They Were There

My brother and my cousins and my daughter and my son  - they all were there and they've all agreed that I can share their stories.  

Brother sent this to me and his Chicago-based daughter.  He tells a great story. Some of the language is not suitable for children, but there are no Alternative Facts in the tale.
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Tina (our German citizen neighbor across the street ) drove ...to the Metro at 8:00 am.  Curious how an International Monetary Fund employee, a non-citizen, is protesting for women’s rights in Washington DC.  Imagine you doing that in Tehran or Ramallah.

Wife and Daughter and Crowd

We got one of the last parking spots.  It took 10 minutes to walk down the usually empty stairs to the Metro to fight the crowds to get on the train which left Shady Grove at the end of the line completely full. Never been a crowd like that.  We elbowed our way through the crowds ... (and  there was a farecard kefuffle and Brother became separated from his wife and daughter and neighbor) 

Walked home, tried to get a donut, but there was a line about 10 minutes long at the also usually empty Dunkin' Donuts. Many people walking toward the Metro.  I explained three times that they better have a Metro farecard because the lines to the machines were 20 minutes long.  

Had a nice chat with Raoul who was delivering gas to the BP station.  He liked my hat and the flag on my jacket. 

Brother's hat courtesy of his eldest siste

He came here legally and is mad at the people who didn’t follow the rules and now want to stay.  He also opposes abortion and says that the woman will have to deal with the mental aftermath but that is her problem.  He agrees with Bill Clinton that abortion should be rare but safe.  Maybe agrees.

Got home, loaded the Brompton folding bike into the front seat of the Miata and drove to (his old synagogue) where I got a good parking spot.  Rode the last 12 miles downtown and wound up walking through hordes of angry sign carrying humans.  Fellow Brompton riders shout “Hey, Nice Brompton.”  Must be a thing.  

No way I could get to (his companions) near Air and Space. Crowds way too big to move around.  Had to march 2 blocks the wrong way for 20 minutes to thread my way across Independence Ave. with the Brompton.

If HRC had won, and this was an anti-Clinton rally, these same marchers would be up in arms about the alt-righters being sore losers. Imagine hundreds of people not wearing the ubiquitous FUCK TRUMP shirts, but instead wearing FUCK OBAMA shirts 8 years ago, demanding love and understanding of gun rights and calling for revolution. (I can’t imagine anyone wanting to wear a FUCK HILARY shirt – mixed message there.) 

It is now 6:45 pm, Metro completely underestimated the crowds, and is advising people to stay downtown until Metro can hire more people, buy more train cars, fix the tracks, and maybe get you home safely.  WTOP reports people are still walking from the Capitol to the White House along unplanned unpermitted routes down both Constitution and Independence Avenues.  

There were huge crowds all over downtown because there was no real parade route, no Jumbotrons, no central sound system, no real plan.  Just come on down and be heard.  The weather is moist 50 degrees and this was the most piss poor planned event in DC history, but truly exemplifies the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Let us all pray that Donald Trump will in fact Keep America Great and be overwhelmingly re-elected in 2020 by the largest voter turnout in history.  

And go buy a lottery ticket. Who knows, it might happen.

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And his daughter replied: Rights are nice. I like having rights. 

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I asked for permission to share his rant (for a rant it surely is) and this was the end to his reply:

Love and kisses from your angry old white man brother whose anger is evenly and randomly distributed among the haters and hatees. 

The king is dead long live the king.

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Tomorrow, more thoughts and photos from those who were there.