Philosopher Steven Nadler (Wisconsin-Madison) invited me to share his observations on recent events in Madison:

Among the more remarkable aspects of the demonstrations in Madison, Wisconsin this past week and a half is the fact that the participants are so hard to pigeon-hole.  It is a wildly diverse crowd:  teachers and students (from the state’s universities, high schools, and elementary schools); nurses and doctors; workers of both blue and white collars (unionized and non-unionized); parents, children, grandparents. There are loud and energetic marchers, and there are quieter folk who seem content simply to be present. We have been addressed by priests, ministers, and rabbis; union leaders and the rank and file; politicians, community organizers, and business owners; locals from Madison and contingents from Milwaukee, Green Bay, Eau Claire, La Crosse, and small towns across the state, from the Fox River Valley to the north woods. And then there are those who came from other states to support Wisconsin workers. It is an extraordinary and uncategorizable gathering.

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Contrary to what is being reported on Fox News and some other media outlets, it is not a “riot”, a “rabble”, or a typically overwrought and immature expression of “left-wing propaganda”. There has been no violence, the demonstrators are of all ages, and many of them voted Republican in the last election. Aside from a few tasteless and even offensive signs carried by protestors—mostly those equating Governor Scott Walker with Hitler, Mussolini, and Hosni Mubarak—the rallies have been characterized by politeness, patience, mutual consideration, and a sense of humor typical of Madison. My favorite sign so far was on a puppy:  “The Only Good Walker is a Dog-Walker”, but I also like the one that read “It’s All Favre’s Fault!”

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Perhaps the most popular chant during the past week and a half has gone something like this:

One person shouts:  “Tell me what democracy looks like”

The crowd responds, loudly: “This is what democracy looks like”.

Another chant begins with a question:

“What’s disgusting?”

The answer:  “Union busting”

And to the scream of “What’s outrageous?”, the answer is “Sweatshop wages.”

Yesterday, a group of joggers passed by the demonstration, chanting in unison:  "Runners against Walkers!"

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By far the most moving moment came on the third day, when uniformed firefighters and police—whose unions were spared the more draconian measures of the governor’s bill—entered the Capitol carrying signs that read “Firefighters For Workers’ Rights” and “Cops for Labor.” The building was filled to the upper galleries with ten thousand protesters, and the cheer that went up when each group filed through was thunderous. The police were tossing water bottles and sandwiches to the crowd, most of whom had been there since early morning. I could see a number of people crying at that point. And you haven’t lived until you’ve heard “On, Wisconsin” played by a firefighter on the bagpipes.

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The one thing I do miss in these demonstrations are the labor and protest songs of old.  There has been a lot of recorded music blasted over speakers to the outdoor crowd, some of it very appropriate to the event. And we’ve been treated to some fine and rousing live performances—most memorably, by Tom Morello, of Rage Against the Machine.  But I, for one, have yet to hear anyone singing “Union Maid”, “Which Side Are You On?”, or Woody Guthrie’s “Talking Union”.  There have been some refrains of “Solidarity Forever”, but no one seems to remember the words to anything but the chorus. Lots of guitars, gazoos, and more drums than is healthy, but very few banjos. I keep hoping to see Pete Seeger.

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After a week and a half, just when you think the energy should start to flag, people keep showing up.  Some perhaps come out of curiosity—the mass gathering in the Capitol building seems to have become something of a tourist attraction—but most because they feel a need to be here and to be a part of something important. People in the crowd still smile at one another, keep moving around the square (in part to keep warm), and eat pizza donated from all over the world (the macaroni and cheese pizza, a specialty of one of our local pizza joints, is especially good when you are chilled to the bone in a Wisconsin February). We do not know if the demonstrations will succeed in one sense; unless three Republican state senators change their minds, the governor will have his way in the end. But if success in these matters is measured in terms of building community, then the demonstrators have already won. Madison, Wisconsin, indeed, the State of Wisconsin, will never be the same again.