Ain't Exactly Clear

Yesterday, across the country, upwards of 3,000 May Day marches, demonstrations, protests, and other acts of stupidity took place, organized by the May Day Strong coalition and backed by about 600 labor unions, student groups, and community organizations, including the National Education Association, AFL-CIO, AFT, UAW, Indivisible, and the Sunrise Movement.

Tens of thousands of Americans, with —I would bet— absolutely no idea why they were doing so, participated in the foolishness.

You may have recognized that I borrowed the title of this piece from the first couplet of the Buffalo Springfield song, “For What It’s Worth.”

There’s something happening here. What it is ain’t exactly clear.

Stephen Stills wrote that song in 1966 about something entirely unrelated to May Day, but I don’t think that line has ever applied to anything more aptly than to what took place yesterday.

Yesterday’s demonstrations and those who participated in them seemed unable to decide exactly what they were about. Labor? Immigration? Billionaires? ICE? Iran? Trump? Palestine? School funding? Democracy?

From what I could tell, it seemed like it was pretty much all of them.

And if you asked any of them what exactly the day itself is meant to commemorate, I’d venture to say that the overwhelming majority (like nearly all of them) would be unable to offer a response that was anywhere close to being accurate.

So, I’ll give it a shot