David Sorcher

Half a million people joined the United for Peace and Justice march winding through sunny Manhattan Aug. 29, the day before the Republican National Convention kicked off.

NEW YORK CITY -- Protesters with a thousand different agendas and one enemy, President George W. Bush, uniformly hung their hopes on a common sentiment when they flocked here to greet the Republican National Convention (RNC) -- and it wasn't trying to talk sense into delegates.

A frequent chant captured both their motivation and their means: "The whole world is watching! The whole world is watching!"

They were right, though the convention hadn't even officially begun Aug. 29, when an estimated 500,000 marched through Manhattan. Media dogged their every movement. In fact, there was so much sophisticated recording equipment that it was hard to distinguish corporate media outlets from independent media from film students from scrapbookers.

The glut underlined growing discontent with traditional media coverage.

"Corporate news media, the blood is on your hands!" said one of many thousands of signs. "Half a story equals one complete lie."

This was their chance to override what many see as the Bush Administration's arrogance toward other nations.

"Sorry, world," a few signs said.

"We will dump the invader Bush big time," said another.

Gotham's best-mannered
Maybe it was that their every motion was recorded or the scores of National Lawyers Guild legal observers in bright green caps or extensive training and new techniques or something in the diverse New York culture, but New York Police officers regarded protesters coolly, seeming at times even friendly.

Their relaxed verbal exchanges and body language surprised and impressed a lot of observers, including the Cincinnati activists.

"Alright, clear the stage," a police officer ordered photographers. Then he smiled and thanked them.

"If we could get moving in this direction, please?" another officer urged rubberneckers following the immolation of a papier mché dragon.

Cincinnatians added at least a dozen bodies to what New York papers called the largest gathering of protesters since an anti-nuclear rally in 1982. United for Peace and Justice sponsored the march.

Messages ranged from simplistic cheap shots -- flyswatters with the slogan, "Smush Bush"; an arrow pointing to Cheney's head: "Greedy Creep" -- to the dizzyingly specific: "Amend New York State's wrongful death statute S.2994 A.6637."

Billionaires for Bush glittered among grungy activists. One person represented Republicans for Voldemort.

Falun Gong, vegetarians, Jews against the occupation of Palestine and psychologists for peace joined the usual suspects.

A handful of counter-protesters brought their own radical messages.

"Except for ending slavery, fascism, Nazism and communism, war has never solved anything," said a sign from protestwarrior.com, overlooking the redundancy of fascism and Nazism and the futility of the wars against communism in Vietnam and Korea.

"Support President Bush -- Trust Jesus," said one sign.

"In God and President Bush We Can Trust," said another, prompting some to chant, "Who would Jesus bomb?"

Many marchers flocked to Central Park, where Mayor Michael Bloomberg had denied them a permit to rally. Despite fears of mayhem and wanton grass destruction, the scene was peaceful, save for a heated softball game and a kite flown so high it seemed to threaten the ever-present helicopter.

Peace clowns in flight suits -- "Mission Accomplicated" printed on the back -- begged for help: "We'll give you $1 million if you pretend to have a weapon of mass destruction!"

Local woman nabbed at kiss-in
Of all the hundreds of organizations leafleting during the demonstrations, perhaps the most cogent and immediately relevant message was from TheUnCon.org.

"Don't Take the Bait!" its flier urged. "The RNC was deliberately set up in NYC in September to exploit the emotions of 9/11 and terrorism. They're well placed for a battle here. If they get property destruction and violent clashes, they'll call us 'terrorists' attacking New York. ... Be careful about how your actions could be used. The media's attention may be drawn to 'violence' elsewhere at the convention, keeping our messages from being heard."

Even so, some were determined to create a ruckus, and they got their chance Aug. 30. After the first massive march, apprehension greeted the March for Our Lives, sponsored by the Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign. Though the organization didn't have a permit to parade, hundreds of police escorted marchers without incident from the United Nations Plaza. The marchers wanted to go to Madison Square Garden, where the GOP convention was underway.

Two blocks from the convention site, police led the protesters into pens and blocked their progress. Then loosely affiliated groups following the Poor People's march turned around -- and turned rowdy.

Police put on their riot gear and funneled protesters down side streets, sometimes shoving them, until they dispersed.

"There's a medical emergency," an officer said.

Photo By David Sorcher

The Missile Dick Chicks were among the weekend's more visual protesters.

"What, did King Kong have a fucking heart attack?" grumbled a jostled activist.

"A few days of bedlam, what the hell," said a weary officer. When asked about lucrative overtime, he shrugged and called it "blood money."

New York's police commissioner told news organizations that protesters instigated the clash. In fact, undercover officers on unmarked scooters started the melee by knocking into the crowd, running over one man's ankle, according to Rob Raney of Green Township.

A 17-year-old Cliftonite giving the nom-de-guerre Zoe Magnada was arrested Aug. 29 at a "Kiss In" on Times Square organized by Queer Fist. Thirty-five to 40 of those sucking face were shoved by police into a crosswalk and then into orange netting.

The netting is a new police tool to control protesters, Magnada says. Police slapped her with a disorderly conduct charge. She was held about 27 hours and wasn't allowed to make a phone call, she says.

Direct action -- civil disobedience that sometimes involves property damage -- was expected Aug. 31. And even the underground activist network is suspiciously quiet about activities planned for Thursday, when Bush comes here to accept his party's nomination.

And the whole world is watching.