Happy Anniversary Occupy Wall Street!

Today marks the one-month anniversary of the Occupy Wall Street protest. On September 17th, exactly one month ago, protesters rallied in Lower Manhattan, marched to Zuccotti Park, and did not leave. One month later they are not only still there but the protest has also become global, gained the support of unions, and much much more.

The month has been full of drama, including many encounters with the police involving pepper spray, beatings, and mass-arrests, and the month culminated with an intense showdown with the city on Friday. The city attempted to clear the protesters out in order to perform a cleaning of the park, and after cleaning the park themselves, the protesters refused to leave. They were joined by more than 3,000 people at 6am on Friday as they refused to yield the park to the city. Ultimately the showdown was averted when Brookfield Office Properties withdrew its request for a cleaning and for the support of the NYPD in the removal of the protesters.

On September 17th, Occupy Wall Street was a mere fledgeling fringe movement, started as a quasi-joke by the Canadian organization Adbusters. Only a month later, however, it is fully established and has the support of the public, the media, and many unions and political groups. The movement grows every day and no one can say where this movement will be in only another month's time.