On the ground

I've been told I should blog about this rally tonight (for the record, the Workers' Party rally at Serangoon Stadium), and I think I'll be too wiped after I get home, so here are thoughts from the front, as it were (composed during rally speeches in languages I don't understand).

Things I'm noticing here that I didn't see at previous rallies:

• More women, here with husbands and friends.
  
• More families, with teenaged kids too young to vote but who are here anyway.
• Teenagers in school uniform, again too young to vote but who clearly want to hear what's
  going on.
• People who've come straight from their white-collar jobs, in pinstriped long-sleeved shirts and pressed pants, some still wearing lanyards around their necks with security passes tucked into the front pocket of the shirt.
  
• The police not allowing people to stand on a nearby overhead bridge to listen to the rally, presumably because some kind of public disturbance might ensue, but there were quite a few annoyed citizens politely but firmly arguing the point with them.
• Lots more people from minority races.

(That thought was aptly interrupted by a speech about pushing for a more inclusive and free online environment. That's one thing I can definitely get behind.)

The other big thought on my mind is whether rally attendance will translate to votes for the respective party. Historically, saith more seasoned election watchers than me, it hasn't. We'll find out in a little more than 24 hours.

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