Rally

Hi! I know that this post may be a little dated, but I've been sick the last few days and haven't felt like writing. On Saturday, I attended an anti-war protest that marked the 5th anniversary of the war. I would estimate that there was 1,000-1,500 people there, though some media sources estimate only a couple hundred. We started out in front of the Mpls public library and "marched" (very, very slowly) to Loring park. I had been to one other annual protest along with a few rallies throughout last year, so I was pretty confident that I knew what to expect. First we all gather on the sidewalk and the organizers go on and on about how wonderful it is to have so many people attending and how we must be breaking some sort of record. Then, we "listen" to around 20 mins. of various speakers. I say "listen" because more often than not, the mike doesn't work and the poor person has to yell, so unless you're standing right next to them, you have no idea what their saying. Usually they have an Iraqi-American speak, and then, for some reason, a Palestinain person who speaks about the rift between Palestine and Israel. It's all well and good to learn about such topics, but every time I hear a speaker like that at an anti-Iraq-War rally, I get a little offput because Palestine/Israel isn't why we're there. If I learn more about it and find that I support the Palestinian person, I'll gladly go to a seperate rally, but the fact that I'm standing there implies my support for whatever the speaker is saying, and I get uncomfortable when they throw in random issues like that. (basically, it's a rally about the war in Iraq, so lets stay on that topic) Then someone usually comes around handing out signs. I pick one and begin to walk, usually falling in around the middle. I talk to the people around me, participate in a chant or two, and then go home. Not hard to do right? This time, however, it was a little different. My friend and I were chosen to hold one of the large banners, and so would be walking in the front of the march. (not near the front, mind you, we were the front) Usually, as I said, I would be in the middle, so I would have a nice big wind barrier and would be toasty warm the entire time. Based on this, and since I was running late, I decided to skip scrounging through my room to find gloves. Bad choice. It was freezing. (to give you an idea of how cold it was, at one point, I tried to grab my hood and I found that I couldn't make my hand reach for it) There was yet another factor that I hadn't taken into account since I had never been at the front before; the cameras. There were cameras everywhere! I'm not sure exactly who they were from, but I have never had that many cameras pointed at me. (yes, I know, they weren't only pointing at me, but it was still unnerving) It's really hard to be excited about having your picture taken when you're freezing cold, your nose is running, and you're sure your face is cherry red. Despite all this, it was alot of fun! I met some new people who were very nice, learned some new chants, and showed my support for something I believe in. Surprisingly, I didn't see any counter-protests, (though we were flipped off a couple times and on lady screamed, "burn in hell liberals" out of her car window....though one lady offered us food out of her window, so it wasn't all bad...and in case you're wondering, no, my parents didn't drop me off in Mpls by myself, they came with....It's a family bonding activity... ) So, that was how I spent my Saturday, plodding very, very slowly through the streets, chanting things like, "The people of Iraq are under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back!" and "Hey hey, ho ho, this administration has got to go!" ,while hoping that it would either start snowing gloves or my hands would just go numb. It was way more fun then it sounds.