On Saturday morning, we all went into New York City to attend a peaceful protest. We face some obvious problems in society – social, political, and economic inequities. Our criminal justice system is in need of reform. I wanted to show my support for those who champion those issues and for all peaceful protests. I also wanted to introduce my kids to direct political participation.

The sticking point, as always, was Ian. Autism people do not do well in crowds. If things got ugly, he would be very, very vulnerable. So, we spent a lot of time coming up with a plan with contingencies and back up plans.

And it turned out fine. We couldn’t do the whole march down to Washington Square Park, because his feet were hurting and he had reached the end of his endurance for yelling. But we walked enough of it to make everyone happy.

The march itself was inspirational and powerful and inclusive. There was zero tension with cops. Jonah is totally hooked and is planning on going back this week for more. It was also so much fun to have the city to ourselves, to walk down the center of Sixth Avenue on a sunny day.

Later, we walked through Times Square, which was completely empty and boarded up. With the weeks of virus devastation and the destruction from looters, my poor city is so screwed. More on that later.

Some pictures…