On Jan. 17, thousands of people from
around the country came together to demonstrate and send a clear
message to the returning members of Congress that poor and working
people in the United States will no longer accept a government that
serves the greed of the 1 percent.
The event, known as Occupy Congress,
brought more than 2,000 people to Capitol Hill, who attempted to
organize a “meet and greet” with congressional representatives
for a redress of grievances. After dividing into groups of state
constituencies, participants stormed the Capitol steps demanding more
job creation and an end to the friendship between Congress and
corporations.
While a handful of participants were
able to force their way past the police officers and security
personnel stationed to prevent constituents from speaking with their
representatives, hundreds more were left on the steps of the Capitol
chanting, “We are unstoppable, another world is possible!” After
only a few minutes of meeting with their U.S. Representatives, Occupy
protesters were ejected from the offices and told they were no longer
allowed into the building to meet with anyone.
This response by members of Congress
and the D.C. Capitol Police only shows just how deeply corporate
money lines the pockets of the U.S. government. While ordinary
citizens are confronted by lines of armed police officers and face
locked doors when trying to meet with their representatives,
lobbyists for large corporations are able to roam the halls freely,
some even holding office space within the building itself.
Refusing to be ignored, Occupiers went
on an impromptu march through the streets surrounding the Capitol,
arriving back at the West Lawn to prepare for their next action.
Only an hour later protesters marched
once again, filling Constitution Avenue and marching past the Supreme
Court before heading to the White House. As Occupy protesters, many
of them homeless, unemployed, lacking health care or facing a
mountain of debt, stood outside the White House chanting, “We Are
the 99 percent,” once again the only response came from armed
police officers with full riot gear.
After hours of activity, the crowd
remained energetic and militant, displaying unity between the many
Occupy encampments that came from around the country.
This event is evidence of the strength
and continued growth of the Occupy movement, and while members of
Congress were unwilling to hear the unified message of the 99
percent, that message grows louder every day throughout vast
communities of poor and working people.
