Post-Election Demonstration 11-5-08 in Columbus, OH

At 10:00 AM on the morning of November 5, 2008, a mere eleven hours after Barack Obama was declared the winner of the 2008 presidential elections, I came to the corner of Broad and High Streets in downtown Columbus, looking for a group calling itself Columbus for Peace. Columbus for Peace had put up signs around town asking people to come to that spot, at that time, to advocate for the restoration of peace and respect for the Constitution -- no matter who had won the presidential contest the night before.

I spent some time looking around for this demonstration, and in low spirits found myself standing on the sidewalk all alone, holding a single sign and wondering, frankly, if anyone else in the city of Columbus actually cared about these matters. Where was everybody?

Fortunately, after a few lonely minutes the rest of the group arrived, and as we held our signs we started to talk.

It occurs to me that this wasn't really a protest. Those who assembled outside our state capitol expressed gladness that Barack Obama had won the election, and those who passed us by expressed the same. In lieu of chants, we talked about our disappointment with the 8 years that had passed, and shared our hopes for Barack Obama, our fellow citizens and ourselves over the next four. I get the feeling that similar conversations have been taking place today in cities big and small all over the country, outside the boundaries of formal demonstrations. I wonder: what will these conversations sum up to?

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• columbus
• ohio
• barack
• obama
• documentary
• commentary
• analysis
• protest
• post-election
• 2008
• presidency
• history

[wrxpete]

Excellent video Jim. I really like the way you introduced the scene :) As a member of Columbus For Peace I would just like to mention to any viewers that this was our first outing and there will be more!