Protesting is a Family Activity in Wisconsin

Madison Police Department spokesman Joel DeSpain said police figure the crowd of protesters Saturday in downtown Madison, Wis., exceeded last week's Saturday protest, which was estimated at 70,000 people and included a small counter-demonstration by supporters of Gov. Scott Walker.

The crowd could have numbered as high as 100,000, but counting it was difficult because it was spread over parts of State Street as well as the Capitol Square and in the Capitol itself. DeSpain said there were no arrests and called the demonstrators "a very civil group."

Part of the civility can be attributed to efforts by demonstrators to self-police themselves.
Between 500 and 600 volunteer marshals have helped maintain peace throughout the two weeks of protests against Gov. Scott Walker's budget repair bill by instructing people where to go and assisting authorities with crowd control.

Thousands of children are among the protesters in the state's capital, many accompanied by mom and dad.

For parents, the protests are an opportunity for a real-life civics lesson.

"I'm trying to teach my kids to stand up for your rights," said Kieran Connor, a teacher in the Sun Prairie school district who attended Saturday's event with his wife, Cindy, and young sons, Sullivan and Finnegan.

Finnegan, 4, was carrying a homemade sign that read, "My daddy is a school teacher. Stop making him sad."

Adults were split whether the kids understood the magnitude of the protests and why people had taken to the streets.

Michele Brogunier said her two daughters wanted to come to the rallies because they were concerned about their teachers. One even asked to stay the night in the Capitol, "so she could tell her grandkids about it."

"Think back to when you were 11 and what lens you saw the world through and what connects," Brogunier said. "This is hitting some of these kids hard."

But Jim McKiernan said his two grandnephews — one of whom carried the "Recall Walker" sign — were most likely just in awe of the spectacle.

Still, he didn't want them to miss it.

"This is history, man," said McKiernan, an instructor at Madison Area Technical College. "Hopefully we don't see this every generation but it does seem like every one has these types of moments."