We Are Here Because Our Voices Aren’t Being Heard
As I continue to dig deeper into my popular culture topic, “We Are Here Because Our Voices Aren’t Being Heard,” I am referencing two very different modern movements, namely: Occupy Wall Street and the Tea Party. Despite their differences, they are quite similar. Both movements are motivated politically, and they stereotype our current government as a broken political system.
One theory that applies to both of these movements is their ritual of protesting. Tabouli (2011) offers a visual platform for comparing and contrasting the Occupy Wall Street and the Tea Party movements. The reasons for their protests are different. According to Tabouli’s chart, Occupy Wall Street is protesting to, “Tax the rich, reform campaign financing, and investigate and arrest executives for fraud.” On the other hand, according to Tabouli, the Tea Party movement is protesting, “Reduce the size and power of government, reduce federal spending, and reduce taxes.”
Americans have always stereotyped our leaders as mature, well-spoken, educated white males. But this type of stereotyping is changing. According to USA Today (2010), “White Americans crossed a once-impassable racial divided to vote for Barack Obama. African Americans saw a black man crash the ultimate glass ceiling. Just watching the First Family in the White House each day has vanquished tired, old stereotypes. A CNN poll . . . found 51% of Americans, including 74% of blacks, believe the Obama presidency has improved race relations.”
By applying the concepts of rituals and stereotypes in with my popular culture topic, I conclude that the world is changing quickly, and we are living amidst the changes.
References
Perkins, P. (2011, October 17). Ritual and myth. America, 205(11), 26.
Sherrod case mirrors USA’s elusive racial harmony. (2010, July 23). USA Today, p. 10a.
Tabouli, Julie. (2011, November 13). Faceoff: occupy wall street vs. tea party [infographic]. Retrieved from website:
http://dailyinfographic.com/face-off-occupy-wall-street-vs-tea-party-infographic
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