The story that happened today wasn't the story that the counter-protesters were expecting!
Today's events began like this -- a conservative Madison blogger took it upon himself to organize a counter-singalong for Monday noon in the Capitol Rotunda, the space and time in which the Solidarity Singalong has been bringing songs of protest and freedom every weekday since late February.
His blog post publicizing the upcoming event took a belligerent approach, honoring "wheelchair-bound patriot Dave Zien," the former state senator and gun-rights activist who disrupted last Tuesday's Singalong in a bizarre display of wheelchair antics. The blogger then threw down the gauntlet with these words:
I’ll expect the Solidarity Singers to move along. When and if we are granted a permit, I want some guarantee from Capitol Police that our First Amendment rights will not be traduced. The Blaska Bloggers reserve the right to police their ranks of uninvited and unwelcome participants and to remove competing noisemakers.
The singers' position has been that, in the People's House, freedom of expression needs no permit. The Solidarity Singalong takes place in the Rotunda permit-free, as long as no other group has sought a permit for that space and time. If another group will be in the Rotunda, the Singalong relocates to the Capitol steps at State Street, no big deal.
It wasn't clear what the status of that other group would be, though. If they didn't get a permit, they were going to show up and place themselves in the middle of the Rotunda -- not singing, because that would put them on equal non-permitted footing with the Solidarity group, but contesting us for the space with their presence.
The singers didn't know what to expect either. Via Facebook, we exhorted one another to keep it peaceful, keep it calm, whatever provocation might occur. I was particularly touched by one person's advice:
Peaceful, Calm, and Non-violent tomorrow. If the t.p. Instigators are getting to you, do not be afraid to grab your neighbor's hand, to ask for a hug, or cry a little. We are gentle, angry people, and we are in this TOGETHER.
The "gentle, angry people" line refers to one of our regular songs:
We are a gentle, angry people
and we are singing, singing for our lives!
The counter-singalong did get their permit, however. Their singalong took place this noon in the Rotunda, with 35-50 participants and representatives from various media outlets. Meanwhile, all 150-200 of today's Solidarity Singers relocated peaceably outside.
The interactions with the counter-protesters were cordial, as several representatives of the Solidarity Singers introduced themselves and let the counter-protesters know that they'd be re-directing the regularly-scheduled singalong to the Capitol steps.
The Solidarity Singalong opened with a unison reading of the following quote from the Wisconsin Constitution, Article 1, Section 4:
The right of the people peaceably to assemble, to consult for the common good, and to petition the government, or any department thereof, shall never be abridged.
The above video from blogger Blue Cheddar begins with the reading, and then goes on to show various clips and interviews from both inside and out. For the Solidarity Singers, it was on to the usual round of songs from the songbook -- a gradually-changing compilation of old and new, with many updated verses. The turnout was such that the demand for songbooks exceeded the supply! A selection from the current songlist:
• We Shall Overcome
• This Land is Your Land
• We Shall Not Be Moved
• There is Power in a Union
• Keep Your Eyes on the Prize
• Solidarity Forever
• Have You Been to Jail for Justice
• Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me 'round
• Scotty, We’re Comin’ for You
• We are a Gentle, Angry People
Meanwhile, the couple-dozen folks inside the Capitol only mustered up half an hour worth of songs, as opposed to the standard hour of solidarity-songs. Their repertoire included:
• Battle Hymn of the Republic
• America the Beautiful
• The Star Spangled Banner
• On Wisconsin
• Meet The Flintstones
• Gilligan's Island
• Green Acres
• All Along the Clocktower (a parody version of All Along the Watchtower poking fun at the 14 courageous Democratic senators who filibustered the so-called budget-repair bill via their sojourn in Illinois. Apparently few singers knew the tune, so the song ended up as more of a chant. I assume that the TV-theme songs must have had parody words, too -- otherwise, what's up with those choices?!)
• The Doxology
At least one Solidarity Singer was seen joining them for America the Beautiful, and for the national anthem.
Whatever the hopes and fears for the counter-singalong may have been, the eventual story was the singers bringing the civil to an event that had begun with such bloggy chest-thumping. A report from The Daily Page (the online version of Madison's Isthmus newsweekly) had this startling interview nugget:
Todd Osborne, a computer programmer who has lived in Wisconsin for 12 years and describes himself as a "tea party conservative," heard about the Conservative Sing Along through local tea party groups...
"Today went very, very well," Osborne said. "The pro-union, anti-Walker people were very nice and respectful, and we appreciate that."
Osborne said he has participated in other events, including the Tax Day rally in April, that were much more tense than the competing sing-alongs. He thought the peace between the two groups today might indicate a "return to civility."
The blogger-organizer himself was impressed with the Solidarity Singers' demeanor.
I must say, however, that two organizers of the Left’s Solidarity Singers, Steve Burns and Chris Reeder (I’m guessing at the spellings), could not have been more cooperative. They introduced themselves to me, we shook hands, and they moved their sing-along outside. At one point we considered trading songs with the blue raised fist people but the logistics argued against it.
The triumph of civilty, of peaceable response in a situation that was orchestrated for tension, is a remarkable outcome. Peaceful power to the gentle, angry, loving people of the Solidarity Singalong!