This morning I woke up after an exhausting day which is entitled to its very own diary itself later to head down to the Mall in Washington Dc. After bidding Jesse goodbye in the morning since he was returning to NYC for a panel with Ron Suskind and Paul O'neill I prepared for a day of action on my own.
I hopped on the Red Line train towards the Washington Monument to meet up with SEIU members who were engaging in an action day called Take Back The Capitol.Many in the media have deemed it Occupy The Capitol but that is wrong. This action was actually planned before the OWS movement had started. I've been told that it was meant to highlight the plight of the unemployed and put political pressure on Congress and the President to extend unemployment benefits and pass President Obama's jobs bill act.
While I am critical of any jobs bill that is still 40% tax cuts I think it is an important step in the right direction and frankly if Krugman feels it is halfway decent then I will support it. I wish SEIU had not endorsed President Obama so quickly. I want him to win and we need him to win but why give him your approval before he has done anything for you? Alright I am getting off track:
This is what the camp looked like the night before as SEIU set up:
It was a beautiful thing to behold at night with the Washington Monument in the backround. Many of the tents have their own names much like I remember from Liberty park. Such as the media tent which offered free computers for anyone to use with wi-fi - or the SEAL tent where much of the direct action and Mic Checks (Which I was to be a part of today) were planned and the medical tent where EMT's and Dr's were staffed.
Please join me below the fold for the rest of the story.
Now I arrived at the Mall around 10:30 and many people were milling around, talking, and congregating inside the tents. You see - today it has not stopped raining. What began last night with a slight drizzle turned into a rain storm for most of today. Most of the people down there were wearing ponchos that they handed out for free. The ground was slick with mud and the only time I had ever seen this much mud concentrated in one place was WoodStock 99.
I was not sure what the action of the rally was going to culminate into for today so I asked around and they told me we were heading down towards K Street to shut it down. Having witnessed so much in NYC over the past few months of what happened when peaceful protesters tried to occupy a street I was apprehensive. My girlfriend had specifically forbid me from getting arrested and I didn't want to occupy THAT dog house on my return trip to NY. Well I put aside my fears and decided if we were gonna shut down K Street - then we were going to shut down K Street.
Several hundred people departed the mall as mist turned to rain. While our clothing became wet our spirits were not dampened. There were union members from all parts of the country taking part in this - alongside people from various occupy camps across the country.
Now I have heard a ton about Occupy getting "co-oped". That we have to be careful so that the unions do not "co-opt" us and use us. To that I say we are all the 99% and that we are all working class people. If we were looking for an ally in the fight for equality I am proud to march with the unions. They have been fighting this fight longer than I have been alive and while entrenched power systems are something to be cautious about - I see no benefit in leaving the unions out of a movement they should have had a hand in starting.
I see no difference do you?
We marched through the rain in the streets of Washington DC. We were told to specifically not to use the sidewalks which made me nervous but I went along with it. Chants echoed throughout the street and many people stopped what they were doing to watch. There were children, senior citizens, disabled folks, young folks, and all walks of life participating in the march.
The refrains I was so used to hearing in NYC were being shouted down here. It reminded me that this isn't just a regional thing - this is a world wide thing and that the words we use are universal in meaning.
On our way to K street we paid a visit to Wells Fargo bank which many of you know has come under a great deal of pressure because of the role they have played in home foreclosures. They locked the doors and refused to let anyone inside the bank. If that wasn't so sad I would have found it funny. You can take peoples homes but you refuse to have a conversation with the people you are destroying when they show up with their friends.
After our procession haunted Wells Fargo for ten odd minutes and they refused to meet with us we continued on towards K street. The longer we walked the more people came to join us. Other chapters of SEIU, local unions, OWS protesters and even people who were on the street and decided to take action joined. We passed the Mcpherson square Occupy camp which I had visited with Jesse the morning before and realized how close K steet was to the protest.
At that point SEIU amassed on 16th street and took the block for its own. Banners were unfurled as groups sang "This little Light of Mine" or chanted "Banks got bailed out - We got sold out" - "What do we want? JOBS! - When do want them? NOW! What had been a vipers nest of corporate (still is) lobbyist power in which the common person has no voice had become a giant rain drenched party in the street of action.
K Street!
Had become 99% street!
Cops surrounded the intersection and were advising drivers and people to stay well clear of this part of town. I can't fault them for doing that but I hope people would forgive a little slight inconvenience while we try and save the country from ruinous political kabuki theater. The street between 16th and 15th became empty. No cars could get by and several of them backed up. One car I saw on 15th tried to drive through protesters and nearly ran several over. It was at this time I realized that the OWS encampment had fully joined the march and shut down the corner of 15th. Rushing down I saw that even more people were moving towards 14th street in an attempt to shut that down. I heard several cops shout "get a job" after we chanted "Who's streets - our streets" with vibrant tones. I responded with kindness and sincerity saying thank you for the job you are doing and I hope one day you get your pension and a raise.
Now we managed to hold over four blocks throughout K street and I know most of the story will be centralized on the people that got arrested. Most if not all of those who got arrested planned to get arrested for civil disobedience. There were no clashes with the police that I saw. No violence. No altercations that I saw besides a few Mcpherson kids (they looked like teenagers to me) saying we were getting "co-opted" which I addressed by saying - "OWS day three from NYC Liberty park and we are all the 99%." The story that should be told is one of the people. People that have stood up and said that they want a fair chance at the middle class. Heck we don't have a middle class anymore. We are a working class country and we deserve jobs, a fair wage for fair work, and an opportunity to have the American dream. None of these people are looking for that mythical hand out that somehow only ends up in the hands of the very wealthy. These are mothers, fathers, children, aunts, nieces, nephews, husbands, and everyone who inhabits this planet. Why is it only considered class warfare when we fight back? Did we start this fight? Shutting down K street - if only for a few hours is hugely symbolic. K street represents all that is corrupt in our system of money for influence in politics. Until we can have campaign finance reforms and stop politicians from being beholden to K street lobbyists and their wealthy backers we will continue to see the devaluation of America as a nation of prosperity.
I am glad I put aside my fears to witness this event. All that I have seen in the last few months has changed my life forever and I know I will be able to look back on a life and be proud. I stayed down there for about three hours before heading back to the Mall drenched and tired. Shortly after getting back and attempting to upload (and failing) photos and videos I got a call from an activist from who told me to head to the SEAL tent with my camera so we could go Mic Check Newt.
That one can be for tomorrow morning when I wake up..but here are some of the videos I shot and I'll be adding my photos to the dailykos photo co-op'ed.
Much more tomorrow..
Goodluck and goodnight...As MoT always says:
They only call it class war when we fight back.