protest weather!
Today was a national day of protest against discriminatory initiatives that were approved by voters on election day. California just barely passed its Proposition 8, and that slap in the face against civil rights has stirred up a community in ways that haven’t been seen since the Rodney King police brutality protests of the 1990s.
Protest sign
[/caption]
I joined a small protest last weekend, and this morning I headed over to Balboa Park for what was promising to be a much larger parade and rally.
If you don’t know the park, it’s pretty much the equivalent of San Diego’s front yard, and is one of the great civic parks in the US. Many of the city’s museums and zoo are there, and it’s a great communal gathering place for everything from family picnics and pickup volleyball games to big civic events like Earth Day celebrations and the starting point for today’s Prop 8 protest march.
Before the march
There were people everywhere. Thousands of them! This front yard was getting pretty crowded fast. You couldn’t have asked for a better November day: sunny, warm (even hot), light breezes that helped keep you stay cool but didn’t blow signs out of your hands.
We got going a little before 11:00, and followed route that took us through downtown and over to the County Administration Building, where many of us were married over the last five months. People honked and waved and were amazingly supportive. People were on their condo balconies, waving. Service workers at the hotels came out on break and shouted their support for us.
The parade, heading into downtown
There were a lot of people. (Yes, that’s marchers extending all the way into downtown.) The local paper’s story says something like twenty to twenty-five thousand.
The end of the parade at the protest site
But all in all a magnificent showing, an amazing day, and a great affirmation of community and support.
Anyone who thought things were concluded by the mob-discrimination on election day are so wrong. How do you stop positive energy like this?
November 15 2008 05:11 pm | Categories: rambles | Tags: democracy • gay marriage • Proposition 8 • protests • rallies
