Yesterday, the citizens of Folly Beach took to the streets in solidarity with their comrades in Russia to protest voter fraud in last week’s parliamentary elections. The Folly protests, like their Slavic counterparts’, were mostly peaceful; however, some disruptions occurred in both venues.
Moscow 10 Dec 2011
Center Street, Folly Beach 10 Dec 2011
Notwithstanding occasional flare-ups, both protests took on carnival-like atmospheres, and despite the conspicuous absence of Martha Reeves, citizens of both republics literally danced in the streets.
Moscow
Bumping and Grinding for Freedom on Folly
There were, however, conspicuous differences. A paucity of children attended the Putin protests whereas the children of Folly thronged the streets, bundled in their comfy coats, cuddled by their whiskey-warmed parents:
Red = Revolution
Two Budding Bolsheviks
A Proud Worker and His Son Show Solidarity with the Farmers of Folly and Russia
Another difference lay in a show of military might from the PROFB, which ironically called to mind those May Day Parades choreographed by the former Soviet Union.
Moscow circa 1990
PROFB Foot Soldiers
Soviet Missile Launcher
PRPOFB Missile Launcher
Soviet Submarine
Folly Submarine
Soviet Convoy
PROFB Convoy
Soviet Tank Commanders
PROFB Tank Commander
Perhaps, however, the most significant difference in the two protests lay in the number of participants and their stamina. Whereas thousands choked the streets of Moscow (~125,000 by AP’s estimation), Folly’s turnout was understandably less robust (this reporter would estimate the number in scores of people). Also the Moscow protests lasted into the wee hours as opposed to the Folly demonstration’s much shorter shelf life. After all, the temperature at Folly plunged to 13C during much of the parade whereas temperatures in Moscow hovered around a balmy 31F. Plus, Folly participants enjoyed easier access to various protest punches readily available to the participants, which undoubtedly cut short their stamina.
At any rate, we’re with you comrades. Praise be to Twitter and cell phones!
Power to the People, Y’all