Rally to Restore Sanity / Keep Fear Alive

Now, the "English was good enogh for Jesus" is interesting. Because I don't know the context, this could be either a sarcastic joke/poke or just ignorance.
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This is the Stewart/Colbert crowd. I'm sure it was #1.
 
The proximity of the event to Halloween obviously caused some attendees to conflate the two.
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Unlike the Tea Party rallies, especially the Glenn Beck event, this one seemed to lack a single unifying message. This was probably due in no small part to the decision on the part of Mssrs. Stewart and Colbert to try not politicize it. This enabled anyone attending to attach their own meaning to it. The result was a real mishmash of messages. Some treated it as an opportunity to make and watch comedy, art (some of it quite Dada), political theater, protest, etc. The consistent thread that ran through much of the day seemed to by hip irony. I guess this is a good counterbalance to the literalist/fundamentalist world view held by the other side. A matter of subtlety and nuance versus immutable black and white clarity and sureness.

I can't imagine this event changing anyone's mind. I do hope it stimulates folks to vote and to study the issues and candidates before they do so. We Americans seem terribly guilty of letting the extremists on both sides dominate the public discourse and to therefore force emotional appeals to overwhelm careful thought. I guess this rally was aimed at dialing back the volume of the vituperative rhetoric. Let's see if it has any effect.
 
A reminder that there are elections around the country on Tuesday. If you're registered, whatever your beliefs and opinions, do your civic duty and vote.
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The sea of faces was broadly varied by age, socio-economics, ethnicity, etc. This group includes some of the folks who rode on the same bus with us from NJ.
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For those of you not familiar with the political tone in the US and Colbert and Stewart's shows: Stephen Colbert "plays" an archconservative TV show host. He typically takes the message of the Republicans and conservatives and twists it to its most logical extreme in the name of comedy. I am afraid that are a few people who take him seriously. It is tongue in cheek. The Bush era was known for rhetoric that focused on fear ... fear of terrorism, etc. Colbert's "counter-rally" was intended as a spoof on that whole ethos.

FrankS said:
I understand the rally to "restore sanity" part, but can anyone explain the "keep fear alive" part?
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Good photos Rob! Did you get a hit of that joint? lol!! just kidding! I watched a bit of this on the tele. I thought the 3 trains was kool! I expected it to be biased toward liberals, but I did hear Jon rail on some of the dems a few times. Glad for that because the problem is in both ranks. When I went to the 1st big teaparty event in 09 I was seated beside a Clinton democrat who didn't like where her party was headed. Many dems & unaffiliated such as I were on that bus. Mainline Republicans hate the teaparty movement but biased networks like the ones on the van report differently. Only until we as Americans come together as one & blame both parties nothing will be done & it'll be business as usual. But the 1st step is that the Pelosi /Reid crowd has got to go!
 
That sign was displayed by two guys wearing "fat" suits. The one fellow kept drinking from a gallon jug labeled "high fructose corn syrup." The intention was no doubt satire or parody, if not downright sarcasm.

kevin m said:
This is the Stewart/Colbert crowd. I'm sure it was #1.
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robklurfield said:
For those of you not familiar with the political tone in the US and Colbert and Stewart's shows: Stephen Colbert "plays" an archconservative TV show host. He typically takes the message of the Republicans and conservatives and twists it to its most logical extreme in the name of comedy. I am afraid that are a few people who take him seriously. It is tongue in cheek. The Bush era was known for rhetoric that focused on fear ... fear of terrorism, etc. Colbert's "counter-rally" was intended as a spoof on that whole ethos.
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Agreed, & those supposedly found packages on the plane is keeping fear alive!
 
What I find interesting is how cynical people are about politics these days. It seems, no one is serious, everyone is offering their opinion using sarcasm or satire. I'm speaking of US in particular.

The right is so out of it that they're funny just being themselves, and the left is so jaded and cynical that its hard to take them seriously.



But great series, simple and articulate pictures. You manged to cover the event without sensationalism.
 
GB, thanks.

As RFF is a photography forum, I will exert all my might to avoid the political here. I do have political opinions and doubt anyone would have trouble guessing what they are. But, I don't think this is the place for me, or anyone else to be debating them. That said, the political system in the US needs fixing and I'm not sure either side (or even the middle) has a prescription for making this happen. The impact of the Citizens United Supreme Court decision seems to be having a pernicious effect on politics and public policy. Anyway, no politics from me here. I'm just going to report on what I saw.

This was a big crowd with lots of opinions.

gb hill said:
Good photos Rob! Did you get a hit of that joint? lol!! just kidding! I watched a bit of this on the tele. I thought the 3 trains was kool! I expected it to be biased toward liberals, but I did hear Jon rail on some of the dems a few times. Glad for that because the problem is in both ranks. When I went to the 1st big teaparty event in 09 I was seated beside a Clinton democrat who didn't like where her party was headed. Many dems & unaffiliated such as I were on that bus. Mainline Republicans hate the teaparty movement but biased networks like the ones on the van report differently. Only until we as Americans come together as one & blame both parties nothing will be done & it'll be business as usual. But the 1st step is that the Pelosi /Reid crowd has got to go!
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Thanks. I covered what I had access to. The event was really large and varied. Because of the size of the crowd, we moved twice to avoid being crushed, but otherwise parked ourselves in one spot for about two hours.

I'm curious to see pictures from anyone else who attended. I know the harry teasley and jsrockit were planning to be there. Guys, if you're reading this thread, I hope you'll add your two cents later.
ebino said:
What I find interesting is how cynical people are about politics these days. It seems, no one is serious, everyone is offering their opinion using sarcasm or satire. I'm speaking of US in particular.

The right is so out of it that they're funny just being themselves, and the left is so jaded and cynical that its hard to take them seriously.



But great series, simple and articulate pictures. You manged to cover the event without sensationalism.
Click to expand...
 
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