Doug Henwood wrote:
>
> What is the point of an endless
> procession of windbags invoking every predictable phrase and cause
> ever imagined by someone left of center? Why does this style and
> structure persist? Does anyone really like that stuff?
>
No one particularly cares, and only a handful of people listen. Moreover, the speakers would be smart to rduce their speaking time to about 2 or 3 minutes max.
But that is all irrelevant. The list of speakers is merely an index to how many different groups entered into the organization of the rally. I.e., something like, "If you want us to come, you'd better ask so&so to speak.
Moreover, you must have noted that it took several hours for everyone to arrive. The speakers fill up the time. While the speakers, if you try to listen to them, are indeed boring, my guess is that if nothing was happening at the platform during those two or three hours, it would be fairly awkward for everyone there.
There ought to be a way to organize rallies without many (if any) speakers, but those (like you) who merely bellyache about how terrible this&that is are wasting their time and making themselves look foolish. If you want it different, go out and organize. If you don't want to do that, focus on the people at the rally, not on what's going on up at the platform.
Carrol