Yesterday was a fabulously interesting social experiment. I am fascinated with how strangers interact with each other. Marching, maneuvering, and mingling with hundreds of strangers resulted in these observations:
- the majority of tension and negative energy I experienced stemmed from white men and women attempting to exercise their privilege and meeting resistance (possibly for the first time). I've been in crowded situations before, but standing at the rally there was literally no room for movement. Many people were overcome by the crowd and pushed their way out, but there was no way for anyone to take their spot. Yet again and again, white men (and some women) kept trying to push their way closer to the front. One such gentleman yelled at me after I told him there was no way anyone could move- and angrily condescended when I pointed out the irony of him clapping back to me in that space and time. He was so rude- it shocked everyone in the immediate radius. But no one stood up to him. I was initially humiliated, then outraged.
- It was fun to help lead and grow all sorts of various chants and songs at various points in the protest. The only one that went over like a lead balloon was when I started yelling 'White silence is White violence!' Corrie and Liz of course joined in, and a few others. But the air immediately clammed up with tension. Most of those who could hear the chant were white, and they were struggling with how to respond. And whether they should join in. I kept it up for way longer than necessary. My fellow white people- ya gotta get comfortable talking out loud about race. Start practicing- it will get easier with time.
- This was a first brush with civil engagement for many people. The rally ran super long- maybe partially because the slate was enormous and partially because they were stalling to reconfigure the route. I watched my fellow protestors get bored, uncomfortable, not get their way, not have their expectations met, get lost and confused... and passive aggressively- and overtly aggressively- get mad and complain. News flash: political discourse is not always fun and is almost never easy. Buying a pink hat and a cool sign and a bus ticket was baby step number one. We can't give up after we go home. Time to start building political muscle and engaging in the boring stuff.
- Music is one of the greatest connectors. America the Beautiful. Lean on Me. This Land is Your Land. This Little Light of Mine. We would start singing quietly, and by the end of the second chorus it would swell and start to ripple through the crowd. They were looking for a conductor, and connector. We sang together loud and clear and it was so powerful, so electric.
Yesterday was beautiful, inspiring, exciting- but very clear many need help, education, support and motivation to continue taking political action. If you've got the knowledge and experience, please mentor and encourage those just starting out.