Observations from a big Chicago protest

Being the dedicated and loyal reporter for The Chicago Star that I occasionally pretend to be, I meandered over to the “Hands Off” protest held at Daley Plaza on Saturday, April 5.

To say the crowd was large was like saying Michael Jordan was a pretty good basketball player.

Thousands turned out, packing the plaza and the attaching streets with spirit, enthusiasm and a shared cause. A certain sense of joined, purposeful revelry was felt throughout. It was kind of cool to witness. 

The weather held out, adding to the size of the crowd—both the people marching and the spectators watching in awe on the sidewalks.

I found some interesting observations.  I have not done a lot of “protest march” type activities previously, so much of it was a new experience for me, but as mentioned above, I found it to be a spirited and uplifting experience.

Without notepad in hand (which I thought would be in bad taste), I did make some mental notes–and some cell phone notes as well for later recollection.

Here’s a list of some of these observations, and maybe even, if I could dare to be so bold, some suggestions for future large gatherings.

1)This is Basic Crowd Gathering 101. If you are going to have folks speaking to a large audience up on a stage, then please, get a good sound system so that everyone can hear! Many in the crowd were left out by simply not able to hear the speeches that were being given.

2)Sign “creativity” wason high notice. A lot of folks really spent some solid time designing and coming out with ideas for the particular signage that they would hold proudly for all to see. Many of these signs can’t fully be repeated by this wholesome family publication, but “IKEA has better cabinets” was a pretty good example of the humor  the protesters had. Another example? One sign said, “So many issues, so little cardboard.”

3)Another observation was a surprising lack of police presence. I speak specifically of the packed and crowded interior of the Daley Plaza gathering. I walked around for a long time, just meandering through the many folks in attendance, and I saw a grand total of zero uniformed police within those confines.

Now I am sure there were undercover police in street clothes roaming the crowd. Understood, and it should be noted that there were plenty of police along the marching route, but I found it surprising that none were within the crowded “heart” of the protest.

4)Another thing I noticed: While all the speakers stated their cases well, and fired up the crowd, including chants and cheers repeated by the fans attending, what was missing was the call for specific action–meaning telling people what exactly they could do, specific items, even little things,  that folks could do to really make a difference.

In other words, once the adrenaline kick of the large gathering protest is over, what can folks do to really create change?  That would have been helpful.

5) I also was surprised at the lack of diversity in the crowd–especially considering that diversity, and support for it, was one of the main themes of the entire protest! I found this glaring lack of diversity both surprising and disappointing.

Overall, though, it was a wonderful gathering. Thousands of folks taking time from a busy weekend day to come down to the city and fight for a cause that they obviously feel strongly about.

Freedom of speech, the right to protest, speaking out when you feel it appropriate—are all American democratic values that have stood the test of time.

On Saturday, April 5, here in our beautiful city of Chicago (and really all across the country), these shared values were on brilliant display.