Occupy DC: Day 6; Report from Freedom Plaza
Friday, October 7, 2011(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)
The Occupy D.C. movement got a large infusion of protesters on Thursday as
the small crowd that has steadfastly held McPherson Square was bolstered by over
1,000 new protesters who set up a new camp on Freedom Plaza. The anti-war
"October 2011" protest has been in the works since May and drew people from all
over the country. The Freedom Plaza gathering housed a sizable contingent from
Wisconsin, who had cut their teeth protesting Governor Scott Walker's attack on
unions earlier this year. Next to them was a Veterans for Peace group from
Minnesota, who had made the 15-hour trek down to the nation’s capital. A
man who travelled all the way from Hawaii told the crowd that the
nation's war on the middle class inspired him to come to Freedom Plaza.
The issues that concerned the crowd – the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq,
corporate greed, ineffective politics and the growing inequality between the
rich and the poor – were illustrated by the myriad bright signs and
banners that filled Freedom Plaza. A protest organizer said they plan to
occupy the plaza indefinitely, although their permit only goes through
Sunday. Meanwhile, protesters in McPherson Square confirmed that they will
continue to hold their location in case the Freedom Plaza group fizzles out
after their permit ends.
John, wearing a Phillies cap and sitting on the grass in Freedom Plaza, said
he had driven down from Philadelphia because he was out of a job and wanted to
help spread the message of the unfair war on the middle class. "I hope something
comes out of this," he said.
- report/photo by AJ Metcalf