I know others have remarked on some of the facts I'll present today, but all I can give you is my point of view - how I personally have experienced those facts. Today, in the Wisconsin State Capitol, I was struck by the sheer scope of the community that has been built both by and for this fight. Not only is this movement not filled with the thuggery and riotous violence that it's been accused of - it has created the exact opposite. People are living up to the principles they are fighting for, and it's as heartening as ever.
My day as a protester (on my lunch break between classes) started with perplexing disappointment. I was sure that somewhere on State Street, among all the 'head shops, hippie shops, and little import shops I would be able to find a vuvuzela with which I could welcome the Koch brothers. I failed in this task. I even checked a couple of the independent sports shops. If anyone knows where I might find one in Madison, please let me know. Frustrated, but undaunted, I continued toward the Capitol. My trip was later today, and the firefighters had just finished their daily trip around and through the Capitol. They dispersed throughout the last block of State Street, and immediately began partying. Groups took photos together, and other groups streamed into nearby restaurants. They also filled up Ian's, which put my plans for another free lunch (I'm a graduate student, so a free lunch would be tempting even if it wasn't being provided by kindred spirits) on hold.
Since I had arrived between large groups, it was easy to make my way around to the open entrance and head inside. Signs are taped up everywhere with blue painters' tape (we have word from capitol police and facilities folks that it won't harm the marble). The rotunda at its center looks much like the photos you've seen everywhere. The bottom floor was full of people chanting, drumming, and taking turns on bullhorns. The second floor had people three deep at the railing. The third floor had a selection of people and banners overlooking the action and chanting along.
The crowd was a little thinner perhaps than some of the national photos from last Saturday, but that center section was still there, still energetic, and still going. And here's the thing: THEY ALWAYS ARE. Every time I've been there during the day has been like that. People like myself are going in shifts. Working people are going on their lunch breaks, and then again after work. Teaching Assistants are holding "Grade-ins" where they do their grading at night at the Capitol. Our presence there is constant. It took a friend to point out the most striking feature of the crowd today - there just weren't that many students. That may sound negative, but consider it. The energy of the crowd remains unchanged, and the noise level continues, and the size was still quite considerable, but here, a scant few blocks from the center of a university notorious for student activism, and the crowd of protesters in the people's house were primarily over 30. The students are still coming and going, and are still a major part of this movement, but it is no longer defined by youthful anger. These are moms and dads, aunts and uncles, grandmas and grandpas. Case in point: my favorite sign today (by far): a woman was being pushed around in a wheelchair. She had a face like chiseled & weathered stone, implacable and impenetrable. Until five or six people stopped to take a picture of her and her sign. For a moment, her face remained stern. Then she beamed. I looked at her sign: "I'm 91 years old. Old enough to vote, and young enough to kick butt!" (I may paraphrase, but not by much. I was too slow to get a photo of my own.)
And that's the striking thing for today. An entire community has sprung up in and around the Capitol. Signs everywhere remind you to clean up after yourself, and to use hand sanitizer. There are signs pointing you to where you can find food. I followed them, expecting to find a stack of pizza from Ian's. Instead, I found a buffet line. One table had bagels and toppings donated from one place. Another had a huge platter of fruit. Water, granola bars, it was everywhere. The tables were staffed by volunteers handing things out to any who needed it. The only payment I heard asked for? One lady wouldn't give anyone any food until they'd used hand sanitizer. "There's a lot of people in here, honey. You don't wanna get sick!"
Another corner of the 2nd floor had been taped off and designated a "family area." Kids were napping and playing. I saw a sign for a "medical area," presumably staffed by the cadre of nurses who've been with us all along. There were signs to lead you to electrical outlets to charge phones, cameras, and laptops. These people were building a community out of whole cloth, and doing it all surrounded by the marble of a state building. This wasn't just "The People's House," it was "The People's Home." I was too dumbfounded to get one of the bagel sandwiches, so I just kept walking. A lot of new posters today about Governor Walker and David Koch. Lots depicting him as a puppet. As I got back outside, my attention was drawn to one guy with a bushy mustache and scruffy beard that looked like he could have been one of my dad's carpet installers. In a deep Wisconsin accent (I haven't lived in the state all that long so I'm still enjoying it), he yelled, "This is an intervention! Our governor has a Koch problem, and we need to help him break that habit!"
I laughed, and began walking back around the capitol to make my way back to campus. A group of "Cops for labor" had now taken the street. Before I could make it a quarter way around the building, a guy ran up to me carrying a foil tray. "Take one! They're still warm! Go ahead and take one so I can go back to the truck and get some more to hand out!" I looked down, and smiled.
I walked away eating a bratwurst that tasted better than any loaves and fishes ever could have.