San Francisco demonstration

[Eugene Coyle <eugenecoyle@xxxxxxx>]

It was a glorious, sunny and warm day for a march.

People poured into the gathering place, Dolorous Park.  Huge numbers.
Afterwards everyone seemed to be independently saying "50,000."  I
thought it was more like 25,000.

   Some lively bands and drumming, and around them lots of spirit and
bounce.  Heavy police presence, the California Highway patrol on
motorcycles, SF police on motorcycles, lines of SF police vans filled
with sitting squads.  Police on horseback.  Everything I saw was mellow.

   It was good to be out with all those people, but away from the drums
people seemed quiet and somehow just quitely moving along.  Once at the
destination park there was little reaction by the crowd to the
speakers.  None, actually, around where I was.   A low energy crowd, at
least in the parts I was amidst.  Low energy, maybe, but they were there.

   The causes marched for were many.  Haiti, Iraq, lots of anti-Bush
signs, teachers, labor.  The Koreans were demanding an end to THAT war.
Some different anarchist groups, one wearing black bandanas over their
faces, the other, with a better bunch of drums and dancers were more
labor union anarchists.  One sign said "End the Republican Occupation of
the USA."  A little girl's sign:  "Bush is a rotton tomato head."  Kids
in strollers and back-packs, but not, it seemed to me, in the percentage
numbers seen in the Vietnam marches or even in earlier SF Iraq war
demos.  Is our side not reproducing fast enough?

   Usually San Francisco marches end in the Civic Center Plaza.  But
that was occupied by a huge commercial fair, people in leather and lots
of music. so we went elsewhere.  I think there was paid admission to
that.  As we passed by that crowd on leaving the demo we overtook a hero
of mine, a veteran of the Spanish Civil War, getting close to 90 but
still turning out.