Tacoma turned out in force for today’s #HandsOff Rally.  I took the vast majority of these pictures very early on, more than  a half hour before the event even got underway officially. By the time I left at 1:30, so many people had joined that, had they not huddled for speeches and rallying cries, they could have spread for 12 to 13 blocks on both sides of Pearl Street.  I took videos of the event later on, after the participant numbers had swelled to “holy cow!” but my phone doesn’t record all that well, so I can’t show you the expanse (depth and breadth) of the crowd.  I became too busy waving my own sign and giving drivers the thumbs up when they honked to document the tail end of my time there.

It was an amazing turnout on very short notice. Until about two days ago, a Tacoma rally wasn’t even listed!  When I signed up for it, there were maybe eight people ahead of me. There were easily a thousand people there today, and the cars that went by were honking and thumbs-upping like crazy. It became a cacophany of noises: honking, cheers, and great joy because so many people answered the call to engage in “purple” Pierce County.

The gal above in blue is holding up one of my favorite signs!

“Bad enough the introverts showed up”