
The organizers planned the rally on Wall Street for months to express anger over the rule of the “capitalist political system” and the rule of the rich. Some referred to the movement simply as September 17, after the date of the rally. Others dubbed it the “United States Day of Rage.” The “Occupy Wall St.” movement had stated beforehand that its mission was to bring 20,000 people “to flood into Lower Manhattan, set up beds, kitchens, peaceful barricades and occupy Wall Street for a few months.” According to the organizers, the demonstration was inspired by the massive protests that took place in Egypt, Greece, Spain and Iceland. An “Occupy Wall St.” group on Facebook calls on followers to “deploy this emerging stratagem against the greatest corrupter of our democracy: Wall Street, the financial Gomorrah of America.”
The protesters claim that they are “the 99 percent that will no longer tolerate the greed and corruption of the 1 percent.”