Jena 6 March

So, guess where I was this weekend? If you said Tampa, Florida you would be wrong. I was in Washington, D.C.

I was minding my own business and enjoying a day in our nation’s capitol. It was chilly so I thought I would duck into the National Archives and take a look-see. As I was leaving and trying to make my way back to my hotel at M and 22nd, I saw a large group of people crowding the street. I decided to walk that way to see what was going on only to be caught in the middle of the Jena 6 march around the Department of Justice. Needless to say, my blonde head was really sticking out in the crowd. I wasn’t alarmed. I wasn’t afraid for my life or belongings and, believe it or not, Mr. O’Reilly, “There wasn’t one person (in Sylvia’s) who was screaming, ‘M-Fer, I want more iced tea.’ ” People were thanking me for coming out to support their cause even though I carried no sign and wore no “End Racism Now” t-shirt. Unlike Mr. Bill O’Reilly, I wasn’t surprised. I am just happy to see people with a cause.

I believe in their cause to some degree… not enough to march for it, but, hey, when in Rome…

The truth is, I didn’t feel the “white guilt” that maybe I am supposed to feel for being a southern white girl accidentally swept into a crowd of marchers that I couldn’t escape from for about a block. I didn’t even feel guilty for just trying to get out of there and get back to the Ritz Carlton. I did nothing wrong to these fine folks and I expected them to do nothing wrong to me. For the most part, they were singing and smiling and laughing. They weren’t the angry mob that I read about the next day in the paper. Maybe it is all a matter of perception.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/11/16/national/main3515365.shtml

It was a little ironic, however, when I went to catch a cab the next morning at the hotel and who is standing behind me waiting for a cab (or limo, most likely) of his own? Say it with me now… The Reverend Al Sharpton, of course… I’m just saying.