Photo from the Sunday Washington Post!
It’s starting to seem like whenever I go on vacation from the Shire, I am presented with the most amusing activism opportunities. Saturday was an great example of this. Staying just a few hours away from DC, I couldn’t resist hopping a bus and attending the Dance Party at the Thomas Jefferson Monument in Washington, DC.
The event was a response to the abusive treatment a few peaceful people had received from the police a week earlier; when silent peaceful dancers were arrested, and in one case, body slammed and choked by the thugs in blue. After video of the incident went viral, support for the ‘dance’ revolution exploded.
I arrived around 11:20am. It was a bit difficult to get to the monument, as there were fences and barricades set up everywhere. I had noticed several police and park security around, but nothing too extreme at that point. As I waited for the “festivities” to start in the monument at noon, I talked to several people; some I knew, some I had never met, and lots of “Good to meet you Facebook friend!”. The crowd eventually made it’s way into the dome, where I joined, after handing my bag to Hannah Hoffman, who graciously agreed to watch my stuff in case anything were to happen to me.
After a inspirational speech out front by one of last week’s arrestees, Adam Kokesh, the crowd of civil disobedients gathered in the center of the monument and began the illegal dancing. We all circled around the statue of Jefferson while a wall of cameras shot video and pictures from one side, and the police and SWAT teams conferred on the other. Around 15 minutes into the dancing, the crowd began to cheer various cries of victory.
It was at that point I saw police began gesturing people towards the exit, pushing members of the crowd, and setting up a boarder of barricades around all the entrances. At the same time, two 5-man rows of SWAT team thugs, in full black garb and loaded weapons, formed near the back of the monument (from outside to center) cutting the crowd in two. I was standing near the innermost SWAT member, so I remained dancing in that spot, so as to not allow him to easily close off more ground. As the two lines moved outward (one clockwise, the other counter-clockwise), the SWAT next to me began pushing on my back. I had become so elated from the fun of the event, without fear I pulled away from his hand, turned around and said, “please, look but don’t touch. Just like a strip club, same rules apply.” I turned around and began dancing in the same spot again. The SWAT did not push me, or even move forward again while I was in there.
I continued dancing as the crowd thinned. After about 30 minutes, and with only 15 or so of us remaining, I decided I was exhausted, I had to pee, and it didn’t seem like there was any threat of anyone being arrested. (*Point of fact: everyone who remained eventually left of their own free will over the next 20 minutes or so.) I made my way to the minuscule opening in the barricade, where two dozen or so various law enforcement had created a gap between the dome’s entrance and the steps.
I made my way to an officer standing in the middle of the gap to inquire where the restroom was, noticing the ridiculous amount of equipment the various officers had with them (riot gear, 4 horses, 8 motorcycles, and one even had a high powered assault rifle). After instructing me where the bathroom was, the officer I had approached gently grabbed my arm and began pulling me towards the dense crowd at the top of the steps. I brushed at his hand saying, “Please don’t touch me, I can walk without assistance.”
Officer Marino
Once he got me near the crowd the short, angry Officer Marino violently grabbed my arm, then shoved me into the crowd. Not the safest move in the world, as I tripped off the top step, and nearly took the crowd down the entire stairwell. Still having to pee, unable to get through the crowd, and upset with the way this man had just treated me, I turned around and tried to talk with Marino. As he ignored my questions and continued to push me, I noticed that the crowd was thinner on the other side of the pillar I was next to, so I attempted to go around it; only to have Marino violently shove me back and yell at me. I began shouting back that I had to pee, I couldn’t get through the crowd, and he had no right to touch me. As our shouting match became more heated, the officer who had originally told me where the restroom was intervened, instructing Marino to allow me to go around the column so I could get to the restroom. Marino grabbed my arm and pulled me strait into a woman in a wheelchair. I pulled away and said, “Don’t touch me, I can get there on my own.” Unhappy with my lack of appreciation for his “service”, he gripped down hard on my arm and began dragging me as I yelped in pain and the crowd screamed for him to stop. With a violent shove, he threw me at the steps again, and stomped back to his position. After returning from the bathroom, I handed my camera to someone in the crowd and asked for them to pass it up and have someone snap a picture of “the short angry lookin’ cop on the right”. [I have been told there is video of this incident. I am waiting to get a copy.]
I found Hannah to retrieve my bag; then joined her, Jason Talley, Adam Kokesh, members of Code Pink, and many others in singing a few rounds of ‘The State Free Dance‘. Eventually we made our way down the steps, being sure to avoid the giant mounds of horse crap the law enforcement’s calvary had left behind (and they say dancing at the monument is disrespectful). I was sure to report some illegally parked police trucks/horse trailers to an officer walking by, who said he would ticket them; but I doubt that happened.
All in all it was an amazing experience. Despite the false reports that we were “kicked out”, most of the ‘law break-dancers’ stayed till they felt their point was proven; not because they were forced out. Nobody was arrested, nobody was seriously injured, and hundreds of people from all over the US gathered to show that nobody would allow such things to happen for the simple act of dancing. It really was one of the most perfect civil disobedience events I could have ever had the pleasure to be a part of. Because there is no act more happy, pure, and peaceful than dancing. When put to a backdrop of tyrannical, heavy-handed force, there is no way to deny the current police state, other than by lying to yourself. But this weekend instilled hope; that when enough people peacefully stop obeying the tyrants, they lose their power.
