On the March

"How absolutely refreshing it was on Monday, then, to be bobbing on a wave of thousands of ordinary people actually protesting on their own behalf. Not in solidarity with someone else. Not in support of someone else. And, therefore, no need for the usual paraphernalia of your standard lefty march. No giant puppets. Neither freaky costumes nor face paint. No trace of anyone in a fright wig. None of the usual self-indulgent countercultural poses and postures. No Radical Cheerleaders, thank God. No 'Free Mumia' posters. And, best of all, no painfully endless lineup of Professional Activist speakers on the podium, draped in kaffiyehs and sunglasses, unreeling their obsessive single-issue rants. No ding-a-lings hawking The Militant or the Revolutionary Worker. And, finally, no gaggle of frustrated, self-righteous, lapsed-Catholic movie stars hogging the mikes."

Marc Cooper in the LA Weekly explains what made the May Day marches different and successful.