The children’s march

Marching on the Mall

I lived in Seattle in 1999, when activists and protesters turned the meeting of the World Trade Organization into “the Battle in Seattle.” I’d seen firsthand the broken windows and burnt-out bus shelters. I lay in bed listening to concussion grenades going off a short distance from my home. Estimates say that about 40,000 protesters were responsible for that chaos.

In the days before the Women’s March on Washington, I wondered if I was going into a situation like the Battle in Seattle. Even though the organizers were telling us to keep it positive, emails were circulating that warned us how to deal with things like being arrested or pepper-sprayed. While I traveled on a overnight bus to the capitol, the media reported that several hundred protesters at the inauguration were arrested for vandalism, setting fires, and damaging vehicles.

When we arrived at first daylight, we found no evidence of that violent anger. Our group was bubbly and excited, pressing our noses to the bus windows as we passed the Pentagon and the Lincoln Monument and crossed the Potomac River. Once we left the bus and joined the throngs, there were pink hats, clever and creative signs, and a hugely diverse group of people.

Everywhere, I saw strangers being kind to each other.

Some offered me free stickers and signs. In the potty lines, people shared their tissues and hand sanitizer. A woman on the street handed me a bottle of water, right when I needed it the most — I had gotten a headache from dehydration. I passed out Happy Spots and York Peppermint Patties.

Free Hugs

Free Hugs

There were over a half million people at the Women’s March on Washington, including thousands of children. They rode on their parents’ shoulders, carried their own signs, and even led chants with megaphones to amplify their high-pitched voices.

I overhead one father tell his son that on this day, he was allowed to say any bad word he wanted, as long as it was about the president. The little boy whispered something in his father’s ear, and the man’s eyebrows shot up. Then he nodded, and said “Yes, you can even say that.”

There was not a single arrest at the Women’s March, even though there were three times as many people there as at the inauguration. What a wonderful example we have set for our children and young people, showing them that peaceful resistance is possible.

 

This is what democracy looks like

U.S. Constitution: Amendment I

"Now you have touched the WOMEN! You have struck a ROCK! You have dislodged a boulder! You will be CRUSHED!"

“Now you have touched the WOMEN! You have struck a ROCK! You have dislodged a boulder! You will be CRUSHED!”

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”

This past Saturday, there was a peaceable assembly in Washington D.C. Over a half million people took to the streets with signs, hats, and chants to speak our minds. This is our right under the First Amendment.

The mood was positive and every single person I met was kind. In addition to sharing a common dismay at the current regime, we share a belief in each other. We share a belief that we are all worthy, regardless of gender, race, religion, sexual preference, and ability.

This is what democracy looks like.

Why I still march: 2017

Al, Nancy, and Pat, who met at the parade over a decade ago. Old-timers from Clearwater, they loved talking about what it was like in the “old days.”

There’s a chapter in Strangers Have the Best Candy entitled “In or out? The dilemma of every parade.” Although I marched in the Brunswick MLK Day parade a couple of years ago, this year, I chose to be on the sidewalk, photographing marchers in the Clearwater, Florida MLK Day parade. By sharing my pictures and stories, I am making their voices heard.

Al, Pat, and Nancy are three old-timers who met on a corner, watching the parade, 12 years ago. Every year since then, they look forward to meeting on the same corner and watching the parade. I listened to them talking about the way things used to be, here in Clearwater. In the 1950’s, Al was going to an all-black school near downtown Clearwater. Then the schools were integrated, and he went to Kennedy School, to the north, for the rest of his education. Nancy, who is white, sent her children to that same school.

On MLK Day, we can celebrate our accomplishments for equality, but we must not forget that there is still work to be done. We must not become complacent.

This Saturday, I’ll have my camera with me at the Women’s March in Washington D.C. I won’t stand for anything less than equality for women, the disabled, people of color, and the LGBTQ community.

Two years ago, I marched in a Martin Luther King Day parade in Brunswick, Georgia, surrounded by African-Americans who are still fighting for their rights. You can find the photos, along with the article “Why I still march” on my former blog, mepsnbarry.com.

Don’t fear this stranger’s candy

Now that I’m back in Vero Beach, Florida for the winter, I’m reading the Indian River Press-Journal again. Earlier this year, Larry Reisman wrote an article about me, and they ran it right on the front page (admittedly, it was below the fold). It’s a fun read — so in case you missed it, here’s the link:
Laurence Reisman: Don’t fear this stranger’s candy (from tcpalm.com)

I love the photo he published with me and Philip’s “Strangers Have the Best Candy” t-shirt.

Meps with Strangers Have the Best Candy shirt (photo by Laurence Reisman)

KCBS Interview With Margaret Meps Schulte

As the national expert in talking to strangers, I spoke with KCBS morning anchors Stan Bunger and Susan Leigh Taylor about “National Talk in an Elevator Day.” Here’s a recording of the live interview, which aired in San Francisco on July 31, 2015. It’s about three minutes long, and you’ll probably notice that I’m much more interested in the subject matter than in promoting Strangers Have the Best Candy!

KCBS and Talking to Strangers

Friday, July 31 is “National Talk in an Elevator Day.” For Margaret Meps Schulte, that means “San Francisco Talk on the Radio Day!”

Tune into KCBS (740 AM/106.9 FM) at 9:30 AM PST to hear Meps’ interview with morning anchors Stan Bunger and Susan Leigh Taylor about the benefits of talking to strangers. If you’re not in the Bay Area, no problem — it’s just as easy to listen on the internet.

Meps has even penned a limerick in honor of the occasion:

When you get on the dull workday lift,
Where you always give strangers short shrift,
Just this once, say hello,
And then see how things go,
It’s the day to give strangers that gift.

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