The Other March

The Washington Post has some vignettes from the other Washington march, the one that drew about 1/100th of the crowd that lined the Reflecting Pool earlier in the day  Here are a couple of them:

The intersection of Independence Avenue and 17th street was a crossroads of expressions and participants from both events came together.

As one group of black women chanted "Yes we did and get over it," those part of the Glenn Beck rally clapped and passed out Restore the Honor bottles of water.

But Brett Cummings of Gordon Ga wasn't happy. "Look at the statement if we had all come together as one." Katheryn Travis who came to Beck Rally from Knoxville Tenn was almost in
tears. "Dr King wanted all of us to come together. We have to believe that."

And this:

When the Sharpton rally reached the mall, most of the crowd from Beck's rally had begun to disperse. Those remaining, mostly smiled politely. "We love Obama! We like Obama!" those in Sharpton's rally yelled.

"Glen Beck, we're going to show you. We ain't going to let Glenn Beck turn us around," one man shouted into a mega phone. The crowd followed him. A few people took photos as they chanted and walked down Constitution Avenue. "We need to be shouting 'we are America,'" said one woman in Sharpton's rally. "See all those tea baggers." The two crowds mostly gawked at each other and smiled.

I watched much of the Restoring Honor rally on CSPAN and I didn't hear any mockery, ridicule or anything that sought to insult people who disagreed with Beck and the more than 300,000 that showed up. I think it's pretty clear which side is seeking to unite America and which side is seeking to divide.

Frankly, I was surprised at the focus on religion and the lack of focus on politics of the Restoring Honor event.  It reminded me more of a Promise Keepers rally than a political event.

All-in-all, well done Glenn Beck.