I was there today. The Mercury News article is accurate,
but slightly misleading. The reporter or editor chose
inflammatory comments for two of the three quotes from speakers.
These were not representative of what was said by those who spoke. I saw very few signs that were either highly fundamentalist or anti-gay in nature. Nor did I hear anti-gay comments from the protesters. This was a well-behaved, decent crowd. In addition, it was good to see that participants seemed comfortable speaking to the media -- who struck me as professional, not hostile.
Especially encouraging: That there were many teens and (as the story notes) children present. That the crowd had large numbers of "minorities" -- whites may well have been a minority. There was a very large Hispanic representation.
The second part of our rally was in front of one of Speaker Nunez's offices two blocks away. For this, we were on both sides of a heavily trafficked street. Many, many people -- mostly people "of color" -- truck drivers, cabbies, and other motorists -- honked and gave thumbs-up. I always find this especially encouraging.
However, Freepers should take note of the weaknesses of this rally: Too many signs didn't have large enough lettering to be read easily by drivers (fortunately it
was a narrow street and traffic was slow enough that people eventually "got" what we were protesting after looking at a few signs). NEXT TIME, EVERY SIGN NEEDS LARGE LETTERING.
Also, short, punchy messages are needed. Sentence-length messages rarely work on signs. Nor do obscure messages like "No on AB 1967."
Finally, I would offer two other pieces of advice to organizers of future rallies against gay marriage. "No Homosexual Marriage" is not an easy chant. The word in the middle is long and awkward, and doesn't reflect the terms most people use in ordinary conversation. Let's swallow our pride and just say: "No Gay Marriage." Better yet, "No Same-Sex Marriage." Easier to chant, and we don't sound like we're attacking gays. Also, loud, good-quality megaphones are a must. Ours didn't work well enough.
Still, considering that we're in California, it was a nice start. Lots of fun!!!
Thanks for the report and good advice.
Dang you're good. A newbie who let herself/himself into the lion's den. A demonstration at Pershing Square (named after Black Jack Pershing) and in the heart of the Beast, is a truly admirable feat. Congratulations. (I fully intended to be there, but like many people on this board, I have a job.)
RD
(Apologies for implying that you don't work.)
RD