Greetings from Occupy DC! Jan & I are here for the first day of the occupation of Washington in Freedom Plaza along with about 500+ others & more coming every minute. The mood is high & it is interesting to see the mix of people, ages, etc. ComFest commitment to consensus serves us well here--though these people are kinder to one another--lol.
People are here from as far away as Hawaii. A big group fro Occupy LA. There are people here from Occupy Cincinnati (kicking off next week) & Cleveland (already in progress). Where the hell is Cbus? The most progressive city in Ohio (arguably) is rep'd by me & Jan only--so far that we know of. WISH YOU WERE HERE!
Music today evoked Phil Ochs in more ways than one: first of all some of the songs are "typical" smart, acerbic, sarcastic Ochs style songs--("The last veteran of the Lincoln[brigade] has died...") & in some cases they just sang Phil's songs. A guy here is writing a book about Ochs & took Jan's email, looking for people who knew him when (at OSU)...
The weather is grand. The sleep out should be comfy--we shall see if the park police decide to arrest. There is another group occupying McPhereson Park & they have been there since last week, but we are on federal property so who knows how the park police will respond. We are across from Wells Fargo so some folks will sleep in that doorway; others may go to BofA or other sites. Apparently sleeping on city sidewalks is NOT illegal here, just in the parks & federal property. Of course.
Union folks are here to defend collective bargaining, and it appears the Dems--always looking for an "in"--are backing the protests. Too amusing for comment.
Tomorrow we march on General Atomics & join Veterans for Peace at the MLK monument. (President of Vets for Peace is from Toledo! Tim, Gabor, let's contact for S&P program!) There are other actions so who knows what the day holds. All good things. Saturday, we are probably going to take the early train to New York to join them for a day.
This is an amazing moment. There is a real change possible now, and we wish you all were here to feel the vibe. For those of us who have continued the struggle for 40 years or more in some cases may find some satisfaction that the work goes on, that WE are still out there--old & young. (we expect to see you when Cbus occupation solidifies--& thanks to those who showed up last Saturday for the march from campus to the short north)
peace & revolution ho!
connie & jan
People are here from as far away as Hawaii. A big group fro Occupy LA. There are people here from Occupy Cincinnati (kicking off next week) & Cleveland (already in progress). Where the hell is Cbus? The most progressive city in Ohio (arguably) is rep'd by me & Jan only--so far that we know of. WISH YOU WERE HERE!
Music today evoked Phil Ochs in more ways than one: first of all some of the songs are "typical" smart, acerbic, sarcastic Ochs style songs--("The last veteran of the Lincoln[brigade] has died...") & in some cases they just sang Phil's songs. A guy here is writing a book about Ochs & took Jan's email, looking for people who knew him when (at OSU)...
The weather is grand. The sleep out should be comfy--we shall see if the park police decide to arrest. There is another group occupying McPhereson Park & they have been there since last week, but we are on federal property so who knows how the park police will respond. We are across from Wells Fargo so some folks will sleep in that doorway; others may go to BofA or other sites. Apparently sleeping on city sidewalks is NOT illegal here, just in the parks & federal property. Of course.
Union folks are here to defend collective bargaining, and it appears the Dems--always looking for an "in"--are backing the protests. Too amusing for comment.
Tomorrow we march on General Atomics & join Veterans for Peace at the MLK monument. (President of Vets for Peace is from Toledo! Tim, Gabor, let's contact for S&P program!) There are other actions so who knows what the day holds. All good things. Saturday, we are probably going to take the early train to New York to join them for a day.
This is an amazing moment. There is a real change possible now, and we wish you all were here to feel the vibe. For those of us who have continued the struggle for 40 years or more in some cases may find some satisfaction that the work goes on, that WE are still out there--old & young. (we expect to see you when Cbus occupation solidifies--& thanks to those who showed up last Saturday for the march from campus to the short north)
peace & revolution ho!
connie & jan