Update on Occupy Wall Street Drumming

As the protest in New York City and across the country continues, the controversy over the drumming and drummers continues to serve as a focal point for the entire movement. This protest, almost two months strong, has garnered the attention of people across the globe, including politicians, athletes, musicians and celebrities. Many see the drummers and rhythm as a symbol of the momentum of the movement, while others believe that the protest is little more than a chance for “hippies” and their Djembe drums to become a public nuisance.

When the drummers were curtailed and given only certain times to play due to noise issues with the surrounding neighbors, there was little resistance. The drummers and drumming group, The Pulse, obeyed the noise regulation in order to maintain peace within the protest. These same musicians saw their instruments and drums vandalized and stolen, but still supported the movement as a whole.

The drummers at the Occupy Wall Street protests may have faced a battle of their own, but in the sense of community and global purpose, they put aside their own feelings about the presence of drums and a motivating rhythm for the rhythm. While put in the spotlight as one of the reasons why the OWS movement is wrong, from the hippie culture of the jobless to the apparent disregard of the needs of the other protestors and residents in Zuccotti Park (a perspective that has since been changed after the drummers observed the new noise and drumming-specific regulations) these drummers continue to fight against the economic disparity within the country. They stand side-by-side with the other protestors in New York City and across the country, ready to drum up support in whatever way possible, hoping to create change they only way they know how.