First of all, let me just say that Funk the War 9 was absolutely awesome. It had a lot of energy, though based on my experiences attending three past Funk the War events, things didn’t go completely as planned.
This one started at Farragut Square, and marched in the street through DC past the Project for a New American Century at 17th and M Streets NW, and then to the Armed Forces Recruitment Center at approximately 14th and L Streets NW. There, a paint bomb got thrown at the building, and a demonstrator was arrested for it. MPDC Captain Jeff Herold declared the march an unlawful assembly, and the crowd was removed from the street under threat of arrest, and had to march on the sidewalk from there on. Take a look:
Then the march continued, eventually going past Lafayette Park, and ending up at the Treasury Building. There, two demonstrators managed to get on a second story ledge and held a banner:
When these two demonstrators were arrested, the march soon turned into a sit-in, and that was basically it. From there, people hung out for a while, and I left after about an hour outside the Treasury Building. I was concerned about not wearing myself completely out for this one, since there are two more days of demonstrations still to come.
Meanwhile, a few of us discussed how different the demonstrations look now compared to a few years ago. Back then, these radical marches consisted of mostly masked individuals, including myself. Now, the political atmosphere has changed, and we can be more open and “out” about these things, and as a result you now see far fewer people in masks. All the activists in the local radical crowd, including myself, went unmasked this time around. Hell, I even wore the brown gatsby cap that I wear daily going to and from the office. When I got home, I remembered the main benefit to the full black-hoodie-and-mask outfit, and that is sun protection. I got a mild sunburn on my face and neck today. Due to the hat, though, I didn’t get one on my big, bald head. But yeah, the black bloc outfit has its benefits.
Another thing I noticed was that my age worked to my advantage today. I’d say I’m about seven years older than most of these people, and as a result of looking older than most of them, I believe I got away with a little more than I would have otherwise. I was able to get behind the cops on a few occasions without any negative reactions from them, and they generally left me alone, even as they forcibly moved other demonstrators onto the sidewalk. I was one of the last ones onto the sidewalk, and got over there without any “assistance”.
And then tomorrow… ANSWER march!