#OccupyWallStreet: The Revolution will NOT be televised

So, for the last few weeks I have been easing into the Twitterverse.  Yes, I recently created a Twitter account.  Partly because I was utterly bored with Facebook, but also just to try something new in terms of procrastinating via a social media network.  I was never expecting it to have the impact that it has.  I am now fully immersed in Twitter, but not for the reasons you might think.  I can't stand reading mindless status updates every 5 minutes about whether someone just brushed their teeth, or about how a friend might be on their way to class.  No, your Twitter can look whatever way you want it to.  By being able to choose who you follow, you customize your news feed to however you like, from whatever sources you like. 

Personally, I have used Twitter almost exclusively as a news source.  I felt that it was a cute way for news stories to come to you, rather than you to find them on a news website yourself.  (I recognize that this isn't a significant difference at all, but bear with me).  About  two weeks ago, I stumbled onto the trending topic on Twitter named #OccupyWallStreet.  The internet group Anonymous had begun to organize a non-violent protest in New York City, and was using Twitter and the internet to gain support, participants, and an audience.  What has happened since then has been eye-opening for several reasons.  Not only did around 2,000 people show up to voice their dissatisfaction with the current greed-infested economic system (a small number, perhaps) but many people have camped outside Wall Street, continuing the protest since September 17th.  The solidarity shown through Twitter has caused many other movements such as #OccupyChicago, #OccupyBoston, and even yes, #OccupyOrlando to start up in cities all across the U.S.  This 'revolution' is an opportunity to have a serious conversation about our economic system, one that was missed during the time of the first stimulus package in early 2009.

Perhaps the most startling fact from all of this has been an absolute blackout by the infamous "Mainstream Media" until a couple days ago.  Now, to be clear, I am not using the term "Mainstream Media" in the same context as some Fox News sympathizers might.  I'm talking about ALL of TV.  Now, maybe the media was waiting to see if it was a story worth reporting, but that fact has two possible outcomes:  Either television media is unable to keep up with the fast-paced immediacy of real-time news of Twitter users, or they consciously made a decision to ignore what is a growing movement across the country.  Either way, one thing seems to be clear:  that Twitter is the media of the people.  And if there is to be any revolution, we can be sure that i certainly will NOT be televised.  Follow all the action on http://anonops.blogspot.com/, where footage of the protests as well as videos of celebrities and musicians in solidarity with the movement can be found.


Here is Immortal Technique - one of my favorite rappers of all time, addressing the crowd in New York:
(The audio messes up in the last few seconds, but well worth watching.