WE DID IT IN THE 1940S

 

According to Merriam-Webster:

Fascism : a populist political philosophy, movement, or regime (such as that of the Fascisti) that exalts nation and often race above the individual, that is associated with a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, and that is characterized by severe economic and social regimentation and by forcible suppression of opposition

Sound about right? Again, from the No Kings rally. Don't know what I'll do over the Easter weekend since my mobility isn't very good. 

MUG SHOT

 

I think I will leave the commentary to you, gentle reader. He does like his face and name on absolutely everything possible. Think of the opportunities.                 

NO KINGS

There were at least six No Kings rallies around the metro area yesterday but the big one was downtown. I got there early and Kiener Plaza was already busy. By 40 minutes after the official starting time it was so crowded I could hardly get a clear shot, yet people were still streaming in. As of late Saturday night I have not seen an estimate of the number of people but it must have been well over a thousand. More to come.                 

THANK YOU, JOE

 

Pictures from a campaign rally in downtown St. Louis in 2020. He is a decent, honest man, unlike his former opponent, and I am grateful for what he did for our country. Now we will do whatever we can to support Vice President Harris.           

LETTING IT SINK IN

There was a post-results rally downtown on Saturday and not a MAGA hat in sight. The crowd was mostly ebullient but some seemed sobered by the weight of the repair work still to come.        

EVEN HERE IN WEBSTER GROVES

I live in what is sometimes called a leafy suburb, Webster Groves. Just two miles outside the city limits of St. Louis proper, it is green, comfortable and convenient, a mix of working class to upper middle class but leaning toward the prosperous. And old, by local standards, meaning that it was established in the late 19th Century. 

There have been rallies and marches throughout the metro area in the last week. (Remember that Ferguson is also a suburb of STL.) One was organized in a Webster park by young people who grew up here and went through the school system. Most of them were black but there was also a young Jewish man, the son of immigrants, who described himself as "one of about 2 1/2 Jews in Webster High."  Over and over, they told horrifying stories that most white people don't know, repeatedly asking what we are going to do. Therein lies individual responsibility.         

But Almost Nobody Does

To overgeneralize, lots of people have short memories and hold long grudges. Some individuals, but not nearly enough, are seeing the risk of Muslim equivalents of the appalling World War II Japanese internment camps, worried about suppression of the press like in Russia and Turkey, or granting broad license to industrial polluters in search of profits.

But I will not soon forget President Obama: the intentions of good for the whole country, the clarity of his intelligence and above all, his dignity, a quality sorely lacking in his successor. We, his admirers and supporters, are not going away.

I think this is enough of this for now. There are lots of other photos on Flickr here and I may yet edit more. No other new local material so I may need to collect myself for a day or two. 

Years ago, someone wrote a comment here criticizing me for just about never producing "the occasional rant." I hope I've made up for it over the last ten days.               

The Crowd

The people, united, will never be defeated. That's what they chanted sometimes. That's what they hope, but there are no guaranteed outcomes in bare-knuckle politics. Never be defeated? Ask a few Syrians about that. Maybe this administration and its colleagues in congress will so offend the American people that they will get the crap kicked out of them in the 2018 mid-term Congressional elections. But maybe not. They are good showmen, in the P. T. Barnum sense, and unafraid of deception. (Although that doesn't make them unusual.) Most Americans will remember Barnum's most famous quote, "There's a sucker born every minute." We just saw that in action, didn't we?

So here are people in the crowd, angry, maybe hopeful, maybe not, but simply needing to emote. The first two shots are around the starting area at the Gateway One building.  Note the Peabody signs. Peabody Energy is the largest privately held coal company in the country and an adversary of environmentalists. Their headquarters is inside.

After everyone wandered around downtown for a bit the crowd seemed to gel at the intersection of 4th Street and Washington Avenue. The last shot is from my office window, which overlooks that location.

