Occupy DC: Day 6; Report from Freedom Plaza

(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