ANGRY MINNESOTANS DEMOCRATS TRAVEL TO NEW YORK TO PROTEST
War protesters take to N.Y. streets
Kevin Diaz, Sharon Schmickle and Mark Brunswick
Star Tribune
Published August 30, 2004
NEW YORK -- Chanting, drumming and carrying flag-draped coffins, a crowd that may have reached into the hundreds of thousands marched through downtown Manhattan on Sunday to protest against President Bush and the war in Iraq.
The largely peaceful march reached its emotional peak as protesters streamed past Madison Square Garden, where the Republican National Convention begins today.
Police in riot gear cordoned off an area in front of the convention hall and generally kept the marchers moving.
They were aided by yellow-shirted parade marshals organized by United for Peace and Justice, the march sponsor.
In the largest convention protest since the 1968 Democratic convention in Chicago, protesters snaked up Seventh Avenue from Greenwich Village, past the Garden and over to the Empire State Building, where they turned back toward downtown and into Union Square.
More than 50 Minnesotans marched in the demonstration, including 47 who rode to New York on a bus organized by the Minneapolis-based Anti-War Committee.
"I couldn't imagine not having Minnesota represented in this march," said Anh Pham of Minneapolis, one of the organizers. "It has a large antiwar commitment."
United for Peace and Justice estimated the crowd at 500,000, double the number it had predicted. The Police Department, as is customary, offered no official estimate, but one officer in touch with the police command center at Madison Square Garden agreed that the crowd appeared to be close to a half-million, the New York Times reported.
However, another law enforcement official put the size at 120,000, according to the Associated Press.
Police and legal observers reported about 200 arrests, mostly for disorderly conduct and blocking traffic.
Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said the march was largely "peaceful and orderly."
However, a smoke bomb went off as one person tried to set fire to a papier-mache dragon near the Garden. Kelly said protesters had the smoke bomb and ball bearings inside tubes that were used to hold up signs.
When police attempted to arrest the man for arson, Kelly said, 15 protesters from a group he called Black Bloc intervened, throwing metal barriers. Nine protesters were arrested and a 10th was being sought. Three officers were hurt in the incident, he said.
Few convention delegates were in evidence around the protest route, although dozens of counter-protesters showed up with signs generally opposing abortion rights and supporting gun ownership.
Fears of a massive, unauthorized protest in Central Park failed to materialize, as demonstrators generally heeded organizers' pleas to disperse after the march to Union Square. Nevertheless, a smattering of protesters assembled in a Central Park meadow, where they were met by a group of libertarian demonstrators.
In a staging area around Washington Square Park, police bicycle patrols mingled with Buddhist protesters praying for a peaceful demonstration.
"If you're going to be a peace protester, you have to have peace in your heart," said Hope Millholland, a Long Island resident who joined the Buddhist Peace Fellowship.
Many New Yorkers in the march said it gave them a chance to vent their frustration at serving as a backdrop for the Bush campaign's theme of strong leadership in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
"It's a very intimate issue for our group," said Chad Marlow, head of Village Independent Democrats. "We're at the front line of this war as well. We ask ourselves, are we safer now than we were on Sept. 10, 2001? And the answer is unquestionably, no."
Among the marchers was Keen Berger, daughter of former Minnesota Gov. Harold Stassen, who delivered the keynote address at the 1940 Republican Convention.
"He was a different kind of Republican," Berger said. "I think he would actually be quite proud of what I am doing."
Young and old
The demonstration was a colorful mix of old peace protesters, political activists of various stripes, and eccentric New York artists in costume, from drag queens to anarchist cheerleaders.
"The message we want to put out there is for Bush to get out of Iraq, get out of New York and get out of the White House," said Nancy Rudolph, a New York City photographer.
Central casting couldn't have improved on the young-radical image posed by some in the Minnesota group. Amanda Fiedler, 19, St. Paul, lounged at the foot of a lamppost smoking a cigar and waiting for the march to begin, faded blue kerchief on her hair, rhinestone studded straps on a black tank top that met tattered jeans.
"If we were going to make such a fuss about impeaching a president for a personal lie, then lying to our country about a war should be an automatic disqualification for the office," she said, explaining why she was willing to ride the bus for 22 hours to arrive just in time for the march.
On the other end of the age spectrum, Dave Bicking, 53, owner of an auto repair shop in Minneapolis, has been protesting war since he joined Students for a Democratic Society in 1968. Like many marchers, he is no fan of John Kerry, faulting the Democratic candidate for his Senate vote giving President Bush authority to attack Iraq: "At this point in our election we are not going to be able to make a choice against the war, so we have to do it here on the streets."
The marchers seemed to represent a cafeteria of causes with placards displaying such diverse concerns as keeping the world safe for poetry, telling Republicans their convention wasn't welcome in New York and pitching Ralph Nader as the best choice for president. (Nader's running mate, Peter Camejo, marched too.)
The unifying theme seemed to be Bush-bashing, and he was depicted in dozens of disparaging forms.
The marchers carried 1,000 cardboard coffins to symbolize the U.S. war dead in Iraq. "Too many people have died there," said Leslie Yerman, a Manhattan resident who carried one of the coffins. "The country needs to know people are very concerned."
