Occupy DC Protesters Plan To Remain Through Holidays

WASHINGTON -- Do protests take a holiday?

Not Occupy Washington, D.C. The protest originally known as "Stop the Machine" will be holding a Christmas Eve holiday party at Freedom Plaza, where demonstrators have been camped out since early October. The program includes a concert featuring D.C. native Radio Rahim, an alternative hip-hop act called Leftist, D.C. rapper Arman Ali and blues musician Casey Lynch. The musical program will be followed by a big meal and caroling.

Meanwhile, separate protest group Occupy DC has a festive tree in McPherson Square as well as a red, yellow and green "Seasons Greetings from Occupy" sign set up near the park's statue of General McPherson. But no official Christmas activities are planned for the group, which is nearing the end of its third month in McPherson Square.

Protester Kelly Canavan told The Huffington Post that some Occupiers will be going home to see their families, while others will celebrate with local families who have opened their homes to demonstrators.

"A lot of people need a break to rejuvenate," Canavan said, explaining the halt in protest activity. "We're going to start Occupying the New Year."

Yes, that means despite the lack of Christmas activity, there will be an Occupy DC New Year's Eve celebration:

No matter who you are, may that be a citizen, professional, student, activist, parent, unemployed worker, teacher, professor, votes, or a underrepresented who represent the 99 percent you are all welcome to participate in the celebration of the new year. 2012 will be a busy year for the Occupy Movement and will be certainly a tough year for the 99 percent. With a collapsing economy, social injustices, and corruption in politics we hope at least to make the best out of it by starting the year with a massive public party!

Those who care to join in can RSVP for the NYE party on Facebook.

Adrian Parsons, the lone remaining Occupy DC hunger striker, has more modest holiday plans. Parsons stopped eating on Dec. 8 to protest the District of Columbia's lack of equal voting rights in Congress. He's lost some 20 pounds since embarking on a diet of just water and vitamin pills and is generally too weak to stand anymore. For Christmas, he'll be going to see his parents in Fairfax, Va., where he'll present them with a large piece of artwork and continue to not eat.

"I'm gonna have some water appetizers, water ham, look at the water Christmas tree," he said. "Dream of a water constitutional amendment giving D.C. the right to vote."

RELATED VIDEO: Arman Ali, who will be playing at Occupy Washington, D.C.'s Christmas Eve party.

 

 

Comments

[crypticvalentine]

09:26 PM on 12/27/2011

Movie
http://vimeo.com/33854206

[blindsquirl]

04:16 AM on 12/26/2011

Occupy DC...Hope y'all take a pause, get AHEAD of the curve, come back, and Occupy SCOTUS.
These are the people that "legitimized"..bribery "citizens united"..they gave us the "corporate person"
and they WILL be considering NDAA issues.
IMHO...SCOTUS is a credible focus and it will be DIFFICULT for them to deprive us of our "Constitutional Rights".
Thanks for what you are doing.

[Martha Fair]

07:26 PM on 12/26/2011

Yeah...that is where the heart of the corruption is located. SCOTUS or SCROTUMS is the ATOM HEART MOTHER of all crony capitalism and the seat of monetary fascism.

Supreme Court Republicans Of The United Monetary States.

[Scott Wilkinson]

12:10 PM on 12/27/2011

Get a job

[DoggieMom]

11:22 PM on 12/24/2011

Wish they would all occupy an island somewhere, far, far away....

[NotaLiborCon]

11:21 PM on 12/24/2011

I saw there was an Occupy North Pole movement with the elves protesting 1% santa claus even though he gives away presents...

[Martha Fair]

07:28 PM on 12/26/2011

DIEBOLD-WE VOTE SO YOU DONT HAVE TO

[John Milford PA]

06:18 PM on 12/24/2011

You know l have noticed the OWS bunch, Union members,welfare people, minorities,the folks that want something for nothing, the gay people. They all have one thing in common l bet 98% are Democrats what a motley crew. I bet Obama is proud of his following!!

[Honesto001]

01:26 AM on 12/26/2011

"...the folks that want something for nothing." Would you consider that these folk are actually sacrificing more than 99.9% of the population by being out there whatever the weather, Cops beating them up, and a lot more? They are amazing. You are too quick to judge that they are Obamites or Democrats. They are young people of age or of the heart that want a better world. They are putting their lives or the little they have at risk to promote their ideas. Rather than being "normal", which is working their lives for the meager crumbs that the corporation would throw at their subjects, they seek a more fair world with rules for the powerful that bully us everyday. There's free speech in this country, but when it really matters there's a cop with a pepper spray or baton at the other side of your mouth. You should be proud there are people that live lives of sacrifice like Jesus is said to have lived...

[John Milford PA]

12:23 PM on 12/26/2011

Who asked you to be part of this mob. Sacrificing for what?? Your entitlements thats what you are looking for you know freebies. Cops beat you up and pepper spray you because you dont understand what a curfew means or you are tresspassing. In Egypt you would be dead. Your ideas working for megar crumbs who has to give you anything who owes you anything? You dont like what you are being paid looking for something else stop wining on the streets. Start a business and hire your own employees. 2 posts below this one is written by big blue read it and stop your crying. Yes 98% of all of what l mentioned before are Democrats The low end Democrats the ones that have there hands out the give me crowd I want crowd l need crowd.What a bunch that voted for Obama

[Martha Fair]

07:33 PM on 12/26/2011

Why don't you move to India where they welcome people like you. They probably wish they had a caste system here since then they can "look down on" and berate people who are not as economically advantaged as they are. This is their favorite activity. Just start by reading any one of their posts and you can see what I mean. It makes themselves feel better when they can diminish someone else. This is what the uneducated always do. They are not clever enough to think up something witty so they always take this approach.

