I’m backstage, winding down, with Bad Religion howling from the stage. My net assessment of the day: OMFG AWESOME SQUEEEEE.
I’m sorry to say that if you missed it, oh, you should be burning with regret right now. Burning. Regret. Boy, did you make a mistake.
Thanks, definitely feeling it.
Oh, nice, now I’m being punished for being born across the pond in Godless Europe.. *cries*
Hey, not everyone lives close enough/can afford it.
Tons of great speakers. My favorite was Nate phelps speaking passionately and calling out his family for their hatred.
It was a great time! I was really impressed. Great speech by the way.
That’s OK; the Trophy Husband went on my behalf. I spent *my* craptacular weather day at a horse show this morning. :>
You’re so articulate PZ. Could not have said it better myself. Awesome indeed and I am proud to have been a part of history made.
It rained on the Reason Rally, therefore God.
Apparently.
Random person handed me a cup of tequila.
Had a conversation with Eddie Izzard, Tim Minchin, and Jamila Bey.
Called Sy Ten Cate a slimy motherfucker to his face. What a stupid excuse for a human being.
I’m soaking wet.
Shelley Segal and Jessica Ahlquist were up early. They were marvelous.
I think we need to go strip and have an orgy in a mud puddle.
Standing ovation!
Tequila and mud puddle orgies
*sigh*
just like the ’60s.
I was able to see Bad Religion do a sound check yesterday. Beautiful weather.
http://www.jesuslovesbags.com/2012/03/reason-rally-bad-religion-sound-check.html?m=1
PZ:
:Clenched Tentacle Salute:
Nope. Not allowed unless there’s video.
Who’s that? Google is being most unhelpful.
Damn. Some day, when I’m not so many thousands of $$ in debt from school, I’m going to attend as many free thought/atheist conventions as I can. Though admittedly, I will always regret missing the “woodstock” of secularism. Cheers to all that went.
Everyone keep telling us about how libroool is the media and yet I didn’t hear a single mention of the reason rally on the news.
@yoav #16
Hell, Faux News was the closest to a shout out we got
No fair rubbing it in, some of us just plain can’t afford it.
Links to Adam Savage’s and Richard Dawkins’ speeches over at my place. More as I find them.
http://freethoughtblogs.com/cuttlefish/
Ophelia:
I’m a member of that club.
It was amazing!!! Even got a pic with PZ!! Thanks PZ! Great speech too! Thanks for all you do for this cause!!
“Hey, not everyone lives close enough/can afford it.”
and many of us who are close enough and could afford it are spending the weekend supporting our families in many different ways. Not the least of which is saving money for college.
P.Z.’s speech rocked the house.
Thirded!
“Sye Ten C” is some kind of creationist apologist who is frequently Wrong On The Internet.
Wish I could have been there for the slimy motherfucker moment.
David, #24,
Wrong On The Internet? Oh the huge manatee!
{Faints}
Louis
I was so much easier to search the old blog for content. I cannot find that thread when erichovind, sye ten, and friends sent about an hour and a half tossing chum to us. It was a silly good time.
Perhaps someone who has a better grasp of the story can point forbidden snowflake to how sye ten debated a couple of atheists and sold the debate without their consent.
Wish I could be there. Kids in college and I keep buying books. Oh, and I have to work.
Spelling “slimy motherfucker”: You’re all doing it wrong, including BZ Meyererez.
Sye ten Bruggencate
It was a great day. The weather was wonderful, and PZ was excellent of course. I don’t think I can be “bad” without god as he suggests, but everyone inspired me to be far more open about my atheism. The result: my first post on Pharyngula. Minchin was fantastic, and Dawkins never disappoints. I’m really hoping most of the day’s proceedings were recorded and preserved.
@csue #6:
I had to work, so I also sent my Trophy Husband (equipped with my smartphone and instructions to tweet and send photos). Assuming you are female (with my apologies if you are not), I suppose you and I need to shoulder some of the blame for increasing the M to F ratio in the horde by our neglectful absences.
I’ll be seeing you in Kamloops in May 2012. Which, from Guelph in Ontario, may not seem closer, but I can then visit my remaining brother in Vancouver. I don’t learn about these events soon enough to arrange the time off. Is anything anticipated over the next year in Ontario (or Quebec), or in the North-Eastern states? I could do NewYork or Chicago in a couple of days drive, but at my age, I am not too happy in cities. Mobility problems, age, stuff. I have to rely on the advertisements on Free-Thought Blogs. I am also trying to find the books you all rave about [small plug – especially Red-neck Blue-collar Athiest) All we have up here is Chapters. They are good, but. . .
