Tag: elections

More DNC Follow-up

Igor was at Union Park on the last day of the DNC and took lots of pictures. Usually, I post the link to his album and also post selected photos in my blog, but this time, I do not want to post any. Here is a link you can check out. And if you click it, you’ll probably realize why there are no pictures here.

I always strive to present an objective picture, and this time, an objective picture is not appealing: I do not want to multiply any Palestinian propaganda here. If you do not see these people and their posters, you might think there is some truth in what they say. But if you just take a look, there will be no mistake. That proves my point that these days, anybody who agitates people against Harris is an enemy of good. I do not know how else to put it – it literally means that this individual is on the dark side of things. And since I know that Igor captures such events with all possible objectivity, I can tell that there were way more supporters of the Palestinian extremists than anybody else. Ukrainians and their supporters, pro-choice activists and pro-life activists, communists, and socialists, all of them combined, made a lesser crowd than pro-Palestinian protesters. And I can’t get over it.

On a separate (but still DNC-related) topic, there were lots of comments about “CTA has done a great job keeping the stations clean.” I do not disagree with that; it was hard not to notice the unusual cleanliness. However, the immediate questions are: 1) why does it have to be a convention to make this change? 2) what did it cost in terms of time, labor, etc? I do not like shows like this, and I genuinely want these questions to be answered.

DNC

My friend who lives on the West Side was planning to visit me the upcoming Saturday. We planned this day several months in advance: my schedule is busy, and it’s a long way to her. She uses paratransit, so she needed to arrange a ride. On Monday she texted me: sorry, I won’t be able to come. When we talked the next day I asked her what happened. She said: I know we planned this visit several months ago, and I know that it might mean I won’t see you for several more months, but the there will be protests because of the DNC.

I told her: wait, the DNC does not start until Monday. She though for a moment, and then said: I know for the fact, that there will be protests over the weekend. She continued: you know how they sometimes go wild, and if the car happen to be in the middle of it, they might encircle the car, and then the passengers will be in trouble, and I do not want to end up in jail. I paused for a moment to process and said: you are right. I have nothing to say.

I managed to find an alternative time for her visit, so we will see each other before fall, but it looks like the prevailing mood in Chicago for the next week is worry about what is going to happen. It’s sad, but not unjustified.