So, DC.
There's actually a pretty good storify of this up right here when you can follow the events of the day in pictures, video and tweets:
http://storify.com/dustinslaughter/o...orify-pingback
A tweet of mine is actually quoted at the end...which is cool. But as for my own opinion on the matter, see below
DC was actually pretty badass, it wasn't what I was expecting, but it was a pleasant surprise.
First of all, not 100,000 unfortunately. I had taken that number from the original graphic I posted on here (Which read: "Bring 100,000 tents") And the reaction of a large number of people online basically saying "YES. I will go to this. That's what I've been wanting them to do all along!"
I was expecting something more like #N17 in New York, just bigger. However, it was pretty clear that we would not have 100,000, as the permit which was applied for was only for 10,000. Estimates I've heard place our numbers at 3-5000 and that seems about right, as we filled up about 1/4th-1/3rd of the Capital Lawn:
(Papers are saying 1,000 btw...considering that the papers called the chrowd @ #N17 5,000 while NYPD scanners clocked 36,000. I'd say a good rule of thumb would be to multiply whatever the mainstream media claims five or six times to judge the real size)
The advantage with this smaller group however, was that it was pretty much all die-hard OWSer's we had occupiers from every state with an occupation: Oakland, SF, Kentucky, New York, NJ, DC, SC, Michigan, Alaska etc. We ended up being able to be much more focused on policy and networking.
The other advantage, was that we were literally able to take our message directly to congress, and by that I mean at noon we split up into small groups and went to speak directly to our Representatives. My buddy John Knefel was able to sneak into a meeting with Chris Gibson (R-NY 20th) who is a son-of-a-bitch btw and talk to him about the the NDAA and indefinite detention of American citizens. (Good news: NDAA did NOT give the president this power.
Bad news: the President already had this power) He wrote a great piece on it for Salon.com here:
http://www.salon.com/2012/01/20/cree..._capitol_hill/
most disturbing:
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Chris Gibson
...We are a Free Country, and no bill or act or presidential decree can take that away.
|
Uh, no Chris. Bills and acts, and presidential decrees, can and WILL take that away. You nitwit.
After that KK, my girlfriend and I, went to get lunch. We found a little bar and grill near the protest. We walked in and found a group of Midwestern-looking moms from Florida up on vacation. They saw my sign and asked me what I was protesting. When I responded "Occupy Wall Street" They cheered, clapped their hands and proceeded to thank us. One of them said her husband had been laid off for months and she was "really glad that someone was finally standing up for ordinary Americans" another told me that she watches our livestreams every night.
After lunch we pointed them in the direction of the protest, which they joined, and I got to see them later during the march.
The march was AWESOME, for a number of reasons. We went from the Capital, to the steps of the supreme court and we filled them chanting "Money is not free speech" in reaction to the Citizens United decision:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpNm2EQ_XME <--video here.
And then marched on to the White House.
Overall, I'd say this was extremely productive. We didn't have the numbers I was hoping for, but really on a Tuesday, in the rain (the forecast said "100% chance of rain" the night before on weather.com (which is owned by Bain Capital btw). in the middle of winter, in a commuter-city with a LARGE percentage of 1%ers I think we did really well.
The things which stood out to me:
1) This movement is still not nearly radical enough. Folks are getting there, but once again, most occupiers just want a kinder, gentler capitalism. Which isn't possible. The media is currently treating us as radicals, so I say we should just own it and BE radicals. However, we are much MORE radical than when we marched on #N17 and shut down downtown Manhattan.
2) seriously, KUDOS to the DC police. Unlike the NYPD, they were professional, and their tactics were effective. They showed up in normal police uniforms, not riot-gear. There were WAY less of them than in NYC (The usual ratio in NY is 1 police officer to every 1 protester, sometimes more in the case of smaller protests). There were only 4 arrests the whole time, which surprised the hell out of me. And their crowd control tactics were much more humane. If this had been New York we'd have had busted skulls, or kids hit by cops on motorcycles, or people pepper-sprayed for little to no reason. As is - no one got hurt as a result of police brutality, and the crowd was far less violent and angry as a result. Police forces around the country could really learn from the Capitol police's tactics. These guys know their shit.
3) Occupy DC
has their shit together. Of course, This is largely because they're
allowed to have their shit together, but MAN is their encampment nice. Large, evenly spaced tents. Generators, mess and aid tents, and porta-johns. Overall, I really approve, and hope to do more in DC. NYC is still the heart of the movement, but DC is giving us a run for our money in terms of organization.
So, yeah. That's about it. I had a blast and I feel like we got some really constructive shit done. You guys have any questions?
