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| People trying to make it to the Trump rally. |
Today I tried to attend a Donald Trump rally in Austin. I almost made it in. There were about ten people in front of me before the fire marshal made them close the doors. However, even without actually making inside, it was quite an experience. Here are few impressions and a lot of photos.
If Donald Trump ran the country like he planned this rally, we are all in trouble. The rally was held at the Travis County Expo Center in Northeast Travis County. The nearby area was a combination of gentrification mixed with minority neighborhoods. The parking filled up hours before the rally started. However, cars were snarled in traffic waiting to get into a parking lot where they would be turned away. People had to park on the side of a narrow rural road for miles on either side. There was a long procession of people walking toward the rally in the hot Texas sun, Trump supporters and protesters walking side by side. The only tense moment was when a Hispanic kid in a sports car kept revving his end and burning rubber while stuck in traffic. He seemed like he was trying to annoy the people around him. If he had let go of the brake, it would have been a mess.
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| The Joker |
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| Whos in Bed With Donald Trump? |
This is Austin so people were keeping it weird. There was a guy There was a guy dressed in a joker costume with a sign that said "Keep
America Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha. There was a pickup truck with a naked
Donald Trump in the back with a sign saying "Who's in Bed with Donald
Trump?"
When I made it into the Expo grounds, I
was struck by the fact that the guys selling Trump merchandise were
largely African American. I think it was good for the Trump fans to
see hard working African American men. However, they shouldn't be so
sure that these guys actually support Trump. Being the hard-working go-getters that they are, they were probably ready to hawk merchandise for whoever was the next person to come along regardless of ideology.
Now I'd like to talk about the Trump supporters. As I stood in line, there was the occasional macho shout of Hillary for Prison or Build That Wall. However, it was a diverse bunch of white people. There was a group of teenage boys near me, one of whom was wearing a Reagan-Bush '84 tshirt that was probably older than he was. Then there was this couple: a cute girl wearing shorts with an InfoWars tshirt and her boyfriend with a cowboy hat and a Hillary for Prison tshirt. The Trump supporters were by and large very well behaved and polite. However, as I finally made it to the front of the line, there was an announcement that the fire marshal had shut down the line and that no one more would be allowed in. I heard comments of "the fire marshal must be a Democrat" (which he probably was) and "but I had a ticket." Apparently the Trump campaign gave out way more tickets than they had space. Again, this is not a sign of good planning and it resulted in a lot of annoyed people. I wasn't that annoyed. I was just hot.
Along they way, there were plenty of
pro-Trump bumper stickers and one pro-Trump protester. In addition to
the regular campaign bumper stickers, I noticed signs for InfoWars and
the NRA. Here are two that stood out.
Then there were the protesters. Inside the grounds, there were only two lonely groups. One held up an amateurish sign saying "Trump Go Home" and another one stood stoic near the entrance to the Expo Center with a sign detailing Trump's many marital indiscretions.
Then there were the nice protesters. I especially like the woman who held a sign saying "love, Respect, Tolerance, Kindness" and the woman with the "Love Trumps Hate" tshirt.
I would be remiss if I did not point out the other protesters. Here are some photos of the hundred or so people opposing the Trump rally.
As I made the long journey back to my car, I heard a lot of Trump supporters honking at the protesters to drown them out. However,one car slowed beside me and said "Sir, please don't vote for Trump." I assured them I would not and the guy said, "then you're off the hook."
