I think, Melissa, that the 'Occupation' of vacant lots, etc, is more than posturing. It looks to me like a resounding call to all people to correct history and right wrongs. The protestors have shown they aren't protestors; rather, they are us. (Walt Kelly would be proud I think.)
People have suffered at the hands of multinationals and conglomerates because gigantic corporations perceive themselves to be laws unto themselves, and indeed they have demonstrated that they are. What makes peaceful civil disobedience so powerful is its civility. Virtually, the only violence offered since the Occupation is from the ruling group--like, where else would it come from? That sarcasm was not aimed at you, btw.
I think OWS is an idea with millions of plain and otherwise ordinary people doing the directing and driving. Hell, they're even writing the script!
I have asked myself the same questions you posed earlier. "What is the sense of this?" My answer was simple: Zen. "So, you admit that because there was the sound of two hands clapping that two hands clapped?"
We ain't none of us rich, but so far we ain't none of us ugly, either. This is important. To us, not them wot dislikes us.