This parade made demands. This parade called out specific local, state, and federal politicians and campaigned against them. This parade encouraged people to register to vote, to check their registration to vote, and to vote for specific platforms and people.

And even if it had done none of that, it was still a positive experience for me to go. I liked this parade.

The one I went to in my city was the biggest crowd I’d ever seen downtown! I hear lots of people say that these protests are useless, but I don’t think so. I felt really encouraged to see so many people, and I’m sure others did too.

Statically, that’s not true, and is bordering on decades-old fear mongering about EVs.

In modern EVs, the battery will likely outlast the car body it is sitting installed in, or at least match the expected lifespan of the vehicle. There are a few EVs on the road right now with battery packs that have been driven many hundreds of thousands of miles.

The upfront cost of EVs is still a problem, but most people won’t need to spend thousands on a new or refurbished battery pack after a few years.

Here’s a well-made (and broadly pessimistic) source if you’re interested: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41560-024-01698-1

Little devices like this are popular amongst some Diabetics for displaying their continuous glucometer data (I built something similar using an eink screen and the Dexcom home assistant integration). It’s fun to see what people use these for!

I was handed this tract once! It is so bad it’s hysterical.