Leftist protesters claim to be the country's "real" owners, but they always act as irresponsible tenants who never clean after themselves. Knowing this trend, I stayed until the end to take pictures of the "collateral damage" on the battlefield for a "better future" littered with free lunch boxes.
It would be interesting to find out how much the city paid the unionized sanitation workers to clean up the mess.
Piles of trash accumulated next to the Lincoln Memorial as the rally was still going on.
The blue boxes contained free union lunch.
The trash was often easily identifiable and union-specific. This one is from the Transport Workers Union, who posted a glowing report of the rally on their website - "The event was a display of our power and unity."
IBEW - the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers - were provided free lunch in these bags, which they dropped right where they ate.
SEIU-specific mess. The radicalized Service Employees International Union also posted a trumped-up report of the event on their site, claiming "an estimated 175,000+ people" in attendance. You will see many of these signs on their pictures, but you won't find any evidence of the gigantic mess they became a part of.
UAW-specific trash. The United Auto Workers also posted a glowing report, estimating the crowd to be 200,000 strong.
AFSCME-specific trash. The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees also posted a jubilant report.
AFT - American Federation of Teachers - trash the place just like any other union.
Assorted union, socialist, and communist trash.
At least the farmers' representatives had enough sense to pile their trash in one place. Think green!
CWA - Communications Workers of America - didn't bring and discard thousands of signs, so their garbage was limited to the usual food-related trash.
Their report estimated their own numbers at the Lincoln Memorial as 10,000. I don't know about that, but you surely won't find these pictures on the CWA website.
This is what the AFL-CIO table and the surrounding area looked like towards the end.
Many "participants" of the One Nation Working Together escaped the loud rhetoric by moving under the shadow of a tree near the Washington Monument - and quickly recreated a familiar "working" environment.
Needless to say, they didn't pick up the trash as they left.
Due to low participation, many signs and flyers remained in the boxes that were also left behind.
At least they didn't contribute to the general pollution.
Other activists simply dumped unused materials on the ground, perhaps to save the boxes for carrying personal belongings.
Wearing her "Unity & Power" jacket and holding a makeshift red banner, this woman looks much like a harbinger of the coming revolution on the battlefield of progress littered with free lunch boxes.
"End War." Because freedom is free.
"We demand good jobs!"
Discarded pizza boxes on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.
More panoramic images of the collateral damage in the battle for a better future.
<< BACK TO 'ONE RALLY FIZZLES TOGETHER'
The Astroturf
How to plant the seeds of socialism and grow a semblance of a vibrant movement
The March
Marching youth is more photogenic than fat union slobs lying on the grass
The Rally
Sign-a-palooza: professionals and amateurs compete in spreading Party-approved messages
The Sleepers
Sleeping on the job is a human right, especially if you're a union member
The Haters
Stop hate speech - unless you speak of Tea Parties, Republicans, Bush, corporations, and the capitalist system in general
The Absurdities
Dialectical contradictions of socialism in pictures
The Radicals
Agitation and propaganda for the masses
The Trash
Cleanup is not in our job description; some union gets paid weekend rates for doing that
Dissing 'Imperialist' War Memorials
War memorials - what are they good for?