This time I made a poster to take.
I stapled it to a measuring stick. Alas, the staples were no match for the breeze. By the time I left the sign was hard to control. I guess it is a good one because a person complemented me for it and several others took pictures of it.
The location was Pioneer High School. I had been warned parking would be tight, so I parked near Michigan Stadium and walked about a mile.
It was difficult to see the crowd to get a sense of the size. Here’s a picture from a slight rise at the south side of the parking lot. What you see is about two-thirds of the crowd.
After we stood around for a while there were several speakers. Between a not-quite-adequate sound system and soft voices there were a few I didn’t hear. Many of the speakers were students. One of the non-students was a woman who survived the Las Vegas shooting of six months ago. There were a couple politicians, including Debbie Dingel, Ann Arbor’s representative to the US House. She bragged that the NRA lists her as a public enemy.
I don’t have good pictures of signs, though I remember a few:
In America the only thing easier to buy than a gun is a GOP politician. (This is a popular one.)
What would Jesus carry? #olivebranch.
As a girl someday I may have as many rights as a gun.
The only thing this teacher is packing is lunch.
Am I next? (Carried by lots of youth. Variations included targets.)
After the speakers finished the leaders announced we would march around the school and to … I didn’t catch the rest, though it looked like a police car on Stadium Street at the far end of the school grounds was going to hold up traffic. I had gotten to the parking lot at 10:40 and it was now almost 1:00. It was also cold, about 35F, and breezy though sunny. I decided this was enough for me.
While there I also signed a couple petitions to get proposals on the ballot. One was to make voting easier (a good companion for a proposal to end gerrymandering) and another having to do with paid time off (I don’t remember details).
There are several posts on Daily Kos with some cool pictures of marches in other cities. In each of these it is well worth to scan the comments for more pictures. The march in Washington, DC was huge! (The best photo is at the top of the comments.) Other big rallies were in Portland, ME, and Cleveland (the ones I’ve seen photos of) and rallies in about 840 locations in America and around the world.
Favorite signs from the pictures:
My job is to teach, not return fire.
I’m a teacher, not a sharpshooter. Do your job so I can do mine.
This teacher refuses to be drafted by the NRA.
Teachers are expected to stand up to gunmen, but Congress won’t stand up to the NRA.
The number of bullet holes in this poster are the number that can be shot in the time it takes to read it. (I counted 40 holes).
I can’t even bring peanut butter to school. (Held by an elementary kid.)
And my favorite, held by a pre-teen boy:
When I said I’d rather die than go to math class? That was hyperbole, assholes.
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