What's "Occupy Wall Street" All About?

Over the years I have become increasingly moderate in my political perspectives. I neither support nor reject the Occupy Wall Street movement. I only know it bugs me. And I aim to figure out why.

I live in an area of the country that has had little to no interaction with the recent spurt of "Occupy" campaigns, and thus have neither witnessed protest events first hand, nor get to speak with people in person very often about the issues raised on any and all sides of this particular controversy. I have however done some reading and am about to do some writing, in the hopes it will produce some thinking.

So I am eager to open a dialogue on some of these issues. The "Occupy Wall Street" controversy is but one of many issues the media has given attention to lately, but for some reason OWS, along with the Penn State nightmare, has become a source of great irritation for me. Perhaps it is because both have intersected with education. Perhaps it is because I am utterly dismayed at the lack of citizen-oriented dialogue regarding these two issues, lacking in the responses to most controversial issues today  - and yet it is that respectful and useful dialogue that produces better citizens.

Through my own writing and through conversations with others, I aim to either figure out why it bothers me, or be convinced out of my irritation, or create a positive model of forward implementation. Either way, I would like to create a forum that I can't seem to find elsewhere: one that is informative, respectful, intelligent, and does not derail into the virtual toilet of character assassination, name-calling, and threats. For this is largely what I have found regarding this issue. I respectfully invite your responses and tolerance with what I'm sure will frequently be rants given my general cranky nature.