Posted by CODEPINK Staff
By Jodie Evans
I arrived at sunset as the downpour ended.
Melanie is moving through the community as if it were her living room.
She has made friends and allies and nurtured relationships of mutual support.
And of course her headquarters is the Wiki-Leaks truck!
As she departs for a good night sleep and some dry clothes my son shows up with dinner just after I got my 30 seconds on the live feed. We both agree it is shades of burning man. Mostly because we feel that yummy sense of aliveness, community, support and love.
He offers himself fully to the task of call and response of the general assembly but after an hour wonders how everyone has the stamina. Yet he comes up with a great idea to organize an early morning action to circle wall street with 5,000 people and is curious if we can make that happen. He is insistant that Wall Street feel the effects of our presence. What will their tweets read he wonders? This is followed by an arrest of a young woman on her bike. It is awesome to watch as those who are responsible shift from GA to monitoring the event at hand. Cameras out, people up and like a dance the cameras move forward and those without withdraw. The police are surrounded by those who are sharing the story in multiple forms globally. Many in the crowd are telling stories of their recent arrests on the Brooklyn Bridge and the dry night of sleep they got in jail. No one here is exercising power, instead they are taking responsibility and following through on it. Beautiful to behold.
The night is full of long conversations about what this is, where it can go, what can be done as the cold moves in, how to be most effective and how to encourage others to join. All bathed in the richness of the general assembly on one end and the non stop music and dancing on the other. The General Assembly greeting table has a collection of our pink peace cranes as decorations and the guy from the music side came to complain that we are playing favorites and he wants his own.
The vinyl banners Kristen mothered into being were a big hit tonight, multiple requests to hold them for the cameras as they did their night stories and lots of opportunities to do photos with them. I did meet a female corporal in the army who had come in solidarity but couldn’t hold the sign because she was in uniform. But she likes all the messages.
The wiki-leaks truck leaves in the morning to join us in Washington on Thursday. There is excitement in the square at the news of a push in DC. Love and curiosity were the threads of my night. Tomorrow more crane folding to make the welcoming table on Trinity Street feel supported.
Please join us in NYC or whereever you are.
