Cindy Sheehan Crowd Size

[Vogon_Glory]

No doubt, the corporate news media will be talking (however mutedly) about the rally for Cindy Sheehan held in Austin this afternoon. And no doubt the right-wingers are just itching for a chance to distort the sizes of the peace rally and the right-wing counter-demonstrators.

I attended the peace rally, although I didn't really join in the full march all the way down Congress avenue from the Texas Capitol to Austin City Hall. I would say, though, that there were at least 600 attendees at the peace rally and little more than 25 right-wing counter-demonstrators (That includes one or two bystanders on bicycles on the other side of Cesar Chavez and one of the right-winger's babies).

An observation: The Far Right likes to talk about how they support freedom. If Imperious George was there, though, do you think that anti-war picketers would have been allowed to get as close as the right-wing counter-demonstrators got to the peace rally? Not likely. Anti-war counter-demonstrators would have been corralled in a pen (called a Free Speech Zone) at least half a mile away and ignored by the toady press.

[defiant1]

1. You are correct....

Free Speech Zone, what an oxymoron.

[PDittie]

2. HouChron reports 1500

and two dozen of the other side:

Joking that she'd like to come back and run for mayor, anti-war protester Cindy Sheehan made the Texas capital her first stop on a cross-country tour to promote her mission to end the war in Iraq.

About 1,500 supporters greeted her at a rally outside City Hall. Local musicians sang protest songs while about two dozen supporters of President Bush demonstrated quietly across the street.

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/metropolitan/3334042

[Vogon_Glory]

3. My Figures Were Deliberately Low

When I reported 600, I was counting the people marching on Congress Avenue as well as the 80 or so who walked from the plaza outside of Austin City Hall to join them--and I was being quite conservative in my guesswork. I did not count any other folks who might have joined the rally later on. Believe you me, I'd be more than happy to know that I low-balled the crowd size.

15,000 anti-war marchers in Austin and more in other cities as a regular event should give all but the most hidebound right-wing ideologues on the uppermost floors of the Republican Party/"Conservative" ivory tower serious cause for concern.

[sonias]

4. I agree with PDittie that it was more like 1,500

We have to get good numbers from the Houston paper. How about that! The local rag is a Cox Media owned paper and they love G.W.

We had 700-800 people on the march from the capitol. Then we met up with about the same size crowd already waiting at City Hall. I was so proud of Austin last night! What a wonderful welcoming site for the tour bus and the families.

And we had such wonderful entertainment step up. Jim Hightower gave us a rowdy speech. The musical talented was amazing. Along with Dave Rovics and Eliza Gilkyson, "The Flatlanders" comprised of Joe Ely, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, and Butch Hancock, did a rare reunion appearance. We had the slam poet Genevieve Van Cleve who got married in Camp Casey perform. We had a wonderful performance of John Lennon's "Imagine" but a talented female musician whose name I didn't catch, but it was beautiful the whole crowd was singing.

Cindy read her daughter's poem "A Nation Rocked to Sleep" to close the rally. Very powerful and moving.

Keep the peace tour buses moving!

Sonia