A Parade Parody

Big demonstration, here at the Capital City. People from all over the continent, from many unions, came to protest against savings made by Them ("the Bigwigs", "the Man"). I can't be more specific, because it was not really divulged which sectors were affected, neither what exactly They were up to.

But what I do know, is that it was huge. The number "100.000" was spread around, although authorities estimate the number of protesters to be considerably lower (as if they would ever say otherwise). Seeing such numbers of people marching down the main street would have been considered intimidating in other ages, but it seems that this one was more of a hippie parade than an angry mob with torches and pitchforks at the ready.

For starters, most people do not even know what the deal is. I've asked around why so many people are gathering here, and all I get are shrugs. "Something about money" was the closest thing I got to an answer. In the past, people were mad at high taxes, the oppression of the common populace and whatnot, but nowadays it seems everyone just wanted to tag along because it sounded like a fun trip.

Secondly, there was a jolly good atmosphere. People's money is being taken away from them (in some vague manner), but no-one seems to be angry. People were singing, flags were fluttering around, and live music was played. It was somewhere between a Carnival parade in Rio de Janeiro and a group of drunken football enthusiasts on a Saturday night right after a won match.

The last comparison, I think, is due to the fact that many of the protesters took this as a chance for a city-trip, especially the foreign participants. You can't just come here without trying a local brew, now can you? And the restaurant street is right around the corner, so why not?...

Perhaps it was for the best. Protesters who have had a drink and a good meal are happy protesters (?!), who won't set any governmental buildings on fire. They made a day out of it, and went home satisfied (I hope). It's just a shame that those 100.000 jolly demonstrators needed to take the train, like me and thousands of others who wanted to get home after a long day...