The View from a Drawbridge

I am a bridgetender on the University Bridge in Seattle. Yesterday, I worked from 3pm to 11pm. I was expecting a nice quiet shift. We’ve only had to open the bridge 3 times in the last 5 days.

Well, it was quiet for the first 45 minutes at least. Then I looked out the window and noticed an unusual number of pedestrians gathering on the sidewalk. It was a cold, raw, wet winter’s evening, typical of Seattle at this time of year, so this was rather unusual.

Was there going to be a parade of lights that night? Seattle is known for several of them every December. Hundreds of vessels will adorn their masts and railings with Christmas lights and parade up and down the ship canal. It’s a beautiful sight, but it makes for a busy night for me. I inwardly groaned at the thought. But I couldn’t find any information about a parade scheduled for last night.

Everything I say after this I will say not as an employee of the city, but rather as an individual. In other words, the views expressed in this blog are solely those of the blogger and do not necessarily reflect the views of her employer. End of boilerplate.

I noticed the crowd, now numbering about 100 people, was starting to shift into the bike lanes and the traffic lanes. What was going on? I got on the intercom and said, “All pedestrians must move out of traffic lanes for your safety.” In retrospect I feel rather silly for having done so, but I’m a bit slow on the uptake.

Close on the heels of my announcement, it was like a dam broke. A sea of humanity swarmed onto the roadway, and a banner was unfurled. A few of them climbed the bridge structure to tie the banner off, and I was finally able to read it. It said “Let Gaza Live”.

I got sick to my stomach because the whole purpose of my job is to ensure the safety of the traveling public. If anyone had fallen onto the bridge grating, it wouldn’t have been pretty. I truly didn’t want anyone to be hurt.

That’s when I noticed that they had blocked off both ends of the bridge by parking several cars sideways. So this was a very organized protest. By now there were about 150 of them, and they had taken off their jackets to reveal that they were wearing matching black hoodies emblazoned with the same message: “Jews Say Cease Fire Now.”

This put me in a bit of a moral conflict, because I totally support that cause in every way, but I’ve also got a job to do. So I had to call 911, and the city’s Traffic Operations Center and the Coastguard and my on call supervisor and then I had to take pictures and write a long, detailed report. While all that was going on, my bridge tower filled up with police officers. I hoped that this confrontation wouldn’t become violent, as some protests do here in Seattle.

I kind of figured that that type of behavior would be bad optics for a peace protest, but I had no idea how the police would behave. The last thing we needed was tear gas and rubber bullets and broken windows and projectiles. (If that had happened, I’d have shut myself into the bathroom and gotten into the fetal position, and I’d probably still be there.)

But the officers said that these protests happen about once a week, and they usually last three hours. To date they’ve remained peaceful and non-destructive. Therefore the police are inclined to let them do their thing without interference, even though they hadn’t obtained a permit.

I could relax after that as I wasn’t anticipating any mayhem. I got to sit back and watch events unfold. They were chanting, “Free, Free Palestine.” They listed some rights, such as the right to live in freedom, and the right to return home. They sang, “Palestine, our friend” and chanted, “Never again for anyone! Never again is now!”

They also held signs urging our senator, Patty Murray, to insist on a ceasefire. I can’t be certain, but I strongly suspect that they’re preaching to the choir on that one. Time will tell.

As it became steadily darker out, they even lit up a banner that said “Ceasefire”. I thought that was a nice touch, because, of course, by then reporters were everywhere and it made the local news. I’m sure the Seattle Times will also write about it, and if so, I’ll post a link to the article here.

From the KIRO newscast, I found out that this protest was organized by a group called Jewish Voice for Peace. More power to them, I say. What is happening in Gaza is a nightmare for all concerned.

At the end, they had a long moment of silence, in stark contrast to all the chanting and singing they had done for hours. Not a peep out of all 150 of them. I have to confess that I got a little choked up. Especially when they turned as one and began a slow, singing march off the bridge. You’ll see my video of that below along with several pictures.

And just like that, my bridge returned to its usual calm and quiet (at least at this hour and this season). I wish the people in Gaza and Israel were experiencing that same calm and quiet today. I wish that for everyone in the world.

Seattleites are known for speaking out about issues such as this. It is always gratifying to know that so many people care, and that they take things seriously. This was not the first protest held on my bridge, and I’m sure it won’t be the last. I actually support this kind of free speech as long as it remains nonviolent, as this protest did.

But selfishly, I hope that next time they will do it on my day off, or take it elsewhere. I’m not sure I can take too many more of these adrenaline dumps, despite the praise I received from administration for having handled the situation well. That being said, I’ll add, with sincerity, power to the people, and peace on earth.

Please consider supporting my fundraiser to buy school supplies for the children on Yanaba Island in Papua New Guinea. And share the link far and wide. A little help goes a long way! Thanks!