This was real democracy on the go

AFTER I was in Chicago recently, I and some fellow activists decided to drive up to Madison, Wis., and be part of the occupation of the Capitol building.

Other activists from Portland, New York City, Chicago and Providence came as well. It snowed and sleeted the whole way up. We arrived around 8:30 p.m., and on our first steps into the occupied Capitol, we found signs plastered all over the wall condemning Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, along with solidarity greetings from Chicago, Michigan and many more places.

There was music blaring, with people playing drums in the middle of the rotunda. The crowd was composed of students (both high school and college), families, union members and many others, although the people spending the night were mostly young.

The big deal of the night was that firefighters were there to spend the night. This was a great sign of solidarity, as they are actually exempt from Walker's bill. The firefighters that we spoke with definitely saw this as an attack their union and said if this got passed they would be next.

One of the main reasons that activists were able to occupy the Capitol was that the hearings on the bill had continued for more than 160 hours. A fellow activist and I gave testimony around 4:30 a.m. We spoke to a transit worker in Madison who said, "My job is threatened by this bill and I'm scared." He also mentioned that the small town of Appleton, Wis., would not have enough money to run the transit system for the last quarter of the year.

Elizabeth, a Madison activist, walked us around the Capitol to get us up to speed with everything that was happening on the ground and who the leaders were. There were people who were on trash duty picking who were signed up on shifts. There was a food station with donated food, and there was a lot! Everything was free for everyone--with the exception of Scott Walker, according to one sign. There was also a lost-and-found section and a collective medical team.

An information center organized by students highlighted the principles and rules about the Capitol occupation, taking about being respectful and peaceful. There was sheet on how to speak with provocateurs. After 11 p.m., there were quiet hours, and a section upstairs that was the study section, where students could study and others could have a quiet place. There were also people walking around with yellow vests that identified them as Peace Marshals, to help anyone with information or questions.

All this was extremely inspiring especially as we saw this kind of self-organization in Tahrir Square. It was led by the Teaching Assistants' Association (TAA) from the University of Wisconsin and undergraduates.

AROUND 11:30 p.m., about 10 activists, including me, were talking about what some of the next steps were, and we notice a group of people next to us talking about the same thing, so we combined groups. It seemed to get larger and larger--we started out with 15 to 20 people, composed of students and union members. The group grew to about 45 people, and we had to move to the third floor.

The meeting started off with getting some of the out-of-towners up to speed and understanding the dynamics in the Capitol. As the conversations were going all over the place, it seemed that there were two decisions that had to be made: 1) What was the plan if the Republicans tried to come into the Capitol to push through a "non-fiscal" version of the bill that could get around the boycott of the Senate session by the 14 Democrats? And 2) What were the plans for the rally the next day, which would include unions from around the country.

For me, this was real democracy on the go. It was frustrating and confusing at timesbut it was one of the most beautiful things I have ever been part of. The vote ended up winning with a super-majority to stop the Senate from being able to vote on the bill. The meeting ended around 3:30 a.m., and it was decided that people should go to sleep and get up at 7 a.m. to start recruiting people for the action.

At that time, I went back to the hearing room to testify and listen to other people testify. It was truly inspiring to hear people say that that they were "non-partisan," but that this was class warfare. Stories came from people on Badger Care, a health program for low-income residents, and why it shouldn't be cut, it should be expanded.

After I left the hearing room around 5:15 a.m., I was walking around the Capitol and still seeing people of all walks of life, sleeping on the marble floor, With self-organization and democracy happening, this was truly the "People's Popular Assembly at the Capitol," as one sign put it.

Unfortunately, I had to leave at 6:30 a.m. to get a bus back to Chicago to go home. Though I was only there for 10 hours, the Capitol occupation truly changed me. I have read about these type of protests, but never been part of one. It was inspiring to know what was possible.

The people of Wisconsin are showing how the rest of U.S. workers can fight austerity measures. Balancing the budget shouldn't happen on worker's backs when this crisis is the result of Wall Street and the super-rich speculators. I've never been so proud to be from Wisconsin!