It Was Wet. We Were Angry.

Rally for Venezuela and a Few Other Things

Philadelphia city hall.

Hands Off Venezuela!

No Ice, No KKK, No Fascist USA!

Workers of the World, Unite!

General Strike! (I'm quite partial to that one.)

No Justice, No Peace!

Whose Streets? Our Streets!

Fuck Ice!

Fuck Ice!

On Saturday, January 10, it rained in Philadelphia. On Thursday, I had received an email from the Philadelphia branch of the Democratic Socialists of America, inviting me to yet another rally at city hall, this one to object to the situation in Venezuela. On Saturday morning, I was half-expecting a cancellation notice, but instead my wife, who is much better connected to the resistance than I am, began receiving messages about a number of morning rallies and marches. It all seemed about as clear as mud, and the view out my window was just getting wetter. I decided to follow the initial guidance, and walked over to city hall for a 1 pm start.

It was in the 40s, with light wind and a steady drizzle that had started in mid-morning and just kept going all day. What my grandfather the dairy farmer used to call a good, soaking rain - one that would generally go into the soil rather than running off.

When I turned the corner of city hall onto the north apron, I could see that the party was already in full swing, and very soon after my arrival we started forming up for a march. I was a little surprised by that - my invitation hadn't mentioned a march - but what the hey. Part of the earlier chatter had been about a march down Market and up 7th to the federal detention center. And it turned out that that was our route.

Market street.

The group that rallied and marched was much smaller than the group at Thursday's rally (see They'll Kill Anybody for No Reason); I would say about 200, compared to more than 1,000 (my estimates). And it was a gathering of the left. DSA was the sponsor; the communists were also there in numbers.

As we were walking down Market, I fell behind a bit, and fell into conversation with one of the members of the rear guard. She informed me that there were a bunch of cosponsors for the rally while she tried to maneuver me forward to the main body so the police officers behind us would not have to speak sternly to me. 

Later, in front of the federal jail, there was another rally, so I got my full dose of speeches. One lady was quite miffed that Mumia is still in prison. I also learned that there were, I believe, 32 cosponsors of the rally, including many organizations that I had never heard of. If you go out and keep your ears open you can learn new things.

Federal detention center.

I think the rally-march-rally formally ended at the federal pokey. There was what I think might be called an aftermarch, which walked west on Arch and eventually turned north into Chinatown. These folks were apparently concerned about something in the Philippines. (It turns out the people there are unhappy about corruption. Throw in Iran and a few other things, and I'm beginning to think 2026 may turn into 1968.)

I walked with the group until they turned north into Chinatown, and then I walked up Arch to the Reading Terminal Market to warm up. Drying off happened after I got home.

I think I need to say something about the communists. They come to all the rallies, and they're very nice, and they speak their minds. They don't like the Democratic party very much. Usually they're massively outnumbered by non-communist rally-goers; on this day they bulked larger, and they certainly had a big banner. 

I know Mike Bloomberg gets the vapors whenever anybody utters the word socialist in his presence. He is an oligarch, after all. We may see him as generally a good oligarch, but all oligarchs alway want to be in control. I have no idea what would happen if the word communist was uttered in his presence.

I have news for the limousine liberals. While you were at your getaway in Southampton or Tahoe, relaxing after a tough week talking to people who are always nice to you, the socialists and the communists showed up in the rain, and marched and speechified for hours. What happened? They bonded.

If you're serious about winning our current fight with the fascists, you need the socialists and the communists. These guys show up. You're going to need that.

See also Slam Dunk in Philly, Message for the Mad King, On the Art Museum Steps, Somotomo, No King, No Clown!