But let's also remember that our most revered president, Abraham Lincoln, once noted that "you can fool some of the people some of the time, but you can't fool all of the people all of the time." God, I hope he was right. 

And, hey, a shout-out to Gunn, our friend in Norway - I like your idea. Know any European editors who might like to buy some of these images?        

Not Any More

Lady Liberty sheds a tear. From the anti-Trump rally.            

Yeah, I'm There

At the Anti-Trump rally downtown yesterday afternoon. I'd say there were a couple of thousand people. It had a starting point but no pre-defined route, wandering through major streets, blocking traffic and pissing off a lot of motorists. That didn't help their cause.

Still, my heart was with them. I think that's a look of real pain on the face of the woman with the sign below. If my face hadn't been stuck in a viewfinder I'd have looked about the same. I am not getting over the election. It's eating at me. Trump and his pals violate about every value I have. I'm sick. I'm ashamed to be an American these days.

But that can't be allowed to persist. I'm thinking and thinking about what I should do. Cannot just sit and watch with mouth gaping.             

Thursday Arch Series Two-Fer

Arch views from the climate change rally. The earth flag in the plaza takes the eye away from the national flag high on the Old Courthouse. Below, the monument frames the guitarist who provided entertainment between speeches. He was often the better choice.            

Turn Down The Heat

I'm sure it's obvious by now but this week's photos have been of Sunday's climate change rally, one of many around the world. There were a few hundred people at this one, a droplet compared to the - what was it? - 400,000 in New York. Ours was ironic since the offices of a huge coal company are across the street.

My view of our species' future is pessimistic. It is clear that short-term greed is winning out over our descendant's survival. Nothing is certain but it seems likely that our southwest will become dessicated and blow away. Parts of our Atlantic and Gulf coasts will become inundated and suffer more violent storms. It would not surprise me to see terrible conflict over water and food. I am horrified that so many people in this country declare that this is fiction. My granddaughter's future could be a hard one.            

Getting Closer

I don't know why I'm being coy about the nature of this event. Probably has something to do with a lack of better ideas. In any event, this gets closer to the theme of the rally but still doesn't reveal it. It's likely that many people have guessed since similar events took place around the world.

The sign and shirt draw some sympathy from me but they might be a bit naive. Remember, Big Brother is watching you. America's largest privately owned coal company has its headquarters just across the street.

Dignity

.

Something that struck me at the Arab pro-democracy rally was the dignity of the demonstrators. The anger that these people must experience was subdued. There was no explosive joy over victories. Rather, there was determination tinged with sadness for the suffering of their countries. It was impressive.

Hear the wolfman howl on Downtown St. Louis 365 today.

Freedom For Egypt

.

More from the pan-Arab democracy rally on Sunday at the Old Courthouse. The Egyptians seems so proud, hopeful and full of energy. We had the privilege to visit Egypt many years ago. We traveled from Cairo to Abu Simbel and back. There are strong memories of the ancient monuments, to be sure, but also of the people.

We were there during Ramadan. On several occasions people on the street invited us to share iftar with them, the evening meal that breaks the fast, when the sunset cannon fired. Congratulations to the Egyptian people. They have much work still to do.

Albert Pujols won't negotiate his new contract during the baseball season, but he angles for hundreds of millions of dollars during the Idiotarod, as documented today on Downtown St. Louis 365. Some may take umbrage at his asking price.

Murderer

.

I had the best shooting weekend in ages, with carloads of good stuff from the Idiotarod and Naughti Gras. However, this goes to the front of the line.

Yesterday afternoon I went downtown to get some files for hearings today. Passing 4th and Market, I saw a crowd of people with the flags of many Arab nations in front of the Old Courthouse. Always have your camera, and it doesn't hurt to know where to find parking. There was a rally for freedom and democracy throughout the Arab world. Wonderful images and inspiration. More pictures to come. I started a set on Flickr here, with many more photos to add.

Too much to choose from. Coverage of the St. Louis Itiodarod continues on Downtown St. Louis 365.