Kevin Diaz, Sharon Schmickle and Mark Brunswick
Star Tribune
Published August 30, 2004
NEW YORK -- Chanting, drumming and carrying flag-draped coffins, a crowd that may have reached into the hundreds of thousands marched through downtown Manhattan on Sunday to protest against President Bush and the war in Iraq.
The largely peaceful march reached its emotional peak as protesters streamed past Madison Square Garden, where the Republican National Convention begins today.
Police in riot gear cordoned off an area in front of the convention hall and generally kept the marchers moving.
They were aided by yellow-shirted parade marshals organized by United for Peace and Justice, the march sponsor.
In the largest convention protest since the 1968 Democratic convention in Chicago, protesters snaked up Seventh Avenue from Greenwich Village, past the Garden and over to the Empire State Building, where they turned back toward downtown and into Union Square.
More than 50 Minnesotans marched in the demonstration, including 47 who rode to New York on a bus organized by the Minneapolis-based Anti-War Committee.
"I couldn't imagine not having Minnesota represented in this march," said Anh Pham of Minneapolis, one of the organizers. "It has a large antiwar commitment."
United for Peace and Justice estimated the crowd at 500,000, double the number it had predicted. The Police Department, as is customary, offered no official estimate, but one officer in touch with the police command center at Madison Square Garden agreed that the crowd appeared to be close to a half-million, the New York Times reported.
However, another law enforcement official put the size at 120,000, according to the Associated Press.
Police and legal observers reported about 200 arrests, mostly for disorderly conduct and blocking traffic.
Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said the march was largely "peaceful and orderly."
However, a smoke bomb went off as one person tried to set fire to a papier-mache dragon near the Garden. Kelly said protesters had the smoke bomb and ball bearings inside tubes that were used to hold up signs.
When police attempted to arrest the man for arson, Kelly said, 15 protesters from a group he called Black Bloc intervened, throwing metal barriers. Nine protesters were arrested and a 10th was being sought. Three officers were hurt in the incident, he said.
Few convention delegates were in evidence around the protest route, although dozens of counter-protesters showed up with signs generally opposing abortion rights and supporting gun ownership.
Fears of a massive, unauthorized protest in Central Park failed to materialize, as demonstrators generally heeded organizers' pleas to disperse after the march to Union Square. Nevertheless, a smattering of protesters assembled in a Central Park meadow, where they were met by a group of libertarian demonstrators.
In a staging area around Washington Square Park, police bicycle patrols mingled with Buddhist protesters praying for a peaceful demonstration.
"If you're going to be a peace protester, you have to have peace in your heart," said Hope Millholland, a Long Island resident who joined the Buddhist Peace Fellowship.
Many New Yorkers in the march said it gave them a chance to vent their frustration at serving as a backdrop for the Bush campaign's theme of strong leadership in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
"It's a very intimate issue for our group," said Chad Marlow, head of Village Independent Democrats. "We're at the front line of this war as well. We ask ourselves, are we safer now than we were on Sept. 10, 2001? And the answer is unquestionably, no."
Among the marchers was Keen Berger, daughter of former Minnesota Gov. Harold Stassen, who delivered the keynote address at the 1940 Republican Convention.
"He was a different kind of Republican," Berger said. "I think he would actually be quite proud of what I am doing."
Young and old
The demonstration was a colorful mix of old peace protesters, political activists of various stripes, and eccentric New York artists in costume, from drag queens to anarchist cheerleaders.
"The message we want to put out there is for Bush to get out of Iraq, get out of New York and get out of the White House," said Nancy Rudolph, a New York City photographer.
Central casting couldn't have improved on the young-radical image posed by some in the Minnesota group. Amanda Fiedler, 19, St. Paul, lounged at the foot of a lamppost smoking a cigar and waiting for the march to begin, faded blue kerchief on her hair, rhinestone studded straps on a black tank top that met tattered jeans.
"If we were going to make such a fuss about impeaching a president for a personal lie, then lying to our country about a war should be an automatic disqualification for the office," she said, explaining why she was willing to ride the bus for 22 hours to arrive just in time for the march.
On the other end of the age spectrum, Dave Bicking, 53, owner of an auto repair shop in Minneapolis, has been protesting war since he joined Students for a Democratic Society in 1968. Like many marchers, he is no fan of John Kerry, faulting the Democratic candidate for his Senate vote giving President Bush authority to attack Iraq: "At this point in our election we are not going to be able to make a choice against the war, so we have to do it here on the streets."
The marchers seemed to represent a cafeteria of causes with placards displaying such diverse concerns as keeping the world safe for poetry, telling Republicans their convention wasn't welcome in New York and pitching Ralph Nader as the best choice for president. (Nader's running mate, Peter Camejo, marched too.)
The unifying theme seemed to be Bush-bashing, and he was depicted in dozens of disparaging forms.
The marchers carried 1,000 cardboard coffins to symbolize the U.S. war dead in Iraq. "Too many people have died there," said Leslie Yerman, a Manhattan resident who carried one of the coffins. "The country needs to know people are very concerned."
1 Comments:
Bush needs to "get out of New York". What a bunch of whack jobs! So they have a right to be in New York waving signs and running amuck. Carrying coffins through downtown, Blocking traffic all while snacking on granola and power bars. And Bush is the one who needs to leave.
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