In San Diego this afternoon, blue and yellow umbrellas sheltered a tight-knit gathering from the rain. Supporters of Ukraine met near the El Cid statue in Balboa Park’s Plaza de Panama, waving flags, giving heartfelt speeches, asking for help.
It’s now a year since Putin’s Russia invaded Ukraine, and in San Diego many are appalled that dictatorship and murderous barbarism can rise again in the 21st century.
Powerful images and messages that concern one year of Defending Freedom surrounded the group.
As I stood in the crowd listening, a young person voiced her optimism that Freedom, in the end, would prevail.
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The Russian invasion of Ukraine is being widely condemned by civilized, peace-loving people around the world.
Today a rally was held in San Diego’s Balboa Park, before the El Cid statue, in support of Ukraine.
Flags waved and urgent words were spoken, including Stop the War and Help Ukraine. Signs were held high for eyes and cameras to see.
As a surprise beginning to the 2 o’clock Spreckels Organ concert, Ukraine’s national anthem was played. Much applause could be heard from the audience.
At the House of Ukraine among the International Cottages, additional words of support were spoken by concerned visitors.
May this war end very soon.
And may Humanity prevail.
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
This morning, during my walk to work, I witnessed a strange contrast.
I began by walking through downtown, heading down the length of the Gaslamp Quarter. I saw a few broken windows, many boarded up businesses, much graffiti.
After a crowd of thousands gathered downtown on Sunday, peacefully protesting the death of George Floyd while in the custody of Minneapolis police officers, a few hundred rioters brought chaos to our city after dark. These people moved at random down streets and around corners, vandalizing businesses and looting. A peaceful and quite powerful protest had been hijacked by a relative few and made ugly.
Later this morning, as I neared work, I walked a short distance along the San Diego River. The sun was up, illuminating the bright green growths of Spring.
A thought-provoking morning experience.
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
Mosaic scenes of Hispanic life, culture and history decorate benches and seats at a San Diego Trolley station.
In Logan Heights, the 25th and Commercial Street station of the San Diego Trolley’s Orange Line features public art at both it’s east and west platforms. A week or so ago, I enjoyed looking at colorful mosaics made of tiles on the base of various concrete seats and curving benches. The small mosaics depict Hispanic life, culture and history. There are abstract scenes of immigrants working in fields or in construction, of family at home, and of organized activism.
I took these photos at the eastbound platform. The mosaics are part of a project titled Achievement / Progress / Community: In the Spirit of Cesar E. Chavez that was completed in 2006. The mosaics were created by artist John Hiemstra. The trolley stop is dedicated to civil rights leader Cesar Chavez.
Photo along length of 25th and Commercial Street trolley station of the Orange Line. This is the eastbound platform.
A small tile mosaic scene features a red trolley in front of downtown’s Santa Fe Depot.
A family at home around a table laden with food.
Migrant workers planting seeds in a field.
Mosaic shows what appears to be a ranch in a Southern California landscape.
Farm worker is harvesting tomatoes or strawberries.
Saguaro cacti in a Southwestern scene.
Beautiful abstract mosaic. Tiles of different colors, sizes and shapes.
Hispanic workers build a wall.
A laborer hard at work.
Two figures stand near automobiles on a highway.
A diverse group appears to hold up signs in a protest.
A priest and an activist.
Hispanic youth together, perhaps students. Another scene of life, learning, hope, struggle.
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I had taken a pic of an unusual poster about this event several weeks ago, so I decided to swing by during my Saturday morning walk. (Stay tuned for pictures of the San Diego Zombie Walk later today!)
I walked through Embarcadero Marina Park North about 10:30, half an hour after the animal rights protest had begun. It didn’t seem that many people had shown up yet. I’d estimate perhaps fifty scattered about the grassy areas and in the nearby gazebo and bay overlook.
This lady sat alone holding a poster indicating that cows are friends.
Here’s a photo of two men in the nearby parking lot being helped by a woman into animal costumes. One is a cow; it appears the other is a pig.
These tables seemed to be the central feature of the event. The attendees all were smiling. You can see haze in the distance–mostly overcast skies and very much like Autumn today.
Two more posters. One indicates that a rooster is someone, not something.
As I left the public park and returned through Seaport Village, I noticed a few more people trickling in for what seemed to be a very laid-back protest.
I intend to keep this blog non-political. I’m just going post images that look interesting, unusual or visually appealing. Life is full of complexity and surprises.
Well, here’s a poster for an animal rights event that I discovered stuck to a traffic light post in Hillcrest that is definitely unusual! It features a cute farm pig. Perhaps I’ll make it to the event to take photographs of the protesters. That oughta be interesting!
So now I have a picture of a farm tractor and a pig in cultivated Hillcrest. What is the world coming to?
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