American Demonstrators “Occupy” Washington, D.C.

On the afternoon of Oct. 6, hundreds of demonstrators gathered in front of the American Chamber of Commerce to voice an angry question: Where are the jobs? Just outside the headquarters of the most influential lobby group in Washington, D.C., hangs a huge sign reading: jobs.

One of the demonstrators, 72-year-old Dietrich Nicholson from California, said that the reason he came all the way to Washington, D.C., to attend this demonstration is that he feels he has to do something to change America’s current situation. The number of people failing to find jobs has made him feel it’s time to take action. Nicholson shouted out, along with other demonstrators, the slogan “eliminate corporate greed!” They also displayed big banners condemning big business’ culture of greed, in which they take all the profits, demanding that their influence be driven out of American politics.

Before demonstrating in front of the headquarters of the American Chamber of Commerce in Washington, D.C., thousands of demonstrators from all across America gathered first at Freedom Plaza, which is located between the White House and Congress, announcing that they seek to “Occupy D.C.” They held their banners high and accused big business of affecting politics with money and demanded that the government put more resources into programs that would benefit the wellbeing of the general public, instead of giving allowances to big business or to fund wars overseas.

Quite a few demonstrators started to camp at Freedom Plaza from early in the morning. David Crewson, from Cincinnati, Ohio, said that he and three other friends drove to Washington, D.C., the night before and planned to stay at Freedom Plaza for the weekend before heading back to Cincinnati for another demonstration. At the plaza, Crewson and his friends squeezed their sleeping bags and mats into a 2.2-square meter patch of lawn, bringing their flashlights and some necessary clothes with them. Around them hundreds of demonstrators, young and old, have already crowded around the lawn, with all kinds of banners held high over their heads and many people still writing more banners on the spot in all sorts of colors.

Crewson, 25, thinks that America currently puts too little money in the areas that are beneficial to the general public, like housing, education and health care, and gives too much room for wars, especially the wars waged under the pretense of counter-terrorism, such as the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. He asks the government to stop the wars, pull out the troops and focus more on the wellbeing of the American people.

Because this demonstration took place just one day before the 10th anniversary of the start of the Afghanistan war, instead of just demonstrating against corporate greed, being anti-war was also one of the themes of the day of “Occupy D.C.” One of the organizers of the demonstration, Sally Simeon, said that they began to prepare for an anti-war demonstration as early as a year ago. Influenced by the “Occupy Wall Street” movement in New York, this demonstration in Washington, D.C., has been infused with even more meaning.

There are usually some anti-war demonstrations in Washington around the anniversary of the Afghanistan war every year, but this year, due to the high unemployment rate and slow economic recovery, many American people feel pessimistic and disappointed and increasingly doubt the war. Lars Peterson, a Vietnam veteran from Madison, Wis., said that as a mechanical engineer, he used to earn an annual income as high as $90,000, but because of the terrible economic situation in America, he was laid off and had to make a living by owning a small business with his wife. He said that it was this very experience that made him realize that America is heading down the wrong road, and he thinks that America should no longer be waging the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. What’s more important is that the American government and American politics are controlled by corporate interests, and the general public has lost its voice. Peterson held his banner and questioned: What good has the war economy brought you?

Facing the demonstrations that have taken place across New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and finally, Washington, D.C., on Oct. 6, U.S. President Barack Obama admitted that day at a press conference held in the White House that the American people have recently experienced the most serious financial crisis since the Great Depression, with industries all across the U.S. suffering significant economic losses. Demonstrations like “Occupy Wall Street” reflect the dissatisfaction of the American public toward the financial sector.

Although Obama’s tone was appeasing, the people’s discontent is not that easy to assuage. Especially since a presidential election is drawing near next year, the impact these demonstrations across the U.S. would have is unpredictable. According to Simeon, the demonstration on Oct. 6 is not the end but just the beginning. The demonstrators will “occupy” Freedom Plaza in the next few days or maybe even weeks and push for political reform. Their aim is to end the rule of big business.