A DC Day: Rally & Protest

Being a recent DC immigrant, the opportunities to attend rallies and protests of all stripes has grown exponentially.  Danville Kentucky didn't have too many.

This weekend bore witness to a number of such events.  The first I attended was up at Dupont Circle, a union rally a stone's throw from SEIU's headquarters.  A healthy crowd, upwards of 1,000, showed up consisting mostly of union households, a speckling of ISO members (International Socialist Organization), and a handful of folks who probably showed up for the sake of protesting.  As I was wandering about, Van Jones strode right in front of me (he would later speak).  The crowd was generally agreeable, though I didn't wear my beliefs on my sleeve.  Activities lasted for an hour, and as I would later learn a number of people marched on down to the white house.  I guess they were hoping Obama would put on a pair of comfortable shoes and join them.

Following the union folks, the ISO had an abortion rally at Dupont.  The recent funding cuts to Planned Parenthood was the impetus.  Their message was more blunt, calling for on-demand abortions, framing it as a "human rights" issue.  They were also selling books such as The Jewish Question.  The crowd that stuck around for this rally was a little more ... free spirited.

Later in the day there was a separate rally in front of the white house for freedom in the middle east, specifically Yemen, Bahrain, and Libya.  Egypt and Iran also had contingencies there, thought some what removed from the central events.  Most of the core participants were expats and their families standing in solidarity with their countrymen.  The different nationalities often competed for attentions, sometimes chanting over each other (though never at each other) and I witnessed at least one spirited debate, though it wasn't in English.  a Lot of people filtered in and out of Lafayette Square, many drawn by the color and noise.

Only if there was a website to catalog upcoming protests, rallies, and marches in the city.