Protests

I looked at the picture in the newspaper's website, and given that the event was supposed to start at 1, figured that arriving by 4 should avoid most of it.

Sort of. The last block of East Washington had 2 lanes full of protest cars, decked out with banners, posters, big signs on top, and functioning horns. I had to detour a bit, but the delay wasn't important. People were leaving, with signs tucked under their arms, and waving flags--mostly US flags, but there were a few Gadsden flags too. No, I saw no Confederate flags.

I spotted a few counter-protestors too: "Who do you trust, scientists or rednecks?" but even they seemed to be in a good mood.

Most protestors seem to leave whatever their event was in good spirits. Not all--I heard of a few, but I wasn't around for those. Maybe it's a function of who they attract--a demonstration in favor of letting people go back to work probably won't be a beacon to out of town looters.

I'm not a huge fan of big crowds, but I gather protests usually tend to be pep rallies, and are good for morale boosts.