyterian Hospital Weill Cornell Medical Center
... contributed $5 million to the House Ear Institute, in Los Angeles, to create a center for hearing restoration
... contributed $25 million to the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City
Between 2004-2008, Charles Koch gave $246 million and in 2008 was included in Businessweek's list of top 50 American givers.
Nice try Ich.
Sorry to repost swimmer's
Sorry to repost swimmer's comments but they're just wrong -
she says, "Why is it you are NOT upset that after folding together what they knew were toxic assets to generate more money out of nothing, and then taking a bailout from the government, that banks chose then to go ahead with multi-million dollar bonuses AND sit on that cash to save their own arses, instead of loaning it out like they were supposed to? Why do you think that is just fine and dandy? I don't get it!"
No, you don't get it. From what I understand the banks that took TARP have paid it back with interest. Except for those that Obama wouldn't let pay back the money and he's using those banks for political purposes.
Research the Community Reinvestment Act again. The banks aren't to blame for all that went wrong when the housing bubble burst.
Then, swimmer, run a bank for a year and come back and tell us about lending practices.
It's none of your business really if banks "sit on that cash to save their own arses".
Lose some of the sanctimony, because you're just wrong about so much.
p says, "According to
p says, "According to virtually all economists, the stimulus prevented the recession from turning into a full-blown depression."
Only if you believe in Keynesian economics and are a worshipper of Paul Krugman. Ick.
Here's a real tutorial from The Heritage Foundation with Hayek's recommendations for how to survive and get out of a recession.
http://blog.heritage.org/2011/02/14/hayek%E2%80%99s-top-10-do%E2%80%99s-...
Sanctimony?
Calypso said, "Lose some of the sanctimony, because you're just wrong about so much."
Pot meets kettle.
Oh and Iche. Not that sort of pot. (:
pp swimmer
PP we're not a Democracy, (& were not founded as a democracy) we are a Democratic Republic.
Swimmer who are you to distinguish who my enemies are? I’d just put forth a reality that those that have paid into SS are eligible for disability if they have a condition that prevents them from earning a living.
@isldandhopper: so are you
@isldandhopper: so are you saying that dollars should matter? Are you advocating oligarchy?
I'm way late to the party
I'm way late to the party here, but after hearing and reading a lot of these OWS protesters' demands, it's becoming increasingly apparent that they could benefit from a thorough education from the Occupy the Fed movement folks.
Parents, never let your children grow up to be bankers.
pp
No nor do I think that's what we've currently got. That said, it reads like you'd prefer anarchy, if that comes to pass I'll be ok.
What's the date on the
What's the date on the over/under of when SEIU sending in the grape apes?
@isldandhopper: it is. Who
@isldandhopper: it is. Who donates the most to political campaigns? Corporations and rich people. Whose interests do you think such politicians will represent? Corporations' and rich people's.
When you tell people to vote with their dollars, you are advocating oligarchy, because in a system with any semblance of democratic tendencies, dollars should not affect the number of votes you get.
Who donates the most to both
Who donates the most to both political parties? Bankers, the corporations most connected to the bankers, and rich people.
There, fixed it for ya.
Are both political parties
Are both political parties not populated by politicians? Democrats still receive some money from unions, though, which do have the interests of working people in mind (or at least union working people).
p, maybe that's how the left
p, maybe that's how the left is used to running elections - boatloads of union contributions, Soros backed dollars and foreign credit card donations. Then dividing the electorate and using certain groups as tools. It's the community organizing way.
That's what was so amazing about the TEA Party and the 2010 elections. Pure grassroots. The people spoke with their donations and votes and now Washington has to listen if they want to keep their jobs.
"Obama wins union money vote (PAC donations 89.3 percent were from unions)" I'd say that's just a little from unions!
pp question
Just a ? So what would you like to see replace what we've got, no corporate, union or PAC donations?
My fix would be drug screening and term limits
Yes. No donations except from
Yes. No donations except from individuals. Or perhaps a publicly-funded election program. Or something. Honestly, I'd want to sit down with some sociologists and political scientists before implementing anything. But I do know that this current system is beyond repair.
Bwhahahahahahhaaaa!!!
True, absurdity can be found on all sides...but...
Tea party is grassroots!
Soros is evil and runs the world!!
Scientists are clueless - religious certainty trumps scientific process any day! (And for that matter, blogs from someone's parents' basement trump science as long as it agrees with a particular religious viewpoint.)
Corporations are benevolent, compassionate entities who provide jobs as a public service. Their owners go home at night and weep over the jobs lost to health care costs and wages, and any work sent overseas is to protect jobs here at home.
Rejecting an information source is utterly reasonable and legitimate if it belongs on the "left"; if it is from the "right", especially from the aforementioned parents' basement, rejecting the source is a typical leftist ploy when faced with an argument they cannot refute. This is also applicable to ANYTHING that disagrees with a certain viewpoint.
Personal attackes are abhorrent! Unless, of course, you are calling someone a leftist, a socialist, sanctimonious, wrong, clueless, or any number of other adjectives - then it's just the truth.
Environmental non-profits are out to control the world. The money and influence they wield is all-powerful. The combined wealth of all oil companies, poor things, doesn't even begin to compare. Oil and mining companies would NEVER stoop to manufacturing "science" to protect their billions of dollars of business - they will quietly suffer in silence and purity and succumb to the lies of scientists.
Religion should be protected and defended. Unless it's not mine.
If asked for facts and evidence, you should do your own research and not expect other people to do your work for you. If, on the other hand, someone on the "left" is asked for evidence, replying with the exact same phrase is clear evidence of lies and not really having any evidence at all.
It's obscenely hysterical....
pp
Agreed, unfortunately those in power ( on both sides) will not allow that to happen. I find it funny (actually really sad) that as soon as FDR died Congress moved immediately to enact presidential term limits, but even though the majority of Americans want term limits for Congress too they refuse to address or enact them. Power corrupts absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Peace