Prop 8 Protests in West Hollywood

On Wednesday night I decided to take the bus to the temple. I like to observe the different characters in this crazy city. I need to start wearing a hidden video camera on my person. Wednesday night I really wished I had one. So I'm on the bus cruising down Santa Monica Blvd. The police have the road blocked at Fairfax. So the bus driver goes south to Melrose and then west a few blocks and then heads north again on Crescent Heights back up to Santa Monica Blvd. The bus driver was thinking he had passed the traffic jam. We approach the intersection of Crescent Heights and Santa Monica Blvd and there is a large crowd of people. The bus driver can't turn around so he proceeds. The crowd has traffic stopped in every direction. When they see the bus moving through they attack the bus. A hundred or more people were hitting, pounding, screaming, rocking the bus, etc. They broke out a window, tore off the wiper blades and broke the mirrors off. One guy put his motor cycle in front of the bus and the bus driver rolled up on it. No damage was done but it was declared as an accident so the bus driver could not go anywhere until police arrived. Fire and police arrived and dispersed the angry crowd. Most everyone on the bus got off but I waited thinking it would only be a few minutes and the bus would be on its way. After a half hour the driver informs us that he can't go anywhere. He gives the remaining passengers a token and we exit. By this time the crowd has moved on. I start walking west to get out of the gridlocked protest zone in order to catch another bus. The very next bus stop I notice some of the other passengers from the bus that we were just on waiting for the bus. One girl recognized me and asked where I was going. I told her we needed to get out of the gridlock protest zone because no bus is going to make it through the congestion to this bus stop. As I was explaining I looked up and saw a bus coming. I was shocked. I thought how did that bus make it? I was thankful that the girl stopped me because otherwise I would have kept walking and missed that bus. The following pics are from my cell phone. Not very good but better than nothing.








So I'm on the bus and we make it through Beverly Hills and Century City no problem. When the bus gets to Beverly Glen I notice large crowds of people heading toward the temple. The bus stop for the temple is a block before the temple. I exit the bus right in front of a large crowd. I walk a nice brisk pace to stay well ahead of them. After witnessing the anger and hostility of the crowd a few minutes before I'm a little bit nervous. I call the temple radio phone for security and tell them about the crowd and not to lock me out. When I get to Manning and turn the corner out of the sight of the crowd I start hauling serious A--. LAPD is at the main gate in the process of getting everything under lockdown. The crowd came and made a bunch of noise but the big event is yet to come.