Posted by
Bull 67 on Thursday, April 16, 2009 12:03:11 AM
I was there tonight in Atlanta. I arrived at the state capitol shortly before 7pm and stood surrounded by thousands. Here are a few quick observations:
1. Normal, average, Americans - Most looked like middle-class suburbanites. Like me, I don't think most have ever been to a protest before. Most were in 30s or older. Many were senior citizens. While most were white, many were black. I was surprised to see one black man (in his thirties perhaps) holding a picture of Sarah Palin. I saw about as many women as men. Some brought their children.
2. Numbers - The massive crowd stretched completely around the west side of the capital building, down MLK street, down Washington Street, to Capital and Mitchell Streets. I watched on a Jumbotron set up on the corner of MLK as I couldn't see the actual stage. There was barely room to breath.
3. Respectful - I heard no foul language. While there were many signs mocking Obama and Congress, but none were mean. Some were downright funny (like “Obama is not my Momma” and “Are you drinking the tea or the Kool-Aid?’)
4. Frustration and anger – Like me, these are people who don't anger easily and are very busy with jobs and lives. It took a lot of frustration and anger to get them into the streets. Interestingly, I think the most damning speeches of the night were reserved for the Republicans who helped get us into this situation. A few Republican state reps made mention of this several times.
5. Energy - The crowd was fired up. They are serious and aren't going away. They are not going back to sleep. Apathy is dead.
6. The Constitution - Every time a speaker hit on the themes of spending and taxation the crowd roared, but accountability was the number one theme of the night. They passed out pocket copies of the Constitution and urged everyone to read it. The speakers kept returning to the theme of accountability and the crowd couldn’t get enough.
6. The Left....left - I saw no counter-protesters - If they were there, they kept their mouth shut. I don’t think they knew what to do or how to take us. Eventually they will, but not this night. Tonight, the Silent Majority was silent no more. Tonight, we roared and the Left shook.
7. Media - I saw one TV camera though I did see additional coverage when I got back to the hotel room. What I did see appeared fair.
I will write more about the experience after a good night's sleep. Tonight I can say I have never been so proud of my fellow Americans.
That song from the early nineties by Jesus Jones keeps bouncing around in my head, "Right Here, Right Now. There is no other place I'd wanna be, watching the world wake up from history."
Take heart, America, the sleeping giant is waking.