So very proud. And sad that I could not be there.
Forbidden Snowflake, here are a couple of links for you.
Eric Hovind: Lies, Damned Lies And The Almighty Dollar
Another Reason To Never Debate Creationists
http://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2011/11/04/speaking-of-bullying/
(followed by this one, where apparently David Buckna felt so left out that he had to double down on all his fellow zombies, godbotting via copypasta until PZ brought down da banhamma…!!
http://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2011/11/04/zombie-invasion/
)
Wait was I the one who scheduled the rally in the middle of the fucking spring semester? My sincere apologies.
I was there from about 9AM until Eddie Izzard was done. I just couldn’t take any more rain and cold. I did come prepared. But my old poncho was leaking (tossed it in the trash when I got to the subway.) And I had no idea the day was going to be as cold as 55 most of the day. I brought an extra layer but it wasn’t enough.
OK… so enough whining and complaining.
The show was awesome. My favorites were (in no particular order) Eddie Izzard, PZ (of course), Greta Christina, Tim Minchin. All the others were good but not everyone “wowed” me like the ones above.
There were quite a few people there and even though I have no reasonable method of estimating sizes accurately I can say with certainty that it was in the thousands and may have been close to ten thousand. This was remarkable because the weather was so crappy. I was located off to the right and about 50 yards back from the stage in the same location for about 7 hours. In that time the mass of people in front of me changed completely at least three times. So either they were trying out different spots or the attendance at the rally was several times the size of the group at any given instant due to turnover.
It was very well run by the organizers. They moved things along pretty well and most glitches were cleared quickly. Considering the breakneck pace of the schedule it was only 30 minutes off by the time PZ was up.
There were some godbots near where I was camped but I had absolutely no interest in them. Who wants to hear about sin and damnation when there was a really talented young woman with a hula-hoop to watch instead. Did anyone else see that?
I really had fun. I am so burnt out now I am just gonna get some dinner and crash. It was cool to be there though I wasn’t aware that some sort of history was being made. That is to say… I didn’t feel like I was stepping on the moon or charging up some beach in Normandy.
What will the accommodationists think?
This needs to be made into an annual event.
Does anyone know if the numbers being reported on Google news are close to being correct? 20 – 30,000 people standing in the rain for hours sounds amazing.
Had to like…parent all day. Silly me… ;)
I didn’t go: just another atheist event, I thought, but now I’m thinking maybe I missed a historic change of the tide. I hope so, and that atheist will be accepted as part of mainstream culture by the majority of Americans now.
Here are some tweets with hashtag Reason Rally.
@dgrasett #32
How about Ottawa in December: eschaton2012.ca
How about a picture or two?
We’re older and wiser now: aim for an orgy in a nice, cosy hot tub.
Thank you, Owlmirror. That was a strangely fun little incident.
Actually, the Washington Post had an article about the rally in prospect, with a 3-minute interview of Richard Dawkins.
I’m back at the hotel — no way were we going to make it to the friendly atheist/ftb dinner. Mary and I are kind of dead on our feet. The plan is a shower to warm up, then off to the afterparty here at the North Bethesda Marriott. More awesomeness, I’m sure.
Also, Huffpo has an article. Crowd estimate 8K – 10K which is about what it looked like to me. I think a lot of people who would have dropped by on a nice day were deterred by the rain.
Glad to hear it was a success. Was going to come, but finding a baby sitter for kids for the week it would have required defeated me. Not to mention the odd$5k required for airfares etc
@Ogvorbis: like the new moniker
I’ve been huffing and puffing all day because there has been no news coverage!
QFT!
Cruel of you to rub it in, P.Z., but i Have to admit, I am thrilled to read this update and see that you were energized by the event and appear to be riding on a wave of Godless heathenish euphoria! That’s what I wanted to hear – even if damn it, I could not be there!
Ugh Stupid random capitals! Got carried away with excitement because finally some communication from the Reason Rally and P.Z.!
I cannot express how much I agree with this…. Please.
Too far, too expensive, too scary. Thousands of strangers together in one place, being loud? Sounds kinda like an unmitigated nightmare to me, even without the weather being icky. Glad people are enjoying themselves though, and glad the turnout was so impressive! Hope it does some good.
There’s always Rock Beyond Belief next week.
While it’d be awesome to have bands and so forth, I’m kind of glad the GAC is all indoors.
It was great. Great speakers, entertainment. Blasphemy is so much fun! Loved PZ’s speech, wish it could have been longer. Wrathful, indeed. Loved Tim Minchin. Wet and chilly. I finally gave up at 5pm. They said the Park Service said the crowd swelled to 20K. Probably would have been significantly bigger if the day was dry. I’m local so it was just gas money and Metro to get there. It thought it would be good for the politicos to see as many of us as possible, but I’m glad I went for the quality of the event.
