Impressions of the Rally on the New Haven Green on April 5

by Allan Brison, former New Haven Alder

I got to the rally after it had already started. By the time I got to the Green, and had walked around some, it was in full swing. As I walked around, I had two main impressions.

First, the rally was huge. Of all the many rallies and demonstrations that I have attended in my thirty years in New Haven, this was the biggest. I estimated that there were at least 1,000 folks. I later heard on the news an estimate that two thousand folks had attended.

There were many folks, about a dozen, that I had spoken to and knew were planning to attend. The crowd was so large that it was a good hour before I saw any of these folks. And I didn’t see or connect with anyone else until I started communicating with some by cell phone.

My second impression was about the number of signs people had and the wide range of issues addressed by these signs. Virtually everybody was carrying a sign denouncing one or another of the issues that President Trump was addressing. From demands against the Gay and Transgender communities, and against trade unions and collective bargaining, to Trump’s ridiculous ideas of the takeover of Greenland, and making Canada the 51st state. Also, the condemnation of Elon Musk and his role in the Trump presidency was a prominent theme. DOGE was widely condemned in the signs people were exhibiting.

All in all, attending this rally was a great experience.