The line at the Starbucks on 30 Park Row in Lower Manhattan was filled with the usual characters last Wednesday morning. Investment bankers, bond traders, and corporate titans flipped through pages of The Wall Street Journal while awaiting their morning Frappucc
A short walk to the park revealed a circus of activity. Mobs of reporters and television cameras peered down at a small core of camped-out protesters, while an even larger crowd of tourists shuffled past, gawking and chuckling at the homemade signs and grimy sleeping setups.
Although Occupy Wall Street prides itself on a leaderless structure, the movement has effectively become a smorgasbord of individual causes. Playing to the cameras above, one man held a sign reading "STOP FRACKING." Only feet away, a small group unrolled a long banner blaring "HOW ABOUT WE START REPARATIONS?" The Communist Party of America was on the scene distributing literature, joined by members of various labor unions offering financial support to the demonstrators.
Nearby, several protesters lay on the ground surrounded by oversized packs of Crayola markers. Still half-wrapped in their sleeping bags, they spent the afternoon crafting more makeshift signs out of flattened cardboard boxes. Yet for all the signs on display, their messages were broad and disconnected. The movement's ambiguous philosophy has kept it from speaking with a unified voice; the overarching theme of "We are the 99%" was lost in a menagerie of unrelated demands.
Despite this disorganization, donations continue to pour into Zuccotti Park, and the fledgling movement is growing by leaps and bounds thanks to round-the-clock media coverage. For now, the New York City Police Department is keeping a watchful eye, seemingly reluctant to forcibly remove peaceful demonstrators. And while Mayor Michael Bloomberg has expressed sympathy for some of the group's grievances, he also recognizes that the occupiers are wearing out their welcome with local residents.
In the end, it may be Mother Nature—and the looming cold weather—that gets the final say.
