(Newswire.net — September 23, 2014) — While the protest was largely peaceful, Reita Ennis from Boston, Massachusetts, said that both the People’s Climate March and the more confrontational approach espoused by Occupy/Flood Wall Street were necessary considering the Earth’s current state.
“I think civil disobedience is going to be an important part of this fight,” she said, going on to criticize a “do-nothing Congress” as well as capitalism in general for failing to curb the dangers of global warming. “Today is taking another step to show we’re serious.”
As they addressed each other, protesters took turns airing their grievances – they railed against what they see as greedy corporations, oil development projects, the BP oil spill, and war itself.
The sit-in, which organizers said was aimed at confronting “corporate polluters and those profiting from the fossil fuel industry,” completely shut down traffic in the area for nearly eight hours.
A total of 102 people were arrested for disobeying police, according to ABC, after officers ordered those sitting on the corner of Wall Street and Broadway to disperse. Two others were arrested earlier for disorderly conduct.
The arrests were orderly marked contrast to the violent arrests during Occupy Wall Street, and several people commented today on police restraint.
Despite the mass arrests, the sit-in participants did not resist police when the plastic handcuffs came out, and the whole process was done in an orderly fashion. As individuals were escorted into police vehicles, people shouted various chants, such as “We’ll be back!” and “Go arrest Wall Street.”
Numerous people explained their reason for joining the sit-in as a way to show solidarity with those affected by climate change. They added that taking part allowed them to join something“bigger”than themselves.
Sam Coodley, an independent filmmaker and anti-fracking activist, told RT Flood Wall Street was necessary to show people taking more direct action.
“[The People’s Climate March] was an incredible event, but there was a lack of closure,” he said. Flood Wall Street is about directly confronting climate change“rather than marching and going home.”
“Occupy started on a Monday like this and spread to every continent,” added Coodley, who traveled from Colorado for this week’s climate events. He acknowledged that recreating that impact may seem like a lofty goal, but “hopefully this spreads elsewhere” in the US and around the world.