May Day! Here it is like our Labor Day. We knew there would be parades and festivities in the afternoon. We tried to figure out the parade route but weren’t successful. So, we thought, there is some great street art down by the Botanical gardens. Let’s go see that and by the time we get back we will be amidst the celebrations.
We hopped on bus 5a. Three stops later, traffic comes to a halt, the driver pulls over and says “maybe later on, this is finished now”. I translated as “get off the bus, we aren’t moving for a long time”. Whatevs.
We head up the street without rethinking our destination, I look right and down a long cross street see banners waving. “Okay, look there, let’s go chase whatever it is”. Grubb’s eyes light up. “It’s a parade!” And he takes off like a shot. Wait, this is Grubb who is always lagging behind. He CAN walk fast. Geesh.
We close in on the banners. It’s a march! A protest march.
We hear:
“Hands off Iran” “Hands off Cuba” “Stop the war in Ukraine” “Boycott Israel” “Boycott coco cola” “Stand with Palestine”
We hear anthems in other languages. Drums keep the beat.
Bob Dylan music blares. The US may be failing the world but our music still holds the message.
War planes circle.
We walk along side the protesters for an hour. The march merges into Stadshal, a covered square, where tents have been set up and there is plenty of beer on offer. A boomer DJ keeps American protest music spinning.
“Power to the people, Stand up for your rights, Power to the people, Don’t give up the fight”
Facinating!
I miss those days when American youth protested against injustice. I guess there are still some protests on campus (during the Biden times; Trump seems to have mostly crushed them), but they seem feeble compared to what happened in the late 60s-early 70s. I guess the immediacy of the Vietnam War helped mobilize American youth. Where are those youth now? MAGA? Wall Street? Voting republican?
Perhaps the No Kings marches? The ICE protests around the country in support of Minneapolis? I really don’t know about the demographic makeup of those protests but I do see youthful faces in the crowds.