Protest on Wall Street

At first it seemed more like a gathering of street performers than a political movement. A few hundred protesters briefly tied up Wall Street on the weekend of Sept. 17, some wearing face paint and many holding homemade signs. The focus of their anger was free-floating: the bank bailout, income inequality, student debt, corporations in general. But they were onto something, and in weeks since the Occupy Wall Street movement has spread to San Francisco, Philadelphia, Dallas, Washington, and elsewhere. A New York rally on Oct. 5 included members of several big unions. Here's a look at some of those who came to Wall Street.

Matt Parica, 17, Maywood, N.J., student
"I came here to occupy Wall Street. I'm pissed off that corporations can control our country however they want because of their monetary influence."

Photograph by Amy Arbus for Bloomberg