Science
Today some 40,000 Chicagoans participated in the March for Science, a nonpartisan demonstration that had heavy partisan overtones. There certainly weren't many Trumpians in evidence.
It is hard not to be anti-Trump if you are scientist: Trump wants to cut funding for science; Trump wants to politicize scientific research in an effort to support his anti-science policies (anti-vax, anti-climate, anti-research); and Trump wants to rely on alternative facts.
Once again, I commend the organizers and participants for their effort, but once again the march struck me as ineffective. I was unable to find the speakers, and from what I can tell from the news reports, they were few and far between.
The march organizers divided the crowd, funneling it into two or three directions when the marchers arrived at the Field Museum. The Expo was a good idea, but the booths were not sufficiently interesting to hold people's attention or presence. The Field Museum offered half-price admission, which helped drained the crowd away.
If there are 40,000 people in attendance, it is important to show the mass of humanity. The organizers had some success on that score, but the march was so spread out, with no central point, that I thought that at most there were 10,000 participants. I imagine the helicopters circling overhead had a better sense of the march's scope.
It was good to see so many kids out. This was a different crowd from last Saturday's Release Your Tax Returns march. It was a little bit more upscale, and probably better educated. There seemed to be a lot of people with a scientific focus, based on the signage.
Unfortunately, Trump is going to have to do something really stupid--like start a war on the Korean pennisula with a tweet--before the necessary million people come out to demonstrate. Only then will our elective representatives listen.
