CultureWarrior.com

You need to reconsider calling me a "blatant liar."

Careful reading of my linked post will reveal that I said, "According to as yet unsubstantiated reports coming in via Twitter, some are estimating the crowd size as 'upwards of 250,000.'"

That was happening, check the Twitter feed for hashtag #NEM.

Reporting what people are saying on Twitter (and including a warning that their number is unconfirmed) is a far cry from a "blatant lie."

I agree "blatant liar" was a harsh term. I was frustrated. But wouldn't you agree that it would have been more responsible to guesstimate if 250,000 was a reasonable number before posting. No estimate is perfect but when the number is unreasonable it should raise flags. In my opinion, "unconfirmed" is a cop out.

I've been to several marches/rallies on in DC and both the overestimation and the underestimation of the participants are sore spots for me.

I was there. No more than 20,000. They are lying about the crowd - it just wasn't there.

20,000 people is a good estimate. It is too bad the organizers could not delay the march until Spring 2010. The turnout would have been much better.

You obviously weren't anywhere around when the crowds were at their highest. I am a straight man who was there to support family and friends who are denied basic rights because of their sexual orientation and I can tell you that the photo you've shown here is simply not from the true highth of the rally. My brother went to the restroom and it took him over 30 minutes to negotiate the crowd to get back to us. There was no visible grass on the Capitol lawn. I can only think that you took this photo prior to 1 pm when the March got underway or after 4 thousands upon thousands began to file out. The funny thing is, in looking at the second photo above, the area you've shown was almost exactly where I was standing... and YES, standing is the right word as there wasn't room enough to sit. So perhaps you should either get accurate information or at very least, accurate photos. I'm guessing you wanted the number be low so you found photos to prove your MOST inaccurate count. I will tell you as a matter of fact that the crowd ran the entire length of the parade route, some 1.5 miles and it took over 3 hours for the final people in that line to reach the Capitol. Say what you will, but it was an impressive group of people, both in size and in the orderly way with which they carried themselves. Funny thing, by the way, I counted exactly 4 protestors that I passed through the entire length of the parade. I'd be willing to bet that you have some falsely exagerated number for these folks, just as you've grosslly miscalculated the full size of the marchers.

You are right. These pictures were taken sometime after 230,000 people miraculously left.

Let me be clear, I am not against the Equality March. It made all the major news except Fox. Marching is not substitute for actual work.

This looks like the AIDS Memorial that took place the day before. The National Equality March drew more than 250,000 people. The message was clear: support equality for LGBT Americans now!

You are wrong. The day before was overcast. I don't agree with the 250,000 number.

I was there. These pictures are simply inaccurate. You seem to think that the count of 250,000 people is misleading, but what exactly do you think you're trying to do here? There were people for as far as I could see during the march. When I left, people were still coming in. 20,000 people is a terrible estimate. Taking a picture of a lawn before it had people on it is a really nice way to bend the truth, or should I say BLATANTLY LIE.

It is impossible to fit 250,000 people onto the West Lawn of the Capitol. Regardless of how many people attended this march, I would say it was extremely effective in winning marriage equality in Maine.