Mountaintop Removal on the D6?

This morning, I joined the usual group of high school students with attitude, blue collar guys with cigarettes tucked behind their ears, and elderly men and women with frowns on their faces, profanity on their lips, Bibles in hand, and walkers for stability for my ride on the D6. This time, we had a visitor: a pretentiously normal looking older white gentlemen clad in an Obama t-shirt and Obama baseball cap with Mom jeans. To top off the look? A cause button reading: "Stop Mountaintop Removal." Seriously? I didn't realize that was a thing.

Predictably, he started asking the local guy sitting between us for directions to "The Smithsonian," "Union Terminal," and Freedom Plaza. Aww, tourists- how endearing. Eventually, I asked if there was an event he was heading to at Freedom Plaza so I could hear someone get worked up on my morning commute. Turns out, he was an Obama supporter from Appalachia (seriously I didn't know that was real) who is tired of the EPA allowing coal companies to blow off mountaintops, creating flooding and environmental damage to the people living in the towns below. He told me he was hoping to get his first arrest today. How sweet- it's almost as if he honestly believes his spending three hours in a holding cell with a few crackheads and prostitutes will help convince the government to listen to his opinion more.

I can understand the people coming in for big things- anti-war rallies or immigration reform stuff or- hell- even rally for restoring honor- at least it's an actual march for an actual cause, albeit an annoying and probably sorta racist cause. But these super obscure ones just seem like a waste of time. Nevertheless, once he calmed down from educating me on the Appalachian hippie environmental concerns, he was a nice fellow to share the bus with into downtown. Al Gore would be proud of him, if he ever noticed.