Lydia Johnson has issued the call for a “Spill Onto Washington” protest in DC over the Labor Day weekend. From September 3 to September 5 2010, the idea is to surround the White House with people making noise, peacefully assembling to petition the government for redress of grievances surrounding the occasion of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico:
Bring your children, signs without sticks, tents, food, and voices.
We will meet on the Ellipse, in Washington D.C., next to the White House, from the morning of September 3rd until the morning of the 5th keeping the president’s kids up, sorry girls, with speakers, bands, workshops, the Wall of Shame Gallery of bp posters, kids’ tents, tabling and more.
We will no longer take a Washington that is so infiltrated by corporate control that we no longer know exactly who runs this country. We will tell them how to vote on bills, and expect strong legislation that suits the will of the people not wealthy campaign contributors and law makers with conflicts of interests between their money sources and the people. BP, you’ve become the poster child of corporate waste, abuse, incompetence, greed, and class divide.
Gulf residents have begun evacuating of their own accord due to the health effects of toxic air. Let’s go for them, the animals, and the planet.
Johnson indicates that she will create an independent website for the protest soon; until then she directs people to this Facebook page for the event and for those interested in helping with logistics to call her at 402/708-2224.
I’m interested in hearing your thoughts about this choice of topic, method and venue for political protest.
Although i’m completely supportive of this event, i don’t see how the second paragraph will play out. Telling lawmakers how to vote won’t do any good (unless the protesters bring boatloads of CA$H with them to “influence” the legislators that they have to “tell” how to vote). Voting certainly doesn’t do any good (nothing has changed for the better, and won’t until this flawed and corrupted system is replaced with one that works for its citizens). And, as for “expecting” strong legislation, don’t get your hopes up. The way it “works” now is that someone may sponsor a strong environmental bill but before long it’ll be bogged down in committees, have all kinds of ridiculous and pork-ridden riders attached to it, and it will either be shelved (or tabled) and forgotten or voted down due to its attachments (or not enough legislators signing on).
This protest, like the ones during the Bush (jr) administration, will have negligible effect, unfortunately, since “our” politicians don’t work for us anymore.