There’s an App for That:

Occupy Wallstreet Influences the Android Market

By Anthony Pilloud
Contributing Writer

Android application developer Quadrant 2 has recently released their new app, titled “I’m Getting Arrested”. The app, the function of which is to alert friends, family and/or your lawyer in the event that you are under legal duress, was created as a direct result of hazy (at best) legal action that has been taken against the Occupy Wallstreet protesters.

Obviously, the application can be used for a variety of reasons. Since it simply sends a pre-made message to a set of preset phone numbers, there is little to the application itself that is new. However, the important of it rests almost solely, in my opinion, in what the application was made for.

What kind of society do we live where this is a necessity? How far will police brutality and media blind-sightedness go before someone steps up and something is done about this?  We have all heard of how police effectively herded protesters onto the Brooklyn Bridge and then used this isolation to forcibly arrest the protester, and now we have more and more accounts of senior police officers facing investigation for police brutality.

The second senior officer, reported to be one officer Johnny Cardona, was caught on film last Friday physically grabbing a protester, turning him around to face the policeman and then punching him in the face. This should come as a surprise, but considering the various other investigations, including officer Anthony Bologna’s apparent pepper spraying of a female protestor, the reality seems to becoming increasing clear.

So here we stand, on the brink of potentially massive political upheaval between all parties involved. The events are becoming so influential that even comic book artists are arming themselves with their pen and ink. In a recent comic, Batman can be seen un-hooded in front of a spray-painted wall that exclaims “Occupy Gotham”, while the Dark Knight calmly holds a sign that reads “Raise my taxes”.

Even Quadrant 2’s description of the app seems to hold some subtle political commentary: Alert your lawyer, loved ones, etc ... that you are being arrested with a click. I’m Getting Arrested enables anyone, with one click, to broadcast a custom message to SMS numbers in the event they are arrested. Very easy to setup and operate. Instructions under help menu. Inspired by a real Occupy Wall Street incident. Free to the other 99%”.

It brings to mind another application, this time for Apple iOS market, entitled I Am Rich, which, quite literally, has absolutely no function other than the fact that it costs 999.99$, which aired in August 2008 and was apparently removed from the market a day following its release. The app simply showed a glowing red gem, and the description in the iOS store read “the red icon on your iPhone or iPod touch always reminds you (and others when you show it to them) that you were able to afford this”. There is little more critique that I can give that they do not do to themselves.

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