My husband and I rode the Metro and met our older daughter at McPherson Square, 15th & K Street NW -- the headquarters of Occupy D.C. It was a beautiful day -- one of those gorgeous D.C. early fall days.
There were about 50 people hanging out there, mainly younger than us (which covers quite a range!), lying on blankets, standing around talking. Everyone was cheerful and it felt strangely like a big group picnic. There were some roughly marked places to get food and drop off supplies (we donated a couple of blankets, warm hats, gloves & scarves, and two U. Mich plastic ponchos to use as tarps)
The food area was filled with cases of water bottles and peanut butter and lots of other food supplies -- so I think the people there are well stocked.
About 15 minutes after we arrived, a few more young people arrived, gathered everyone together and shared information they had about the pepper-spraying of some protesters at the Air and Space Museum. We were told that the protesters who were sprayed were engaging in planned civil disobedience and were part of the Stop the Machine protest. They chose the Air & Space Museum because it has a display of drone aircraft
And here is where the confusion comes in:
The two events are quite different -- Stop the Machine, a long-planned several-day (though I understand it no longer has a definite endpoint) antiwar event sponsored by a number of organizations, complete with mics, loudspeakers, tents, various protest-useful resources, and lots of planned activities.
Occupy DC, on the other hand, is a spontaneous event, resources are hit or miss, no loudspeakers or mic's, and like Occupy Wall Street, it has no planned end. But it was full of enthusiasm and spontaneity. And it had what I would guess is the signature communication method from Occupy Wall Street: "Mic Check!" and then every statement spoken by the person is repeated by the group as a whole; anyone can speak.
Unfortunately, the media has conflated the two events and the articles focused on the pepper-spraying and arrests of the Stop the Machine event but ascribe that incident to Occupy D.C. While there is overlap between the two groups, the emphasis is quite different. (I saw some signs at the Freedom Plaza Stop the Machine event that I really didn't want to associate with -- such as one that started with "Arm Yourselves"). And the Occupy DC people who spoke to the group emphasized that we are peaceful and were not intending to get arrested.
We then started on our march, wending our way on sidewalks, about 50 or so marchers, escorted by several of our protesters on bicycles, chanting either the now famous Madison WI "This is What Democracy Looks Like," or "The Banks were Bailed Out, We were Sold Out," or "We are the 99%!"
We got lots of honking (to the rhythm of our chants), hand waves and thumbs up -- I didn't personally see any nasty responses. We were passed by open air and double-decker tourist buses with people frantically taking photos of our march -- and on every tourist bus there was at least one or two people waving and cheering wildly.
We marched around Freedom Plaza and picked up some Stop the Machine marchers
(the young woman seen from the back with the red backpack is our daughter).
At this point we started marching in the street with police seeming to be aiding us in doing that safely (unlike the Brooklyn Bridge, this seemed to be a genuine effort to help us, not a way to trap us into being arrested). According to our daughter, who has spent several days at the 2 protests and has picked up lots of information, there were representatives from the National Lawyers Guild helping us along the way by directing us in coordination with the police to prevent any problems.
We old folks finally peeled off after about 2 miles and headed home to be there in time for our younger daughter (who was being dropped off at home).
Our older daughter took lots more photos than I did (I was using my iphone for mine) and as soon as I see her (she lives downstairs, which means we see her about once/week!), I'll get some better photographs and post them.
This was a truly positive experience for two veteran 1960's protesters -- we liked the down-to-earth communication method, the "leaderless" democratic style. There were leaders, but they're not official, just people who seem to be good organizers and rise to the top in this type of situation. I thought to myself that the Occupy events around the country are wonderful training grounds for the next generation of political activists. And I think these events have broken new ground. I definitely see the influence of Tunisia/Egypt/Israel/Madison, but Occupy is making its own contributions to the culture of peaceful protests and change.
And to end on a high note: a young helper dog, one of the most cheerful of the protesters:
update: seems like at least part of the altercation at the Air&Space Museum was due to a right wing infiltrator trying to undermine the Stop the Machine protests.
http://www.dailykos.com/...
I'm not a big fan of the Stop the Machine, but I really am disgusted with the underhanded attacks by the right wing on all kinds of liberal/progressive activities.