Rachael Espinet

A photograph shows a sit-in protest by Democratic lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday intended to spur legislative action on gun control reforms in the wake of the Orlando mass shooting attack. Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren posted the photograph to her Twitter profile Wednesday evening. Photo by Sen. Elizabeth Warren/Twitter

 

Let’s be real, camera phones do change politics. Something amazing happened in Capitol Hill yesterday that everybody needs to understand.

Yesterday Democratic Congressmen walked into the House and held a sit-in. If that wasn’t revolutionary enough, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan shut off the only cameras and microphones that C-SPAN usually uses to record the House activities.

How did the politician protestors respond? Some 21^st century congressmen pulled out their cell phones, and started to live stream the event on Periscope – an action that is both revolutionary and badass because it is against the House rules to have cell phone recordings going on.

This action was Facebooked, Tweeted, Instagrammed and Periscopped all over the internet which then was picked up by C-Span and all the other major news stations essentially making it the biggest political bootleg video stream to happen in history, and a breakdown of institutional media power – I repeat this is a breakdown of institutional media power that many politicians have never seen in their lifetime – if ever.

 

.@HouseGOP skipped town in middle of night but I’m still here w/ @GregoryMeeks & @HouseDemocrats #NoBillNoBreak pic.twitter.com/VlxD481XA2

— Rep. Joe Crowley (@repjoecrowley) June 23, 2016

 

As the selfi generation knows, we no longer need to depend on traditional media to create the news. We can find out about an accident or a murder long before TV6 or CNC3 could report on it. Many times our traditional media workers rely on Twitter posts to find breaking news upon which they could then verify.

Further to that, we don’t just collect the news, but we control what the conversation is about. #TeamThema, #Spamla, #Brexit, #OnePulse, and this issue’s hashtag #NoBillNoBreak are all ways the public have been able to control the discussion in the media. We are the 5.0 estate; something that many politicians – particularly Trinidad’s politicians are yet to understand. Our hashtags are our power.

This Democratic Congress sit-in is a breakdown of institutional power on all fronts. In the US, the minority party in the House – the Democrats do not have much power for policy planning of voting in the House. And this action is a way for the Democrats to force a vote that the Republicans were reluctant to vote on which is a stronger gun control policy.

This photo provided by Rep.Suzanne Bonamici, D-Ore. shows Democrat members of Congress, including, from left, Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., Rep. Katherine Clark, D-Mass., and Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga.,participating in sit-down protest seeking a a vote on gun control measures, Wednesday, June 22, 2016, on the floor of the House on Capitol Hill in Washington. (Rep. Suzanne Bonamici via AP)

Whether or not they are successful, is somewhat immaterial as the social ramifications have caused so much more meaning than an institutional political vote. Remember, this is an election year.

Following the sit in, many citizens in Washington DC gathered outside the House to demand the vote. This was an organic gathering of interested parties instead of political yes people.

 

Amazing crowd outside Capitol and Americans across the country inspire us to keep fighting. RT to say #NoBillNoBreak pic.twitter.com/S6Q9JGfJGE

— Rep. Jim McGovern (@RepMcGovern) June 23, 2016

 

I am forever reminded of the mindless supporters outside the Waterfront clad in their respective red or yellow to support whatever issue is debated in T&T’s Parliament. The best questions to ask them were: “What’s the debate today about?” and “What’s your job?” The response is almost always: “I support my __ (insert party here) ___ till I dead. __(Insert political leader here) is a good person and I trust him/her.” And they usually have a CEPEP job. They usually have no clue about what is going on inside.

An August 2014 public demonstration outside T&T’s Parliament before a Senate debate where red and yellow supporters clashed. Photo courtesy Tracy Lucas.

When I first saw the fracas happen around midday yesterday I was thoroughly amused. Usually people hold sit-ins against politicians. Sit-ins are usually a tool the people use to lobby the politicians to make a change, but now the politicians are using it as well.

MSNBC and all the other news stations getting the video directly from Periscope allowed the democratic representatives to continue speaking and continue to lobby for support.

A lot of people are becoming fed up of the way politicians use their positions to leverage for their own power rather than for what’s in the best interest of the people. This sit-in showed that the members of Congress who are sitting on the floors of the House are at least listening to the cries of the public.

 

And we’re back.#Periscope #HoldtheFloor #NoBillNoBreakhttps://t.co/vB8BngEdix

— Rep. Scott Peters (@RepScottPeters) June 23, 2016

 

I think about T&T’s politics, and I see how fed up our people are becoming of politicians doing as they please without their voices being heard.

Our so called leaders often make flippant statements and then get crucified on social media. How soon shall we see a periscope protest? When will it happen that when the institutional cameras are off, when will we reach the tipping point that we will show the people our reality?

A lot of people learned about periscope yesterday. My digital tourist mother kept on exasperatingly asking questions about the app. She may not know how to use it, but she and many people like her are finally beginning to understand the power these everyday tech have, and the power it can give to people.

Whatever the outcome of this sit in I can honestly say that the way information is created and disseminated has changed so much now, and I am excited to see how periscope politics would or could change T&T.