Oh BTW - When the unions were strong in this country, it enjoyed the highest standard of living that a country has ever experienced and the US was the envy of the free world. Weak unions make weak countries so I guess you like being poor. The Republicans try to make people like you believe that it is somehow noble and proud to work for nothing but guess what? I ain't buyin it and neither should you if you had any reasoning power.

[desertdreamer]

02:00 PM on 12/24/2011

Merry Christmas Occupiers everywhere!

Democracy is Coming to the USA
http://october2011.org/blogs/margaret-flowers/democracy-coming-usa

[bigblue22143]

11:26 AM on 12/24/2011

The harder I work the luckier I get, when preparation and opportunity meet success will come. I have 2 children both college graduates. My son sent out 106 resumes and from that he was offered 7 interviews, 4 of those interviews offered him a job.My daughter is in health care, when she went to college the first thing she did was apply for a job at the local hospital after her graduation and passing the boards she was offered a permanent position. Maybe if parents stopped treating their children like they are entitled to everything and actually gave them a work ethic they wouldn't have a problem. The "time-out" generation has created this entitlement mentality in the kids today. The education system has been failing for years and continues to do so as Michele Obama puts it, as they "rewrite' history. How can you rewrite history? Since 1992 they have been changing the content in our history books, leaving out things they deemed as "politically incorrect". The reality is this country is broke & it is doubtful it can ever be really fixed. Don't listen to what they say, watch what they do. It's always a contradiction and against Americans. Instead of sitting on their thumbs at these occupy rallies, these kids should be sending out their resumes, and not just 1 or 2. God Bless everyone and I hope that light at the end of the tunnel isn't the train we all see coming.

[cdhj12000]

01:43 PM on 12/25/2011

I liked your comment for the most part. However, this country isn't broke. There is an unequal distribution of wealth. Democracy is actually a very old concept that was first conceived of in ancient Greece. The Greek philosopher Aristotle and his student Plato were ostracized from Greece and eventually killed for their opinion that democracy had flaws and would eventually lead to the downfall of a government. That was over 2000 years ago. Democracy certainly doesn't seem to be such a bad thing when done properly, but arrogant humans tend to forget that they are not perfect. The old "human factor" strikes again.

[afinch9]

06:43 PM on 12/26/2011

unequal distribution = some work and have $$$ some ask for handouts and have less $$$
when the poor/middle class learn to earn they will have more $$$

[Honesto001]

01:40 AM on 12/26/2011

To keep one's head down to the master's in charge of the corporation is not a brave thing. It may be commendable that a person may burn their live day in and day out working for someone that cares not polluting the food we eat, the water we drink, the air we breathe. Finally, what do you think it does to our capacity to be gainfully employed when laws passed by a corrupt Congress allows the transfer of jobs overseas so that they do not have to follow the compensation and environmental laws of this country. It has been this exploitation together with military involvement that has made people from all over the world die to come here so that they are no longer exploited by us, the USA at their countries...Do you think we are not guilty of the deaths in Mexico by the narcs...who floods their streets with top-guns?
"You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time."
~Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865)

[afinch9]

06:45 PM on 12/26/2011

competetive? not on a global basis.

[madcityy]

01:47 PM on 12/23/2011

HOOOOOO,HOOOOOOOO,HOOOOOOOOOOOOO,.PLEASE GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
AWAY

[Esther21072011]

01:13 PM on 12/23/2011

It has been unseaonably warm so far this fall/winter here near DC - wait til the snow comes........

[Yellow Hand]

08:49 AM on 12/23/2011

Yes, they have actually contributed to the worthy cause of living up to and demonstrating the webster definition of a vagrant:

"One who lives on the streets and constitutes a public nuisance."

The only reason the DC vagrants have not been evicted is that they have the protection of the Obama administration. Otherwise, enough would be enough as in the other cities where they exposed these people as the frauds they are. They have contributed to cutting services in many cities and additional lay offs because of the costs of security, clean up for their filthy tent cities, and medical treatment/arrests for breaking the law. The very people they want to help have been hurt by their actions. I work in DC and it will be so refreshing to see our two parks clean and able to be visited by people who appreciate living in America.

[blindsquirl]

11:59 PM on 12/22/2011

Merry Christma to ALL the ODC participants and to my sons, Jason and Eric for their contribution to such a worthy effort.

[Esther21072011]

01:14 PM on 12/23/2011

I'd disown my kids if they were doin this - but no worries - they're too busy with work and school to party and pee in public.

[blindsquirl]

02:27 PM on 12/23/2011

YOU probably WOULD...
You can be "proud" of the sterile little automatons you are bringing to the "flock".
MY kids are AT WORK (1 Communications tech, the other 1 is on the legal and organization staff.) trying to make AMERICA a BETTER place to live..for YOUR kids.

[Martha Fair]

07:54 PM on 12/26/2011

here here...we need more mothers and fathers of the brave people of OWS who are willing to brave life limb and the cold to seek justice for all Americans. Even the ones who insist on living in a delusional reality brought to them by the Americans for prosperity propoganda machine.