simulating opposition ... (nevermind, as reported, things got worse afterwards, I fear...with hundreds of arrests and evil police beatings) bush is a war criminal and a bigger threat to american freedom than bin laden ever could be- even if nobody wants to hear this
Tangential remarks: The sign handles were cardboard tubes, useless as weapons. As protests go, this was *very* polite on both sides. The police cleared areas with "Please," "Sir" and "Thank you" and, when large groups didn't move, "Work with me, people!" If one marcher galled another's kibe, he excused himself. A few people marched with their babies, a few with dogs. I saw one with his cat. Of course generic insults were chanted, especially when the march halted for fifteen minutes or so directly in front of the entrance to Madison Square Garden, and fingers were raised in gestures usually seen only in bad traffic. But a sense of humor ruled. The news mentioned some arrests, but I personally saw none. As far as I could tell nothing bad went down, and I was in the march's leading edge. Nothing was thrown. Nobody was grabbed or pushed. There wasn't a whiff of riot gas. Nobody went where we weren't supposed to go. The orange-shirted organizers did a good job in close consultation with the police.
All of which surprised me -- nay, shocked me. I lived in New York through the worst of the 60's and all of the 70's. The protest marches (and police action) of those days were quite different. Remembering them, I went to this march with some misgivings, wearing a throwaway wrist watch, carrying a fabric wallet with two pieces of picture ID and medical insurance card, and using my cheapest camera. This turned out to be laughably paranoid. I've felt more threatened at a football game.
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