adiva_calandia

So one thing that has been interesting is watching my Facebook feed for reactions to all this. I've taken screenshots, removed names (and pictures) for privacy's sake, and now share them with the Internet at large. They're not in any particular order.

( Screenshots below the cut. )

The attitude, at least of CMU students (which comprise most -- all? -- of those statuses), seems to be primarily anti-protestor, although a little bit anti-police, too. That said, a friend of mine came up to me earlier beaming hugely and told me she's just been to the protest rally. "I wish I could march!"

"What are they protesting?" I asked.

". . . Everything. Everyone who's against anything is there! It's awesome!"

"Oh. Anyone there for anything?"

She blinked at me. "Justice," she said decidedly after a moment. "And human rights," warming to her subject, "Free Tibet, Free Palestine . . . Plenty of people for stuff."

"Oh. Okay."

I don't know how I feel, except that I don't think people should throw rocks.

Campus this morning was very, very quiet, if you don't count the half-dozen police I passed on my way to class. There was a cool haze over everything; I couldn't decide if it was atmospherically appropriate or not. The artistic shantytown that's sprung up by the Fence looked like it hadn't woken up yet. Compared to yesterday, when all the people living in the shantytown were outside playing accordions and guitars and hanging out shirtlessly, it was . . . rather eerie.

Yesterday I walked by an orange-shirted ACLU Legal Observer. That unnerved me more than the cops. The ACLU shows up to make sure nobody's rights are being taken away, which made me think I was more likely to have my rights taken away than the mere presence of police did.

Anyway. The first sign of protest I've seen all day is a Free Tibet parade I just saw walking down Forbes. When cars started to honk at them, and drivers waved and gave thumbs-ups out their window, I realized for the first time -- this is a big deal. The buses driving by display 28X -- AIRPORT FLYER -- PITTSBURGH WELCOMES THE WORLD.

I feel, suddenly, that I should be doing something. I don't want to be in a riot, but I want to be -- I want to lose myself in a collective briefly and be part of something bigger than myself.

There's an art parade tonight at 5, starting at the Fence. I have a meeting at 5:30, but . . . I can spend fifteen minutes raising a cheerful noise.