May 10

May 10 Ditch the Students

Chicago, Demonstrations, Donald J. Trump, Performance, Protest, Public Declarations

Chicago’s Palestinian community was scheduled to raise the Palestinian flag in Daley Plaza at 2:00 PM today during the community’s fourth annual flag raising ceremony. In keeping with recent Palestinian rallies and marches, the ceremony ran both long and late. The flag began its ascent up one of Daley Plaza’s three flag poles at 3:59 PM, two hours after the scheduled start time. In the interim, the community listened to a series of speeches by community leaders and dignitaries, but not a full two hours’ worth. The speeches began sometime around 2:45 PM.

When I arrived at the plaza shortly before 2:00 PM, I immediately thought that this event was going to be a disaster. The 15 rows of seats in front of the stage were largely empty. But as usual, people arrived late. They just kept coming, so shortly before the flag made its journey up the pole, there were probably 150 to 200 people gathered under what is best characterized as crisp, afternoon sunlight—perfect for photography.

I was not alone in noting the lackluster attendance. One of the women who regularly speaks noted her initial disappointment with the turnout. She had hoped that at least 1,000 people would attend. Making lemonade out of lemons, this woman then noted that many of the faces were familiar ones, having attended dozens of prior rallies and marches. In her words, quality, rather than quantity, is what matters—these were the regulars who have been with the Palestinian people since the events of October 7th.

When the ceremony came to an end, I spoke briefly with one of the community leaders. He also lamented the low attendance, but correctly pointed out that after a year-and-a-half of demonstrations, nobody could rightfully expect people to keep coming to the Saturday demonstrations in mass.

As a demonstration, this may have been the best pro-Palestinian demonstration that I have attended. Missing were the non-Palestinian college students and far Left-wingers. Consequently, the affair took on a more measured tone. The speakers stayed on point, talking about the plight of the Palestinian people. Yes, they spoke out against both Presidents Trump and Biden, but without the usual laundry list of Progressive demands that are unrelated to the tragedy—death, famine, loss of limbs, and the resulting despair—that continues to unfold in Gaza.

Probably the most effective part of the formal program were what might be described as the interludes. Between speeches, people read brief biographies of individuals who had been killed or injured in Gaza. I remember an earlier demonstration in Bridgeview. The community did something similar, planting signs picturing people who had been killed in Gaza, including brief bios. One of the signs pictured Ossama, a young boy, with his pet parrot, both of whom had been killed in Gaza. As is apparent, the image stuck with me.

Those attending today were largely the heritage Palestinians, many of whom live in suburban Bridgeview and the surrounding communities—the area is known as Little Palestine. Those attending brought more children than usual. The parents made sure that the children had plenty to do, which included making signs and painting. Someone laid out a large tarp on the Daley Plaza stone surface, so as to protect it from all the paint and brushes that people had brought. Kids (and some adults) sat painting on the tarp.

As is true of every demonstration in Daley Plaza, the kids in the crowd quickly turned Pablo Picasso’s signature statue into a slide. Ever inventive, the kids used signs and Palestinians flags as surfboards to speed their descent down the statue’s sloped base. To keep the kids charged up, somebody supplied them with what looked to be Tootsie Pops. Nothing like a little sugar to stay awake during all those speeches.

When the Palestinian flag finally made its ascent up the flagpole, the adults joined the kids on the Picasso statue and in surrounding area. Cell phones came out, permitting everyone to memorialize the flag’s ascent with a photograph.

I can make a good case that the heritage Palestinians would be better without the students and other non-Palestinians who often give the rallies and marches a hard edge. The more reserved speeches, the children playing, the spoken bios of those who have died in Gaza, and the familial atmosphere permeating Daley Plaza showcased the community’s humanity.

Donald Trump has found an easy target in the student encampments and some of the more unfortunate incidents that transpired on college campuses last year. If he had seen today’s flag raising ceremony, he would have had a much harder time attacking the event, assuming he didn’t concoct lies about what transpired—a gigantic assumption.

Before the ceremony began, a group of trickster bicyclists showed up, intending to use Daley Plaza as a showcase for their bicycle acrobatics. I am not sure whether CPD asked them to find another location for their makeshift event, but for about 30 minutes, the tricksters did some fantastic riding on the plaza’s southern end, away from the seating area. I have included some images of them, but keep in mind that they are unaffiliated with the Palestinians.

[Click on an Image to Enlarge It. The Images Are Not Necessarily in Exact Chronological Order]