Early this year, the editors of a Canadian anti-establishment magazine watched Egyptians demanding democracy in Cairo and young Spaniards camping out in city centers to protest high unemployment, and wondered, "Why isn't this happening in America?"
So in an Internet posting in mid-July, Adbusters suggested a time -- Sept. 17 -- and a place -- Wall Street -- for people to make a stand. The editors didn't organize any activists, or even visit New York, but thousands of people took their idea and made it real.
"All of us had this feeling that there was this powerful wave of rage rising up in America that hadn't found its expression yet," said magazine co-founder Kalle Lasn, who came up with the idea for the demonstration with Adbusters editor Micah White.
The Vancouver-based magazine called for 20,000 "redeemers, rebels and radicals" to flood Lower Manhattan and occupy Wall Street for a few months. The crowds have been smaller than that, and another part of the original Adbusters call -- that the protesters come up with "one simple demand" -- has yet to materialize. But the demonstration has created buzz and inspired dozens more encampments across the U.S.
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