They showed Maher’s bit when he de-baptized Mitt Romney’s father-in-law. One of his best bits. Rep Harkin was benign but plugged science. Nate Phelps was powerful with his family right there with their hate signs. I saw several big cameras and media types but there doesn’t seem to be much in the way of stories.
The National Park Service estimated at least 20,000, according to an announcement Paul Provenza made at some point (don’t remember exactly when).
It was a great event, and I had a lot of fun, despite being cold and wet all day. Thanks so much to everyone who worked so hard to make this happen, and to everyone who participated! And now I’m going to go stand in a hot shower for a while…
I’ve put up the speeches of Nate Phelps, Christina Rad, and Sean Faircloth:
http://www.jesuslovesbags.com/2012/03/reason-rally-success.html
PZ & Mary, you’ve had a long, chilling day. I hope you put your feet up and get warm in good company with plenty of good things to eat and drink.
D Grassett – please do come to the Ottawa thing, I’m invited to that and I’d love to meet you!
The crowd did seem to grow as the day went on.
More good news: right-wing radio is going to have to compete, when renewing licences, with others who want them, such as local radio stations.
I was there for Jamila Bey through Christina Rad, but then I had to leave because I had a ticket for the Mythbusters Tour. Hated to miss PZ though! Adam talked about the Reason Rally during the show.
It was funny to see all the fundies gathered together in one corner, holding the majority of the signs. I got stuck with a religious flyer by a guy who looked a bit like Carl Sagan.
It truly was an amazing day.
I had volunteered, and took my shift as an information usher in the afternoon. Most questions were in the hour before Dawkins went on, and nearly every one was people wondering if they had missed him. Second most common question was from random people, not rally goers. “Um, what exactly is going on here.” “It’s an atheist rally.” Reaction to that varies from supportive to, well, let’s say not terrible keen on the idea.
Rub it in, already. Jeeze. As if I already didn’t’ feel bad about missing it!
Oh sure. I can’t afford to go to the GAC even though it’s only a 3 hour train ride from home, let alone jet to another continent. Whinge…whinge…whinge…
.
At least I live in the time of the internet and cheap video cameras so I’ll get to hear most of it. I’ve already listened to Adam Savage get it right and can’t wait to hear all the other speakers. I do really regret not being there for Bad Religion and Tim Minchen though. Crappy mobile phone cameras don’t cut it when it comes to music.
Would love to be there in the rain, instead of here in SF in the rain. But, I’m not allowed around that many lawyers and politicians…they’re bad for an old man’s respiratory system. Next time, the organizers will have to evacuate D.C. a couple of weeks ahead of the event to clear the air. It would do everybody a world of good, I’m sure.
Wish I coulda been there.
Here’s an interview the Los Angeles Times did with Nate Phelps before the rally: http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-pn-q-a-nate-phelps-20120324,0,4407066.story?page=1
Thanks, David, Janine and Owlmirror! I do vaguely remember the incident involving the guy, just didn’t connect it to his name. Now I know why Teh Google was so unhelpful.
The event was absolutely awesome. (Seemed kinda like a waste of time to show Bill Maher’s recycled video, but whatever, people were entertained). PZ’s speech was rousing and eloquent and, well, awesome. (Particularly the dig at Harkin). I’ve been getting repetitive all day because that’s the adjective I keep coming back to. Met so many great people. I’m ashamed to admit it was my first atheist event, ever. And it was everything I could’ve hoped.
RE Sy ten: I’m rather glad I’ve never even heard of him or his stupidity before. Ken Ham was enough burning stupid for me.
Too bad I couldn’t have figured out a way to go.
Awesome! Went with a few work friends and had a great time. Hardly noticed the weather. Was frustrated enough to almost throw my phone as far as possible when (after a quiet morning of no calls) I got two urgent calls and had to make one myself (due to my older son being on the road during tornado warnings in his area) all during PZ’s speech. Which was *only* one of the main reasons I went in the first place!
PZ, Sorry to say I missed a lot of your speech. I hope to catch it in its fire breathing entirety on YouTube. I also wish I could have met you to thank you in person for all you do. I hope here will suffice.
Wow, Nate Phelps was incredible! If I had been there I’m sure he would have moved me to tears, I can SO identify with his experiance. Hopefully he will be asked to speak again.
Phelps’ clearly knows what he’s talking about, that was a great speech.
