On my lunch hour, I was surprised to find a rally for health care being held a few blocks from where I work. Usually, when I see protests downtown, it’s been hate-filled skinhead types bashing Obama or decrying gay marriage. How refreshing it was to see a bunch of progressives protesting for health care reform.
One woman carried a medical school skeleton with a sign that said, “Dying for health care.” I can’t recall the other signs, but there were several.
The protest was a little noisy, but definitely sane. It did, however, feel claustrophic because it was on one of the smaller corners. There’s a big plaza streetcorner a few blocks away that would have served better. And heck, they should have gone to LA Live! There’s a nice open plaza there, and a lot of people pass through there for lunch.
One thing I’d like to say to my fellow activists. If you’re going to protest in someone else’s neighborhood, dress like they do. I couldn’t help but feel the campaign would have been 20x more effective had all the activists had on suits, skirts, or other professional business attire. As liberal as I am, it felt weird to see these hippie types in my business neck of the woods. It felt a little jarring, and this from someone who couldn’t possibly be MORE sympathetic to the cause.
A couple of years ago, we had a march downtown for peace, and one guy showed up in a business suit. I instantly assumed he was conservative, which was his point. He wasn’t, but he wanted people to assume that. It’s amazing how much our brains assume that we’re not usually aware of!
The action, btw, was to have people call their senators and demand health care via the reconciliation process. There’s a ‘new letter on Harry Reid’s desk’ one of the activists told me. Not sure what they’re referring to and no time to check that out. Just had to share a little good news, even if not so professionally delivered..!
