Apropos “Occupying Wall Street” (October 20), the message in the movement “Occupy Wall Street” is loud and clear. The protesters are using the internet (read Facebook and Twitter) to spread the message. There are clear similarities in actions between the events in New York, on London streets and elsewhere near stock exchanges and Tahrir Square (Egypt), though the reasons may be different. The street activists have been protesting the growing disparities: “the rich becoming richer and poor becoming poorer”. The “99 per cent” are revolting against the “one per cent”, although the percentages need not be taken in pure arithmetical terms. The respective governments might use force or the protests might die down on their own. But the writing on the wall is clear: corporate greed, bailout packages and growing unemployment are causing resentment.
Though the grievances of people in India are different from the Wall Street issue, poverty, corruption and inflation, which have affected the urban and rural poor, are economic shocks that can sow seeds of discontent. It is foolish to think that such movements are few and far between and have no serious implications for any country.
K V Rao, Bangalore
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