Tuesday, September 21, 2004
The RNC Protest at New York
This was one of the most varied, well organized and high-tech protests I have ever seen. It was also the most heavily guarded protest scene ever. Both the police and the protesters had both been pretty well set for this party. According to the news media There were more police and secret service personnel in New York than U.S. servicemen in Afganistan.
The Mood
The variety of groups were peaceful and they seemed to be more against Bush than they were for Kerry. It felt like a huge anti-bush and anybody-but-Bush kind of attitude to the protests.
The Media
Reporters milled around with recorders and note books in-hand with the people in the crowd looking for people that fit the angle they wanted to portray. My wife and I wore T-shirts with our protests about the Bush administration written on them. We wore them day and night. We collected buttons from various organizations that reflected our view point. They stated:
"Can You Survive Four More Years of BU LL SH IT”
"Give The Rich Everything and Just Be Done With It"
“Blood for Oil is Too High a Price To Pay"
“Thank you Bush for 1000 Flag Draped Coffins And Thousands of Amputees”
“Hell Called and They Want Their Leader Cheney Back!
The members of the republican delegation were pretty easy to pick out. In some ways they stood out like sore thimbs just like us. Some of them wore american flags with elephants all over while others looked like June and Ward Cleaver from the old Leave It To Beaver TV series. Each delegate seemed to react differently to us in our atire. Some mumbled under their breath while others chose to suddenly walk in the opposite direction. One individual at Macy's acted like an ugly american in a foreign country when he loudly disparaged a young black woman as she walked into a restroom. Let's just say the people around him were not impressed and he quickly walked out of the store with his delegate tags jingling in his wake. Don't mess with New Yorkers on their home turf.
Safety
We felt as safe as can be as we walked around the city. many people including cops commended us for our t-shirts. Some of the cops however looked like they were looking for trouble anytime we approached them. Touchy touchy. I kept trying to remember four out of five people in New York are Democrats.
Group make-up
The group of protesters we walked with were from a variety of groups. Some were ready-for-bear while others were not as severely dressed. We spoke with some people that protested the Vietnam War in the 60's and with younger people who were eager to talk about their point of view on Bush. Everyone seemed at ease to discuss their views. We were all there for a common purpose which eliminated a lot of anxiousness people have about talking politics with strangers.
The crowd represented a variety of people young, old and everything in-between. We saw people dressed in baggy pants with flip-flops. Green fatigues and with otherwise quite normal attire but we did not see anyone in a shirt and tie. One girl was dressed in a burka. Another was dressed in all pink. There was lots of color, lots of perspectives with one common theme. Get rid of Bush. He brought us together and created an unspoken bond of closeness to each other. I felt more comfortable with these strangers than with certain members of my own family that blindly support Bush.
Group actions
Everyone seemed to be outraged at this administration and yelled their slogans as they marched. At times someone would start a slogan and it would catch on with others until someone else started a different chant. One person who carried a drum would catch the beat and emphasize the chant.
Some protesters spoke with the policemen who lined the corridor of marchers but we did not see anyone hauled off in plastic handcuffs. The people around us were peacefully protesting. No one threw any garbage cans through any windows, and no tire fires in the middle of the street or anyone spitting on policemen.
High Tech Organization
Although much more could be done to organize such a large group of people this was one of the most organized protests I have ever seen. A cell phone messaging service and a radio station was used to communicate what was going on all the time. Two-way radios were also used. It was pretty high tech. A wife area was also set-aside for loggers.
Services
The services were also impressive. A map of available restrooms was posted on the net. Volunteers from the New York Lawyers Guild milled around the crowds and were identified by special vests. Street medics were also all around with Red Cross emblems on their vests.
Tactics
Tactics to avoid arrest were communicated pretty well on the web sites. Sessions were held around New York at various times on a variety of subjects such as how to videotape an arrest for use in court, and the do's and don'ts about interacting with police were among some of the sessions held.
Planning for this event also included using scouts to check out the situation in front of the groups and to report back to the main group if trouble with the police arose. We did not see much of this in our group of protesters, but they may have been working farther up the group.
Phone numbers for lawyers were posted and spaces available for out-of-town protesters were also posted on bulletin boards.
