Friday, November 18, 2011

Angry Occupier at McPherson Square



During our visit to Occupy DC my Marine buddy and I walked through the square in and among the occupiers and then took a lap around the perimeter of the park.  We did meet a recently retired Marine (he was wearing his Federal badge on a “Marines” lanyard) who was looking on with undisguised amusement.  We shared a moment of Marine camaraderie and then moved back into the center of the square.   


One guy did stand out (with "Hey EPA . . . " sign).  He was trying to get the crowd motivated and they weren’t having any of it.  He was bellowing that he wanted everyone to come with him and picket at the EPA.  He bellowed “Clean coal is an oxymoron.”  His most colorful sign wished that his “girlfriend was as dirty as coal.”  No doubt if she was hanging around in this park for long - she was.  He seemed to have a thing about coal.    

  
Finally, he had enough.  He bellowed “Only six?  That’s all?  That’s disgusting!”  And the small party trudged off to the EPA.  I’m certain that some bureaucrat wrote yet another regulation on his behalf.  Everyone else might have been diverted by a delivery or release of baked goods as a number of his fellow occupiers appeared all of a sudden with an assortment of doughnuts and bagels. 


The hardest working guy at the McPherson Square was a guy with a push broom.  He was sweeping the leaves off the sidewalks that crisscrossed the park.  He was doing a good job and actually asked me politely to move as I hadn’t detected that I was in his way.  


The protest at the EPA had been listed on a whiteboard near the information booth that had a schedule of sorts for the day.  Something like “12:00 – Protest EPA” and then there was “12:30: Announcements.” My buddy and I waited on pins and needles.  One occupier came out with a bullhorn and it just squeaked.  I think he was testing it – no joy.  Many suggestions emanated from his fellow occupiers, but the final assessment was that all the batteries were dead.  There was one guy who emerged with a clip board – he might have been the mayor of Obamaville – but for the want of a battery, we may never know. 

More to come . . . . . . 


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7 comments:

  1. Gunny GNovember 18, 2011 at 6:16 PM

    WELL DONE! Be careful brother. These people are losers and have nothing to lose as they simply don't care. They have no self-respect and thus, cannot respect others.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Gunny GNovember 18, 2011 at 6:19 PM

    WELL DONE! Be careful brother. These people are losers and have nothing to lose as they simply don't care. They have no self-respect and thus, cannot respect others.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Common SnseNovember 18, 2011 at 8:23 PM

    Gunny,

    We were a pair of Marines keeping an eye on each other. Thanks for the visit and the word of caution.

    ReplyDelete
  4. HardnoxNovember 19, 2011 at 9:31 AM

    I'm looking forward to your next post.

    ReplyDelete
  5. clydeNovember 19, 2011 at 9:41 AM

    You and your friend DID sanitize yourselves after walking through there,right??hahahahaha
    Awhile back a few of us went to Grand Circus Park in Detroit to "talk" with some of the anarchists there,but the police wouldn't let us get any closer than 20'.Kinda hard to converse at that distance. Went by there Tuesday,only saw about 20 or so. Getting cold up here,I expect their numbers will continue to dwindle.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Common SnseNovember 19, 2011 at 11:27 AM

    Hardnox,

    Thanks - the anti-EPA guy was the toughest looking one of the bunch. He might have been interesting to talk to - he was too busy organizing. The conventional wisdom is that you need someone like that - to energize the idealists (useful-idiots) in the crowd. There were 5 or 6 times more occupiers interested in the doughnuts and bagels than the ones who decided to wander down to the EPA. To win - a Stalin, Mao, Saddam Hussein, or Hitler has to bubble up to the top to herd the cats. You need a "come with me or we'll shoot you" guy.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Common SnseNovember 19, 2011 at 11:34 AM

    Clyde,

    Thanks for the visit. The AFL-CIO was letting them shower at the National office down the street so they were unkempt but not wretchedly dirty. I don't think I have a picture of it, but we saw a large, clear plastic trash bag that looked like it was clean clothes. Either donated or freshly laundered.

    Though we moved freely through the crowd taking pictures, only one guy actually walked over to us to challenge what we were doing. My buddy disarmed him quickly by offering him a Constitution.

    The people who work in DC were using the sidewalks to move through the crowd and there were a couple of other onlookers.

    There were police in evidence on the perimeter of the crowd. I asked one guy in a patrol car if he was tired of it yet. He gave one of the world weary sighs and said "It's all part of the job."

    ReplyDelete

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