NATO and protests

May has been an overwhelming month for me, with lots of collective energy swirling around the NATO summit in Chicago and the resulting protests.  I've been to protests before, various large gatherings of like-minded people, angry about an injustice (or piles of injustices) and using creativity and a collective voice to speak out against (or try to get the attention of) the powers that be.  I've traveled in buses of students or others to Washington, DC or Fort Benning, GA, stayed for a day or two, chanted, carried signs, and traveled home again. What I had not done before was welcome thousands of people at once into my home city.  I had no idea how much preparation went into such an event.  Maybe you have noticed, like me, that the media has done a great job of covering the logistics headaches created by the rolling blackouts on the highways because of various motorcades, or street closures because of the protesters, but has done little in the way of encouraging discussion around the issues. Yes, you ask, but what are the issues, exactly? Remind me?  There has been little in the way of explaining and educating about what NATO does, or why the Summit is here and now.  And little in the way of explaining or listening to the voices of the protesters.  And if you know me, you know that I love logistics, no really, I'm good at them, I don't mind discussing them.  But I think we got a little lost there.  I'll use this week to share a few pictures and a few ideas from the Sunday protest...comments are welcome.


Here is Chicago on Sunday. Beautiful, right? (Notice the helicopter that was swooping over the rally in Grant Park, next to Buckingham Fountain.)