Reactions from the Home front
I was overwhelmed by the response of the many family friends and neighbors that knew about our trip. They all told us how proud they were of us. They all wanted to learn about our experience and see the pictures of this significant protest.
The Mood
The variety of groups were peaceful and they seemed to be more against Bush than they were for Kerry. It felt like a huge anti-bush and anybody-but-Bush kind of attitude to the protests.
The Media
Reporters milled around with recorders and note books in-hand with the people in the crowd looking for people that fit the angle they wanted to portray. My wife and I wore T-shirts with our protests about the Bush administration written on them. We wore them day and night. We collected buttons from various organizations that reflected our view point. They stated:
"Can You Survive Four More Years of BU LL SH IT”
"Give The Rich Everything and Just Be Done With It"
“Blood for Oil is Too High a Price To Pay"
“Thank you Bush for 1000 Flag Draped Coffins And Thousands of Amputees”
“Hell Called and They Want Their Leader Cheney Back!
The members of the republican delegation were pretty easy to pick out. In some ways they stood out like sore thimbs just like us. Some of them wore american flags with elephants all over while others looked like June and Ward Cleaver from the old Leave It To Beaver TV series. Each delegate seemed to react differently to us in our atire. Some mumbled under their breath while others chose to suddenly walk in the opposite direction. One individual at Macy's acted like an ugly american in a foreign country when he loudly disparaged a young black woman as she walked into a restroom. Let's just say the people around him were not impressed and he quickly walked out of the store with his delegate tags jingling in his wake. Don't mess with New Yorkers on their home turf.
Safety
We felt as safe as can be as we walked around the city. many people including cops commended us for our t-shirts. Some of the cops however looked like they were looking for trouble anytime we approached them. Touchy touchy. I kept trying to remember four out of five people in New York are Democrats.
Group make-up
The group of protesters we walked with were from a variety of groups. Some were ready-for-bear while others were not as severely dressed. We spoke with some people that protested the Vietnam War in the 60's and with younger people who were eager to talk about their point of view on Bush. Everyone seemed at ease to discuss their views. We were all there for a common purpose which eliminated a lot of anxiousness people have about talking politics with strangers.
The crowd represented a variety of people young, old and everything in-between. We saw people dressed in baggy pants with flip-flops. Green fatigues and with otherwise quite normal attire but we did not see anyone in a shirt and tie. One girl was dressed in a burka. Another was dressed in all pink. There was lots of color, lots of perspectives with one common theme. Get rid of Bush. He brought us together and created an unspoken bond of closeness to each other. I felt more comfortable with these strangers than with certain members of my own family that blindly support Bush.
Group actions
Everyone seemed to be outraged at this administration and yelled their slogans as they marched. At times someone would start a slogan and it would catch on with others until someone else started a different chant. One person who carried a drum would catch the beat and emphasize the chant.
Some protesters spoke with the policemen who lined the corridor of marchers but we did not see anyone hauled off in plastic handcuffs. The people around us were peacefully protesting. No one threw any garbage cans through any windows, and no tire fires in the middle of the street or anyone spitting on policemen.
High Tech Organization
Although much more could be done to organize such a large group of people this was one of the most organized protests I have ever seen. A cell phone messaging service and a radio station was used to communicate what was going on all the time. Two-way radios were also used. It was pretty high tech. A wife area was also set-aside for loggers.
Services
The services were also impressive. A map of available restrooms was posted on the net. Volunteers from the New York Lawyers Guild milled around the crowds and were identified by special vests. Street medics were also all around with Red Cross emblems on their vests.
Tactics
Tactics to avoid arrest were communicated pretty well on the web sites. Sessions were held around New York at various times on a variety of subjects such as how to videotape an arrest for use in court, and the do's and don'ts about interacting with police were among some of the sessions held.
Planning for this event also included using scouts to check out the situation in front of the groups and to report back to the main group if trouble with the police arose. We did not see much of this in our group of protesters, but they may have been working farther up the group.
Phone numbers for lawyers were posted and spaces available for out-of-town protesters were also posted on bulletin boards.
Reactions from the Home front
I was overwhelmed by the response of the many family friends and neighbors that knew about our trip. They all told us how proud they were of us. They all wanted to learn about our experience and see the pictures of this significant protest.
# posted by Thomas @ 7:14 PM 
