When Is Just Showing Up Enough?

In an opinion article comparing India's anti-corruption hunger striker, Anna Hazare, with the Occupy Wall Street protesters, there was the following quote:

“Occupy has been, to my mind, an engaging movement, and it’s driving home the message, to the banks, to the Wall Street circles,” Bedi said. “That’s exactly the way Anna did it. But we had a destination. I’m not aware these people — what is their destination? It’s occupy for what?”

I’m prepared to celebrate when the Occupiers — like the lone hunger artist of India — accomplish something more than organizing their own campsite cleanup, demonstrating their tolerance for tear gas, and distracting the conversation a little from the Tea Party. So far, the main achievement of Occupy Wall Street is showing up.

Though I agree that many (most?) of the OWS protesters are not completely sure of what they are trying to accomplish, at least partially because there are so many voices that want different things, why is a unified goal necessary? What if the main achievement of showing up is just what is necessary? Despite not accomplishing much in the eyes of the media, the conversation for the better part of a month has been OWS, what it means, what they are trying to accomplish and how it stems from dissatisfaction with the banks and political system, and the bailout without proper regulation following, etc. The fact that these issues have been forced into the political debate, and into the wider public eye where the general sentiment behind OWS is widely supported, is an accomplishment in and of itself. As anyone in the Northeast knows, the fact that so many people are still camping out in Zucotti Park, despite NYC not allowing generators or heaters, means that even if there are a multitude of beliefs about what their movement means... they believe in them wholeheartedly. Moreover, it also means that the discussion on OWS in the media and political circles is not going away anytime soon. And maybe that is exactly the accomplishment we need.