Tuesday, June 22, 2021

Protest Chatter

 This past Sunday, I spent a couple of hours in Wiesbaden...at a outdoor beer-garden.  We aren't at the zero point on Covid-ban-rules yet, but it was fairly simple to walk in and register our names and address.  Cold German beer followed, with an umbrella protecting from the sun.  

It was actually a pleasant deal except for one issue...a protest.

This was at the Marktplatz area, and a 'save-the-boat-people' group was holding a protest about 300 feet away.

Total number of attendees?  Probably in the sixty to seventy range (90-percent under the age of thirty).

Total number of police monitoring things and ensuring 'peace'?  Around seven. 

With the loud speaks and propaganda chatter....about an hour of the beer-garden moment was negative.  

The folks running this?  I got the impression they were all college types, and probably from the University of Mainz (across the river).  We don't have a college in Wiesbaden except the business college, and those kids aren't the type to protest much of anything.

Around forty minutes would pass after we sat down, and the protest shifted to a march....I assume from the Marktplatz to the train station.  

As for getting people hyped up and thrilled for the 'save-the-boat-people' situation?  Well....I'd give it a '2' on a scale of one to ten.  Maybe if you were a Green Party enthusiast....you might be hyped.  But the other 85-percent of society hasn't really felt that thrill of getting involved in this, or they ask a lot of questions which can't be answered.

As for these protests going anywhere?  No.  If out of a town of 293k residents....you only see 70-odd people standing there....it would be the same protest level of people complaining about sugar content of Jello, or folks protesting over gaudy dress/attire of women walking the streets of Wiesbaden.  

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