Mar 6

Mar 6 Sunflowers (II)

Chicago, CTA, Protest, Street, Urban Landscapes

“Out in the street somebody’s crying
Out in the night the fires burn
Maybe tonight somebody’s crying
Reached the point of no return

Oh, my eyes they see but I can’t believe”

— Sea of Madness, Iron Maiden from Somewhere in Time (1986)

Based on the Facebook announcement for the rally in support of Ukraine, I thought I’d see a gigantic Ukrainian flag fly above Chicago’s Daley Plaza at 12:30 PM today, but it never ascended one of the three steel flagpoles adjacent to the Picasso. That did not portend well for the rally scheduled to begin at 2:00 PM.

As I stood in Daley Plaza for the next hour or so, the weather also created doubts about how many people would attend today’s demonstration. I had debated whether to wear a fall coat and a hoodie, or a winter parka. I opted for the latter, and with the wind blowing and the sun hidden behind the clouds; that was the right choice. But would other people be as nutty as me, willing to stand in the cold for hours?

I paced back and forth between a group of 15 to 20 police officers on the southwest corner of Daley Plaza, and the 10 or so early birds standing east of the Picasso statue with their homemade signs in hand.

And then seemingly from nowhere, hundreds flooded into Daley Plaza just before the 2 PM start time. I found myself sitting on the ground between the recently assembled speaker’s podium and a couple of news crews, with an arc of blue and yellow banners encircling the television cameras mounted on tripods..

The speeches were largely forgettable, but what can anyone say at this point? We all have seen the tragedy unfold on our screens, dominating the 24/7 news cycle. We have all been shocked and saddened.

One of the speakers called for a boycott of McDonald’s and Starbucks; unlike many other international business organizations, both those purveyors of fast food still operate in Russia. Several speakers led the crowd in chants, calling for a No-Fly Zone over Ukraine. And Congressman Mike Quigley described the Zoom call he participated in yesterday that included Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and members of Congress. That certainly is one of the perks that comes with elected office. Everybody would like to have a beer with Zelenskyy. If Ukraine prevails, he will be able to pack arenas throughout the United States, returning to his early days of standup comedy and the Ukrainian version of Dancing with the Stars. He is an authentic folk hero.

Today, however, was all about the crowd, which grew to several thousand by 3:30 PM, when people began to head east on Washington. The march, as advertised, was supposed to end in Millennium Park, so the turn north on Michigan was unexpected. I would not be surprised if the powers that be told the police to allow the marchers to take the longer route back to Daley Plaza, which meant heading west on Wacker Drive and south on Clark Street. Everybody is Ukrainian these days, including Mayor Lori Lightfoot.

Based solely on impressions, I would wager that the majority of the people in the crowd were Ukranian or from other Eastern European countries. Hopefully when the weather gets better, Chicago will come out in force to support Ukraine, with 20,000 or 30,000 people taking to the streets. Our leaders need to know that the citizenry, as a whole, opposes Russia’s invasion of a sovereign nation. Large numbers make that clear, or as John and Yoko once said, “War Is Over If You Want It.”

The need for larger demonstrations assumes Putin doesn’t rethink his idiocy. While retreat would save Ukraine and the world lots of grief, Putin is stupidly stubborn.

Post Script: I learned this evening that the Ukrainian flag was raised over the Kennedy Expressway.

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