              |
The giant Anti-Bush/Anti-RNC/Anti-War protest/demonstration/march here in New York, was yesterday. In my estimation there were, roughly speaking, one hell of a lot of people. A police official (speaking unofficially, if you follow me) put the numbers at 120,000 while the organizers of the march put the numbers at 400,000. I suspect the answer, as always, is between the two extremes.
The idea that the march was going to turn ugly, whether at the hands of the police or at the hands of the demonstrators themselves, was definitely floating around in the general consciousness. In fact I know quite a few people who, in terms of their ideals, would have attended the demonstration but didn't end up doing so for fear of being tear-gassed or trampled or something. An understandable fear, really, but one that only benefits the Bush administration. I mean, let's say that there is one violent knucklehead for every ten thousand sane, sensible protesters. If, out of that ten thousand people, twenty-five hundred stay home because of rumours of potential violence then the ratio of knucklehead to normality (K to N) goes up drastically. Not only are the overall numbers of the march reduced but the unnaturally bloated K to N ratio I spoke of above causes the whole thing to seem more radical and marginal. This is especially troubling when there is nothing at all radical or marginal in believing that the current President of the United States of America is wrong on nearly every issue, and that it is of the utmost importance that he and his cronies are stopped in their lying, cheating, money-grubbing, war-mongering tracks. And, of course, this all goes to make more people think twice about attending the NEXT march. I think that holding the Republican National Convention here in New York City this time around is just about the most cynical thing I can imagine. If 9-11 hadn't happened there is simply no way it would be here. New York City is, socially speaking, just about the LEAST classically Republican place in America. Even the Republican stars from New York, Former Mayor Rudy Guliani, Governor George Pataki and perhaps even current mayor Mike Bloomberg, are all *barely* Republicans. They are all three Pro-Choice, reasonably Pro-Gay, Pro gun control. I mean, Mayor Mike is a billionaire and even HE was a Democrat until he ran for Mayor. And Rudy, well, God bless him for being able to shine brightest during our city's darkest time, sincerely, but he was a pretty much a fascist dickwad in a lot of ways as Mayor. But the Republicans are here, and they are going to half-price Broadway shows, and eating at the Olive Garden in Times Square and such. I hope that they have a good time. I understand that president Bush is going to do some sort of "live from an ACTUAL Queens firehouse!" via-satellite interview, showing how much of a normal down to earth guy he is, and using the specter of the their fallen brethren as an unspoken "a vote for Bush is a vote for the heroes of 9-11!" sort of thing. Disgusting. I wonder if he will tell them and the country how he feels about his administration opening firehouses in Baghdad while closing them in Brooklyn. I wonder if he will remind them that the war in Iraq and 9-11 are wholly unrelated, or if they'll talk about Osama Bin Laden, and how he is running around somewhere in Afghanistan while our troops are hyperextended in Iraq. Maybe he will talk about how there is no money for their contract (2 years without a contract, if I am not mistaken) while the average American millionaire gets an *additional* tax-cut amounting to $93,500. Perhaps, if they are lucky, he'll explain how the $300 he sent them a few years ago hasn't helped the economy much but will have to be paid back anyway, with extraordinary interest and much much more, by their sons and daughters. Anyway. The March was a perfectly calm, sensible but brutally hot affair, and I am glad that I attended. Here are some pictures, all taken with the LCA. |
    |