one in a million

[lauradi7dw]

WCVB reported that there were a million people at the combined Pride/No Kings day in Boston. I marched in the Parade but didn't go to the Common.
My part of the T worked well and wasn't extremely crowded - I got to all the things I wanted to do (Tai Chi, protest, pungmul session, friend's curling match) in two different cities (Somerville, Boston, two additional parts of Somerville) by buses, Red line, and my feet.
14th rainy Saturday in a row, but I didn't get soaked, just damp.

Comments

[lauradi7dw]

The crowds were densely packed on Boylston Street, either near the beginning or the end. We were contingent #145. I think. For the first time ever, IIRC, we had a car (not decorated much, just a red Prius), which meant we were in a section of vehicles. The number didn't seem to matter, because the volunteers waved contingent #179 In front of us (Mass Audubon, who were giving out stickers and other stuff and encouraging the crowds to chant "Gay Birds" as they passed). While we were standing around before things started moving (for a long time - our part of the street didn't go anywhere until after noon), Keshet had been right in front of us and maybe First Parish Arlington (?) right behind, but then MASS DOT had a large flatbed truck fitted in and there was a bus from Brigham and Women's before Mass Audubon, so we were not near the Keshet people anymore. All of Exeter street, behind most of the vehicles, seemed to be religious organizations - one of the UU's that stopped by to chat with others in our group said they were behind some Presbyterians. Someone else I know said that she couldn't find us.

We started very near the marathon bombing memorial. Prior to 2013, how deep were spectators on that part of the street during the marathon? I don't remember ever seeing estimates. I had a friend who was active in organizing huge anti-war protests in the 1960s. He said that they had careful counting/sampling techniques to come up with crowd size but realized that the police estimates were always larger, so for publicity purposes they ended up just using the police estimate.

[lauradi7dw]

The counted-by-organizers number for the gathering in Lexington was 2142, in a town of about 35,000. I hope to see photos. The police had set up some barricades on Friday to keep protestors separated from the tour bus people who come to Lexington Green*. I am curious how that went. There were also dozens of flags up for flag day, so presumably a crowded spot.

* There is a weekly protest by the minuteman statue midday on Wednesdays. Last Wednesday a schoolteacher asked politely if we would briefly move a little so they could take a class field trip photo with the statue but without any strangers or political signs. Everyone obliged.

[redbird]

I'm more used to the police and National Parks Service systematically underestimating crowds at anything political, and news stories saying things like "the organizers estimate there were X people, and the police say smaller number Y."

Pride had felt much less political in the 2010s than in the 1980s and '90s, so maybe it's been getting "look how many tourists show up for this festival" estimates. This is the first year in a long time when it felt like a mayor was showing that she's on our side, not just looking for votes.