[Poll] 'Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear:' Cast your vote on L.A.'s best poster

It was an affair to (mostly) remember.

"Comedy Central" cohorts Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert conducted their "Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear" from the National Mall on Saturday to a crowd that totaled "over 10 million people" -- at least that's what Stewart estimated. Gotta love inflated figures!

But the spirit of the rally wasn’t limited to the D.C. area. Hundreds gathered at MacArthur Park in Los Angeles for one of many shadow rallies taking place across the country and around the globe. 

Crowded around a large screen, attendees watched the event unfold -- often cheering during Stewart’s discourse. And they displayed merry confusion at the mishmash of interesting occurrences that unfolded on the screen: a musical medley of Cat Stevens/Yusuf’s "Peace Train," Ozzie Osbourne’s "Crazy Train," and the O’Jay’s "Love Train;" Sam Waterston ("Law & Order") reading the "greatest poem ever written" by Colbert; Anderson Cooper finally getting some recognition (one of Colbert’s Fear Awards went to Cooper's "tight black T-shirt," a symbol of cable news fear-mongering.)  The Angelenos even joined in as the dude from "Mythbusters" led the D.C. crowd in the wave.

When the simulcast wrapped, Angelenos also were treated to their own lineup, which included appearances by Kate Flannery ("The Office"), Frances Fisher ("The Shield," "Titanic") and Paul Provenza ("The Green Room" with Paul Provenza), among others.

But the shadow rally was for the people, by the people -- organized by Stewart/Colbert viewer Ashley Wright and her friend Amy Lee. And the eclectic L.A.-based crowd didn’t watch idly. Many came prepared to add emphasis to the Stewart/Colbert initiative. Some wore stickers such as "Support Civilized Discourse." Others donned hats with tea bags dangling from the brim. Many came with signs -- "Intolerance will not be tolerated," "I’m hungover and I still made it; what’s your excuse?" Not to be outdone, one cocker spaniel sported a "March 4 Fear" T-shirt.

But what would this post be if we didn’t solicit your vote?

Here are some of the signs (along with their holders) that made the rounds Saturday.  Vote for your favorite. Or share your thoughts below in the comments section.

Name: Anita Cheng

Age: 26

City: Monrovia

Occupation: Lab technician

Sign: (front) "I disagree with you but I’m pretty sure you’re not Hitler" / (back) "I have seen the end. No one was spared, not even the children"

Name: Tom Chorney

Age: 16

City: Santa Monica

Occupation: Student
 

Sign: "I went to the Rally to Restore Sanity and all I got was this lousy sense of respect for other people's opinions."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Name: Shannon Hartman

Age: 25 

City: Encino

Occupation: Grad student 

Sign: (front) "OMG! Stalin moustache" / (back) "I Support the 1st Amendment for All"

Name: Judy Tudhope

Age: 71

City: Oxnard

Occupation: Retired postal worker

Sign: (front) "Intolerance will not be tolerated" / (back) "Correctly spelled slogan"

 

Name: Thomas Kiely

Age: 8

City: La Cañada Flintridge 

Occupation: Student
 

Sign: "My political views are too mature and sophisticated to be summarized on one poster"

 

 

 

 

 -- Yvonne Villarreal

twitter.com/villarrealy

Photo credits: Yvonne Villarreal

 

Comments

[robin]

Personally, I LOVED the girl wearing the "don't hate! masturbate!" shirt.

[Shaun Landry]

It was sincerely a good time.

[Lakes of minnesota]

The whole thing about not letting the news media control by inducing fear was kinda neat , actually it felt really refreshing . I kinda feel like that is what this was all about . Being able to stop letting popular culture make up our minds, and instead us by ourselves making up our own minds . What a great place this would be .

[Jonathan Mallen]

Write in vote:
"Christine - I vote AND I masturbate."

[Joyce Fidler]

It's about time someone had the guts to say what so many of us have been thinking. The mudslinging and constant political bickering (most clearly represented by the Republicans' refusal to help the Democrats find solutions to the nation's most pressing problems- even when presented with their own ideas) needs to stop. Civil discourse is the only way forward.
I vote for Judy Tudhope's signs.

[Jim]

Wouldn't it be nice if this was a trend?

[Tehachapian]

Love the signs (particularly "Intolerance will not be tolerated"), but didn't much care for the snarky tone of this article.

[Amber J]

Thomas Kiely for the Win.

[S. Paris]

My vote is for "My political views are too mature and sophisticated to be summarized on one poster" The combination of sign and holder is brilliant.

[Marco]

My favorite one that I saw was, "Make awkward sexual advances, not war"

[hippysaurus]

I'd vote for Stewart and Colbert, at least you know where they are coming from, all the rest are not to funny.

[Horace Ramtahal]

My God, and I was hoping that the end of the world would be the answer. Thanks for the laughs and taking the time to care enough to act, to help me see that there are alternatives to fear and hate, because we Americans are worth it.

[John Petersen-Niedbalski]

Just like anyone who solely gets their news from THE DAILY SHOW, anyone who SOLELY GET'S THEIR VIEWS from FOX NEWS is ignorant. Everyone needs to be able to enjoy a laugh from Comedy Central, get their local news from their daily newspaper and various magazines and local news station, and flip channels!

I think it is HILARIOUS that the GOP demanded Senate Nominee Lisa Murkowski to withdraw from the Senate Race (although they now secretly hope she will win) because they told her THE PEOPLE HAVE VOTED AND YOU HAVE TO RESPECT THEIR VOTE! Well folks, two years ago the PEOPLE VOTED and we elected President Obama - and I have seen NO RESPECT from the GOP at all for our President or our Country.

When President Bush was in office and those who opposed the wars or Bush were called Anti-American and Traitors - the rules didn't change!

We need to work TOGETHER and MOVE FORWARD!