Bigger and better? Yes and no.
Albuquerque’s third No Kings rally topped its predecessors in terms of turnout; organizers say we had 50,000 attendees here, with more than 8 million nationwide.
And the crowd, while still heavy on gray hair (and no hair), seemed to have more young people than did the previous editions.
A couple of smiling young folks from the Party for Socialism and Liberation buttonholed us, passing along a flyer for a May Day rally and general strike. The Democratic Socialists of America said they’d be around, but once again, no confirmed sightings.
But emcee Robert Luke seemed to have some trouble generating a solid call-and-response from the throng, which really didn’t get fired up until special guest speaker Stacey Abrams brung the heat. (Respect to the band ShyGuy, which tore up a stout cover of Green Day’s “American Idiot.”)
It was the march that put a smile on my face. The 3-mile route from the park wound north on San Mateo, east on Montgomery, south on Louisiana, and back to the park via Comanche, and we flat filled our half of the road, singing, chanting, and waving at passersby.
One group of youngsters could really sing, at one point tackling Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody,” with enthusiasm if not 100 percent accuracy. Lots of horn honking, most of the single-digit salutes involving an upraised thumb, and only one small, semiorganized group of dissenters at the far side of Comanche and Louisiana, with a sign that said something like “No Commies or Socialists In Our Neighborhood.”
I sang, “I am a commie, and so is your mommy” at them. Not as melodious as the kids, but what the hell, I ain’t Bruce Springsteen. Anyway, you know the rule: While smashing the State, kids, keep a smile on your lips and a song in your heart.
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“Abort Unwanted Presidency”. Wish I had thought of that. Someone here had a sign saying “It’s so bad even the introverts are here”. I laughed my ass off at that one, as it pretty much applied to me.
We had an estimated 7,000 up here according to the morning paper.
I didn’t see any sign of the Party for Social Libations up this way, but the DSA was there. I dropped a twenty into the Dem Party hat for a RESIST sign for the house. I think it is goofy (you can’t just resist–you gotta turn the ocean liner around), but the more we see, at least it means people are paying attention.
Since I am retired, I will not strike against my lack of a job. Maybe a good old fashioned Critical Mess ride would be cool on May Day.
People driving by were mostly supportive this time. Just a handful of middle finger salutes. One guy walking by called us communists. I had the ability to say nothing, and that’s what I did. But, it’s a good thing he didn’t make a return trip. My mouth may have over loaded my ass. Lots of folks with cell phones, one with a selfie stick and microphone, taking pictures and videos. Those that come close I asked to not include. The rest only took pictures of my sign. Same for the unknown drone flying around that most folks were oblivious to. I assumed it was from the PD.
We should have come to Albuquerque!
The phone thing can be irksome, for sure. I try to keep my use minimal, taking basic snaps to show the size of the crowd/march, that sort of thing. There’s a performative aspect to some of this our-man-on-the-scene stuff that I’ve never been comfortable with. Plus I want to be mindful of other people, who may not care to be characters in my little comic opera.
Here and elsewhere the organizers were using drones to help them estimate crowd sizes, from what I’ve read today. They may have been shooting stills/video for streaming, too (our little demo was streamed live). And for sure some of those drones belonged to the John Laws. We had drones and copters overhead all the doo-dah day.
Speaking of supportive, we had one burly ol’ boy in a pick-’em-up truck doing laps around the march. First time I saw him coming I thought maybe he was a Trumper, but nope: He was dangling a big “FUCK ICE” sign out his window. I saw him at least three times.
BTW, clever title! Took a minute to sink in. Chapeau!
Gracias, señor. I nearly went with “Serfs up,” then remembered I’d already used that one.