Dec 3

Dec 3 Protest In The Burbs

Demonstrations, Protest, Public Declarations

I didn’t want to head to the suburbs today. The temperature was bone-chilling cold, the skies were overcast, and the trip meant driving through suburban sprawl, which is always an unpleasant experience. Curiosity, however, got the better of me. A group calling for A Free Palestine had organized the Schaumburg Solidarity Rally. It was scheduled for 12:30 PM at the intersection of Golf and Meacham roads—1200 North Meacham Road to be precise.

I had no idea whether I was headed to a school parking lot, an indoor meeting hall, or a mosque. Upon arrival, I discovered Woodfield Village Green, a shopping mall housing Barnes & Noble, Bloomingdale’s Outlet Store, Costco, Nordstrom Rack, Old Navy, Trader Joe’s, and other comparable retailers. It is in proximity to Woodfield Mall, a much larger regional mall. The concrete ribbons bisecting what was once farmland were filled with Sunday pre-holiday traffic. Not surprising, after all we are in the midst of the annual shopping frenzy.

I parked in the humongous parking lot adjacent to all the mall’s big box stores, and then walked to the corner of Golf and Meacham, where 30 or 40 people were lining what is at certain stretches an eight-lane highway lined by sidewalks, but no guardrails.

One woman was standing on a platform leading the group in chants, all of which were now as familiar to me as the Christmas carols that can be heard in the malls and on the radio ad nauseam.

Like the chants, the slogans gracing the signs were all also familiar. Most of the signage was DIY rather than the professionally printed signage that is visible at the pro-Palestinian rallies downtown. There were several pre-printed signs that were identical to the ones I saw at yesterday’s Michigan Avenue march, leading me to conclude that some of those standing in the cold had were present for that march.

The demographic mix matched the mix I have seen at virtually every pro-Palestinian demonstration I have attended. Based on signage and dress, there were a few Jewish people supporting the Palestinians, some college-aged demonstrators who most likely were students, and many others who most likely were of Palestinian heritage. Many of the men wore keffiyehs, and some women were dressed in hijabs and traditional outerwear.

Overall, I probably saw 100 to 125 people during the 90+ minutes I circulated among crowd, which was a friendly one. One man introduced himself as Nasser, an organizer and a Democrat. He indicated that one of his primary concerns was that none of the demonstrators do anything that would interfere with the nearby businesses.

At one point, Nasser pointed out that the suburbs were filled with Zionists. I am not sure whether that was an excuse for the low turnout, or whether he believed demonstrating was necessary to counter so-called ‘Zionist’ messaging. Maybe both.

I asked him if his group was affiliated with any of organizations sponsoring the downtown demonstrations. ‘No,’ but the groups are in contact with each other. Someone else told me that this was the group’s second demonstration, so they were still learning the ins and outs of organizing demonstrations.

I was the only ‘photojournalist’ present. The only other obvious ‘outsider’ was a police officer, who was parked across the street in a Japanese restaurant’s parking lot monitoring the event.

I did have one unpleasant encounter. A man holding a handful of small Palestinian pennants approached me, demanding that I carry one. I advised him that I was a neutral observer who does not take sides when working, but he followed me as I tried to walk away, persisting in his demand. I finally shook him when I broke into a brisk walk. Once again, I had encountered an arrogant demonstrator. Because the issue he is demonstrating about is all that matters to him—nothing wrong with being committed to a cause—everyone else must agree with his position and be equally adamant about its importance.

Overall, the demonstration was relatively low key, but the participants were loud and enthusiastic. Unfortunately for them, the suburbs do not lend themselves to marches, so the effort was visually static. Nevertheless, everyone who participated receives credit for taking a principled stand regarding one of the more seemingly insurmountable problems facing the world today.

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