(For those looking for the best protest poster ever, it's down at the bottom of this diary...). The weather was cold today, but the mood was very warm - there was a big crowd of all ages - families with kids in strollers, old people, college kids, senior citizens, people in wheelchairs 
. Lots of groups and visitors, a majority white, but a more diverse than usual (for an environmental rally), crowd. What I mostly noticed was the good energy - a lot of enthusiasm, creative hand-made signs
, and just a happy peacefulness. Everything flowed well. I would have taken a lot more pictures, but my camera was almost dead.
I'm slightly crowd-phobic, so I don't do very well trapped in a swarm of humanity. When I go to rallies and protests, I usually choose roles/perspectives that allow me some detachment - shooting video or pictures, biking around the periphery, or just observing. This time I ended up handing out posters, which felt like a useful role. I was standing at an intersection at the entrance to the rally, and it was interesting to watch the humanity flow by. The main thing I noticed was that a lot of people really weren't dressed well enough - I wished I'd had hats and gloves and sweaters to hand out - standing around in the cold is rough! I'd brought extra layers, and ended up wearing most of them.