On the Ground Report from Occupy Congress

Two very important observations from this article:

One, while they were loud outside to get attention they knew to speak softly inside such that their message is actually heard.

"They chanted and cheered and hollered...then all stood in line patiently to get through building security. Once inside the building, the previously boisterous group split apart, becoming suddenly deferential inside congressional offices. Raucous on the outside; concerned average citizen on the inside. One California Occupier I followed walked into his congresswoman's office and asked quietly, "We're doing this correctly right? Asking these people to represent us?" He then went on to tell the staffers that his parents cannot retire and will have to work until they die."

Two, the "disorganized" style of the Occupy protests has some clear advantages.

"And Occupy Congress did manage to pull off a massive protest on the steps of the Supreme Court. This was not planned and had it been, it likely wouldn't have happened. It's illegal to demonstrate on the steps of the highest court in the nation. In October, Cornel West, on the day of the dedication of the Martin Luther King Jr. memorial, held a sign reading, "Poverty is the worst form of violence" and was swiftly arrested in "solidarity with the Occupy Movement." Tuesday, with only a handful of Capitol Police around over a thousand Occupiers rushed the steps of the Supreme Court. There was no way for the police to arrest that many people in a massive act of civil disobedience. The protesters then stood on the steps, cheering and chanting for a few moments, before just as swiftly leaving for the White House.


Had they known what they pulled off by accident was so unusual in the post-9/11 world, they might have stayed longer on the steps of the building where Citizens United was decided, facing arrest and forcing a point about the Court. Instead, the "leaderless" movement traipsed down Pennsylvania Avenue to the current home of President Obama."



On the Ground Report from Occupy Congress 
(via The Atlantic Magazine)