I went to a rally in defense of traditional marriage today in Ottawa. Before I begin my narrative, I have to give some background information. This rally was organized in a very ad hoc fashion. From what I have heard, the decision to hold it was practically spontaneous. I understand that a man by the name of Warren Booth is responsible for organizing it. The word went out about it two days ago. Three buses from Toronto were charted to bring about a hundred people to Ottawa. Now, most rallies don't happen that way. They're planned weeks, even months in advanced. The organizers often try to get a permit to rally on Parliament Hill so that they get priority on the grounds and not be drowned out by some other event.
This was very grassroots, very impromptu-- dare I say it-- kind of amateurish. That's not to say it was without value, but it did lack a bit of professionalism. Although you have to hand it to the organizers: getting 100 people to sit a bus for five hours to demonstrate in Ottawa on such short notice is no small feat, so they defintively deserve an "A" for effort.
I arrived at Parliament Hill a little before 2 p.m.,the schedule time. There were only a handful of people there. I was a bit worried this thing was not going to happen. I saw some anti-abortion and anti-sodomy signs, and I knew that someone else had heard about it. So I went up to an elderly gentleman who was responsible for the signs, and who did I meet but the (in)famous Father Tony Van Hee. He is known for constantly picketing on the subject of abortion and sodomy on Parliament Hill.
I chatted a little bit with Father. There was another woman there. She also had some signs, and she was trying to place them in strategic places. Father Van Hee had a picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe on a little two-wheeler thingy (the kind you use to move big appliances when you move into a new house-- but I forgot the name). The lady was trying to put one of her signs on it, but the wind blew it over, knocking both it and the icon. Father became somewhat adamant about not wanting any signs there-- the icon of Our Lady had to be shown and respected. He is obviously a very devout son of Our Blessed Mother.
So the minutes passed. Finally the buses arrived twenty minutes late. I was quite relieved. They were about a hundred people. They had lots of signs. I was pleasantly surprised.
One man had a shofar and blew it.
They began to gather at the foot of the steps to the Parliament buildings.There were many school children, some were intrigued, others bemused by this protest.
A man and a woman dressed as a bride and bridegroom posed on the steps.
Many of use started taking pictures. I also took lots of pictures of the signs.
Speaking of being amateurish, I felt like that myself, as my batteries died, and I had forgotten to recharge my spares. Kind of makes me think of the parable of the Foolish Virgins who didn't bring enough oil. So I don't have any pictures of the event past this point.
I noted that there were about eight guys,wearing pink bandannas and/or pink shirts who were skateboarding on the Hill during our event. I thought it was the counterprotest. I mean, it's a bit easy to confuse- eight guys with pink shirts and bandannas, doesn't that have gay connotations? But no, I learned later they are men skateboarding across Canada for Breast Cancer Research. I was getting a little miffed because they were getting camera time from a local tv station, and we weren't, but as this was probably a well-publicized event, I could see why they would get attention.
The main crowd gathered at the top of the steps, but I stayed down. I was with my daughter Francesca, and she was strapped into her stroller. I did not feel like going all the way around to join them, as it was almost time for me to leave, and I was very hot and thirsty. A man with a bullhorn started chanting slogans, and the crowd repeated, things like "One Man! One Woman! One Man! One Woman!" and "Jesus is Lord!" They seemed to be at a loss of what to say behind the bullhorn. There was no apparent MC to this thing, which is another way it lacked a bit of polish. Lots of enthusiasm and desire, but it lacked structure and direction. Now mind you, I had to leave half way to get home to meet my other child who was arriving from school.
They at least understood one thing about rallies: they rallied at about 2:45, which is about the time MP's and staffers leave Question Period.So many people of influence heard what they had to say.
I'm glad that the good folks from Toronto had the desire and the courage to stand up in defense of marriage, but I hope that next time they give more notice to us folks in Ottawa, so we can bring more people along. And maybe get a permit. And an MC.
