Climate change activists in Washington, DC, took to the streets Friday morning in an effort to “shut down business-as-usual for the financial institutions” and blocked traffic, frustrating some D.C. commuters and putting one man on the verge of being late for his scheduled colonoscopy.
Climate strike protesters on Friday took to D.C.’s streets in order to “shut down business-as-usual for the financial institutions that profit off of the climate crisis and immigrant detention”:
🚨Keep an eye out this morning🚦
Vehicle traffic disruptions may occur today (12/6/19) due to First Amendment demonstrations occurring downtown: including the K Street, NW, corridor, Foggy Bottom, and the area around the White House.
— DC Police Traffic (@DCPoliceTraffic) December 6, 2019
Organizers specifically named Black Rock, Wells Fargo, and JP Morgan Chase, accusing them of actively “profiting off of climate chaos by investing in the companies that are contracting with ICE to finance border wall construction and run for-profit prisons and detention centers.”
“First they drive climate migration, and then they profit from it,” organizers wrote.
Indeed, activists took to the streets and successfully blocked traffic in varying areas across the nation’s capital in an effort to draw attention to their cause. However, it frustrated some D.C. drivers, many of whom are sympathetic to their cause.
One man stuck in the activist-induced traffic, who said he understands their call for action, told a protester that he was simply trying to get to his colonoscopy appointment.
“I have a colonoscopy today in that building,” he told the activist.
“You do?” the protester asked.
“Yeah in 15,” the man said.
“Alright. Can you give us five minutes?” the activist asked.
“Yeah,” the man said.
“Alright, five minutes. We’re going to get you to your colonoscopy,” he said.
“How do you feel about being late to that?” Breitbart News asked the man.
“I mean, they’re going to have to understand, but I understand what the climate change people are saying too you know?” he said.
“Why can’t they do the next block?” he said with a dose of levity.
Breitbart News spoke to another man stuck in the climate strike traffic, who said he agreed with their message but was frustrated by their tactic.
“This is a bad strategy for you all, I’m telling you,” the man told an activist.
“What strategy would you suggest?” the activist asked.
“Not making me burn more gas by sitting here,” he quipped.
“This is — I don’t think an effective strategy to raise awareness,” he told Breitbart News after his exchange with the activist. “That’s all I’m saying. I’m 100 percent behind these guys, except this tactic is not super.”
Matt Perdie / Breitbart NewsHe was not the only frustrated D.C. commuter.
“You make us late for work, that’s what you do,” one passerby shouted, according to the Washington Post’s Marissa J. Lang. According to the report, the protests “caused her bus to stop and let people off several stops from her destination.”
More per the Post:
“Enough already,” Courtney Walter, 35, shouted from her car. “Move!”
Walter, a tech firm recruiter who said it typically takes her 20 minutes to drive to work from Arlington, said the rally doubled her commute time.
“The thing is, I agree with them. We should do more about climate change,” Walter said. “But this is just not considerate. It’s making people more angry and frustrated than anything.”
As police attempted to move one group out of the center of K Street NW, a man walking past tapped an officer on the shoulder.
“Throw them in jail,” he said.
Different clusters are staggered up and down K St., with police diverting cars around the demonstration. One driver, who told me the holdup had doubled her typically 20-minute commute from Arlington, said she agrees with them, but thinks blocking traffic hurts their message. #DC pic.twitter.com/JTgb4gAnDy
— Marissa J. Lang (@Marissa_Jae) December 6, 2019
Commuters seem way less patient this time. At past rallies, some yelled, “thank you!” or shrugged off the traffic. Today, as police moved protesters out of K St., one man yelled, “throw them in jail!”
Demonstrators are chanting, “We’re doing this for you! It’s your planet, too.” pic.twitter.com/UWLggJLTbB
— Marissa J. Lang (@Marissa_Jae) December 6, 2019
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