I was walking the streets of Vancouver yesterday. It was windy. It was wet. It was cold. All in all, not a great day to be walking the streets of Vancouver. But I was not alone. There was a protest taking place. A march. And so I walked beside them, just to taste a little of their anger and see if it was a flavour that I recognised. As it turns out though, they were, as far as protesters go, a strangely cheerful bunch. It seemed to me that it was not an anger that they were there to express, but a unity. Good for them. It warmed me just to be along side.

It was mainly women in the group. But a lot of men were there too. I’m a man. The people were smiling and talking and sharing the cover of umbrellas and laughing and holding hands. Nobody held my hand. That would have been a bit weird.

The police were there too. With cars and uniforms and flashing lights. With loaded guns as well, I suppose. But they were not there to break up an angry mob. They were not there to silence opinion. They were there in support. They were there to stop the traffic. To ensure safe passage through the city. Nobody seemed to mind being held up on the way to work or to lunch or to the football or to whatever for a minute or two. People in cars honked their horns and waved at the protesters. The protesters waved back.

Everyone seemed intent on being nice to each other. It was easy.

Here’s what they were on about.

So … as frivolous as it may seem, that was my take on the whole thing. Just be nice to each other. It’s easy.

Note: I thought I’d add this to #JusJoJan at Linda’s Place
although it is, as usual, way off script. It was just a brief and ordinary moment in my long and ordinary life that I felt like keeping a mental record of. Most of all note, dear readers, that I would be horrified if anyone thought I was trivialising something that I actually take very seriously.