LA was wild this weekend. In the midst of so many fires burning all around, there was a huge protest rally downtown going on.. I love capturing moments at protests. This one was interesting.. Definitely filled with colorful folks, marching, displaying creative signs, and shouting with passion. I saw a few signs that attempted to connect the cause with past civil rights movements and the struggles of African Americans. I can't say I agree with that argument. I mean, one sign said "someone forgot about Jim Crow" while another said "gay is the new black." The battle over prop 8 seems to me more about a disagreement of beliefs held by two different sides.. What african americans went through from slavery to civil rights to being hosed down, denied, killed, dying for the right to vote, the right to go to any school, to drink water out of the same fountain, use the same restroom, eat in the same diner/restaurant, sit anywhere on a bus, live in any neighborhood, etc. is hard for me to swallow with respect to comparing all of that to this battle to have the right to marry. I give much respect to the protesters and wish them the best in their fight but in my opinion, the cause, the struggle, the fight is not the same... Toward the end of this rally, the protesters wanted to begin another march from the same starting point. Their time was up so the police informed them that the city streets needed to be opened up to traffic. They were given a certain time to protest and march and that time was up. A show of force from the police came out with rifles at the ready but everything was cool. The protest organizers talked things over with the police and they made an agreement to march a short distance under police supervision. That sort of working together meets compromise didn't exist back in the day... Another huge difference in years gone by...
No comments:
Post a Comment