EDITORIAL: Bringing Social Justice to Wall Street

Although many people have critiqued the exhibitionist nature of the Occupy Wall Street protests, the demonstrators stand for causes that dovetail with the Jesuit ideal of social justice. Few people will deny that many Americans have been marginalized in favor of corporate interests. Corporate greed, responsible for much of the current income inequality, must be called into account. In a world where many messages are filtered through corporate interests (media conglomerates, lobby-influenced politicians, advertisements, public relations representatives), it takes a grassroots movement to speak up and defy the corporate powers that control much of the United States' wealth, culture and mores.

The Occupy Wall Street protest's concern with corporate rapacity, the unjust income gap and environmental problems, supports a mission of social justice. Corporate interests are responsible for economic issues like the housing bubble and rampant unemployment.  The protesters carry signs underscoring other problems that corporations have caused, from environmental hazards such as non-renewable energy sources to hydraulic fracturing (a method of extracting natural gas that releases toxic water as a by-product, as incidents in Pennsylvania have demonstrated).

Certainly, the Occupy Wall Street protests and recall hippie protests of the 1960s; "hare krishnas" and the sound of drum circles abound downtown in Zuccotti Park and all over the country. Their sensationalism, however, is not a reason to discount their message of social justice. In a society obsessed with exhibitionism and spectacle, a group of citizens with limited resources can only hope to gain attention by exercising their right to free speech in a dramatic demonstration.

People are quick to criticize the Occupy Wall Street protests, claiming that they lack a unified message. The protests are a clear statement against a culture of corporate greed that has toppled the financial system, marginalized humans and harmed the environment. The protestors take a stand against the diverse damages caused by corporations, from environmental destruction to the housing bubble's explosion and bailout-bolstered recession.

While some members of The Ram's editorial board do not necessarily agree with every position espoused by the protestors, we do support their message of social justice and the necessity for change in a broken system where corporations have the same rights that humans should have, while people are driven out of their homes.

In a world where the lines between media gatekeepers and their corporate parent companies often become blurred, it takes a separate entity to speak for those whose voices are drowned out by poverty, unemployment or hopelessness.

The Ramapplauds the Occupy Wall Street protesters for their conviction and dedication to human interests over corporate ones, for quality of life over profit margins, for homes over bonuses, for activism over apathy.

Editorial Policy

The Ram's editorials are selected on a weekly basis, and are meant to reflect the editorial board's view on a particular issue.