Do You Hear What I Hear?
It’s gonna be a long week in NYC, but I’m doing my best to make the most of it. With that in mind……
Sunday’s march was surprising because the mood of the crowd was almost buoyant. I think people were so happy to be exhaling their anger at Bush that a certain joy seeped through the crowd which made it feel more like a parade than a protest. Of course, it might’ve been the 90 degree heat that made my brain fart, but…..
Favorite moments – while walking by a Fox News truck covering the march, the crowd began shouting “Fox News sucks.” (Ok, it doesn’t take much to make me laugh – even the obvious or dumb, but it was funny). And as usual, my memory of the best signs fails me, but I do remember “War is bad for Italian lovers” and a drawing of the Statue of Liberty giving the RNC the finger.
Can someone please explain why protest marches and percussion players just seem to go hand in hand? There’s always a drum contingent at these things, but I have to admit the beat makers were laying down some groovy rhythms that nearly had me dancing.
As far as tonight goes, I watched what I could of the Republican convention. It’s very hard for me because so much of what I hear just sounds like nonsense. But I caught a few minutes of McCain and Rudy and thought they gave speeches that people in middle America could relate to and appreciate. Rudy seemed to be enjoying the spotlight just a bit too much for me, but the dude’s ego has been out of control since he first became mayor and I guess that’s to be expected.
However, the funniest thing I heard during the convention coverage tonight was the echoing of the idea that America is as united now than it’s ever been. I shook my head the first time I heard it. Then I laughed the second time I heard it. But the third time I began to wonder if I lived in a different reality than these people. Didn’t 500,000 people march down the streets yesterday to express their disgust with the Bush agenda?
Which really hit home because earlier tonight I was at a “Books Against Bush” panel discussion featuring Paul Krugman, Craig Unger, Sidney Blumenthal, Joseph Wilson and Mark Green. It was a good conversation, but I think Krugman’s remark about how the media has become complicit in repeating lies often enough that they begin to become the truth in the public’s mind really hit home. Then when I got home, I saw it in action.
Sigh.
