Passions and Loathings

My sister, her kids, and I attended the No Kings rally yesterday. Her oldest squiggled thru the crowd to get a space where he could hear the speakers, he said they were really good. The rest of us drifted in the less dense part of the crowd. The speakers sounded like the adults in a Charlie Brown special but we were able to join in the chants, which felt energizing.

This was the third for sis and I, first for the kids. Previous two, there had only been 3-4 cops mounted on horseback and staying off to the side. This time 4 cops were positioned near where a lot of people were walking up and seemed to be hassling people carrying flag poles. I did see flag poles in the crowd, so not sure if they were stopping anyone or just warning them to be careful.

No violence. Lots of great signs. Never saw so many icky pictures of the orange felon, that man is not attractive, in appearance or character. This crowd was more age diverse. Previous were mainly 40s up, I would say. More in their 20s and 30s this time. A few with toddlers or dogs.

I was very glad to have gone. Pleased to have my sister as a constant companion. I highly recommend attending one if you can. It feels good, in this stressful time, to be around so many others sharing the same concerns. I’m seeing over 12 million estimated for the crowd size across the country, which is fabulous, but I’m sure there will be more. It’ll take time to restore decency and a commitment to democracy to our government.