@cactusren: The National Park Service stopped doing official crowd estimates after the Million Man March in 1995, where their estimates were significantly lower than the organizers’. Funding for crowd estimates was cut in The Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill, 1997 (H.R. 3662) (later rolled into the Omnibus spending bill). Unless the funding has since been restored, it seems reasonable to question the validity of Paul Provenza’s source.
I’m sorry to say that if you missed it, oh, you should be burning with regret right now. Burning. Regret. Boy, did you make a mistake.
I don’t do regret for being broke. It’s a waste of energy.
Getting pissed off at people assuming that everyone has the means for that kind of stuff–that’s more productive.
Fox News local affiliates did their usual crappy job of covering the event. Check out these two stories:
http://www.myfoxchicago.com/dpp/news/national/foxnews/Why-the-Reason-Rally-is-unreasonable_78361778
http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/dpp/news/national/foxnews/The-rally-for-nothing-in-particular_14932949
Markita Lynda, the news link you provided about the FCC decision which will free up FM radio bandwidth for local, non-corporate/religious right broadcasting is THE best news I’ve read in a while! Thanks for posting the link!!
Now to round up the youtube and videos to pass on! I still haven’t seen any major news coverage – grrr – but it seems that bits and pieces are leaking out and the internet horde may be able to do much of the rest!
puzzlecraig – Paul actually said it was the rally logistics people (the company who supplies stages, clean up crews, ect) who gave the estimate.
Standing for most of 8 hours in the rain probably wasn’t the smartest thing to do 9 days after abdominal surgery, but so worth it.
@psocoptera: Okay, I hadn’t been there for the statement, so I had no way to know if the ascription were correct. It’s good to hear that it was a private organization supplying the estimate.
And ouch, standing for 8 hours 9 days after abdominal surgery. I hope that you’ll be okay.
Long, cold, wet day. So very much worth it. And great to see other DC locals represented–come out to some of the other Pharyngula meet-ups here! :)
Onion Girl:
As a DC local,somewhat (live in Baltimore, own a business in DC, so I’m there 6 days/week), that sounds like something I would enjoy, but alas, I have no idea when and where such things occur.
Definitely had an awesome time. Despite the rain, I stayed until about 6, and then just couldn’t handle it anymore- I was not dressed for the weather. Got a group picture with quite a few hordemembers and the overlord himself, hopefully it will be up on the blog sometime soon. My critique- next year, hire a better group to handle the A/V stuff- the miking went from fair to terrible, and it was a shame that the Hitch tribute didn’t roll as planned. I thought Jamie Killstein’s (sp?) first set was great, but the second one he did while Bad Religion was setting up was not a great idea- for a family friendly event, it was highly inappropriate, especially if people wanted their kids to see Bad Religion after. I did think it was hilarious though. Other than that- heavyweight lineup of speakers, good variation in speeches, nice job overall. Last quibble was that the % of people who’d vote for an atheist president statistic got repeated at least three times in pretty much the exact same words. While it’s good to harp on it, it did get a little tiresome when it was presented as if it was a fact that would shock us, when I think we know all too well what many people think of us. Also I liked Indra Zuno’s speech a lot, my high school level comprehension notwithstanding.
Ophelia, you’re going to Ottawa??! I’ll try to make it.
I don’t know if the crowd ever actually swelled to 20,000 – hard to tell from pictures, but people coming and going could have made it total 20,000 attendees easily.
I should clarify-for those who didn’t see, Indra Zuno’s speech was given entirely in Spanish, so I was referring to my high-school level spanish listening comprehension.
Godbots are estimating 1,000. *Snerk!*
I think my Obama number is now three, since I’ve met PZ and he presumably met or at least nodded at Adam Savage, and the Prez had the Mythbusters at the White House. Yay!
@Markita
OMG, that means my Obama number is three too! ^_^
If anyone is interested in the DC/Baltimore area meet-ups, email me. :)
I’m sitting in the lobby up in the con hotel, still bagged from yesterday. Arrived on the Mall ~10:30, stumbled across the Horde by accident after ~half an hour of wandering around. Loved meeting everyone (though I now only recall about three of you), enjoyed dinner, thanks for welcoming a Canuck.
Oh man! I got home a few hours ago and I’ve been feverishly googling to find photos, video, and recaps ever since. It was just so much fun! And yes, PZ’s speech RAWKED. Sadly, I missed Taslima Nasreen and Tim Minchin. But that’s okay because I got to meet so many of the Horde and other people too! It’s decided: I definitely have to go to Rhinebeck next year.
Sally for Rhinebeck! YAY!
So sad I missed you for brunch yesterday, but I’m glad you’re home safe. :)