Over 500,000 protesters braved sub-freezing temperatures, the lack of a march permit, an oddly timed "Code Orange" terror alert, and an avalanche of pro-war propoganda from the commercial media to seize the streets and protest war in Iraq. The rally at Dag Hammerskjold plaza stretched north along 1st Avenue for dozens of blocks, featured an array of local and international speakers. The event was described by observers as inspiring and largely trouble-free.
But west of the rally, on Second and Third Avenues, chaos reigned in the streets of New York. We received multiple reports of spontaneous marches, creative direct actions, sit-ins and police brutality
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Personal Account by Matt Larson
I have just returned from the protests in New York City, where thousands of people called for peace despite the cold and despite every effort by the police to keep the protesters from getting to the protest. I didn't hear any speakers myself, except on WBAI, because it took two hours to get to 1st Avenue, and then there were too many people to get anywhere near the speakers' podium. The crowd was diverse, but the message was mostly the same, a call for peace against Bush's bloody, self-interested push for war on Iraq. There appeared to be more people than in the most recent DC protest....my completely unfounded estimate would be between 50,000 and 100,000, but there could have been far more. New York City's buildings made it impossible to see all of the people in one glance (intentionally so, of course--this rally would have been much better in Central Park) and there were/are actions all over the city in other areas.
The protesters' mood was mostly peaceful, but many were angry about the police and their clear, blatant attempts to confuse, disorient, and dishearten the protesters. I walked across town on 52nd street, until I hit Park Avenue--yes, quite some distance from 1st. Then I was told to go 61st to walk across. It turned out that 57th was open to 3rd Ave., but then everyone had to walk north to about 67th to get to 2nd. Again, the police were feeding everyone bad information, saying that we only had to go to 66th, etc., which turned out to be untrue. On 2nd Avenue we walked up to 72nd and were finally able to cross over to 1st Avenue. This had the effect of making the rally into a march anyway. The police would have been much better off just allowing a march, which could have been coordinated and organized and avoided the incredible chaos that ensued when the police began blocking off the streets.
In fact, the police could not have handled it more poorly except to start randomly beating people, which they reportedly did in some cases. I saw a teenager forcibly removed from a pole by cops who backed up a large truck of barricade material through the crowd to haul her off of the pole. There were far more police than were necessary and they were pugilistic and angry, which in some ways was the fault of their leaders, who told them to block off access without telling them why--making the police on the street the target of protesters' anger. When we finally reached 1st Avenue, which we did despite our right to movement on our streets being severely curtailed, the police had set up barricades on the cross streets that acted as funnels. This had the predictable effect of making the crowds thick, and making it difficult to move--surely their intention, which actually decreased the marchers' safety considerably. My wife is 6 months pregnant, and the crush of people made it too uncomfortable for her, so we left early. Thanks, cops. I felt neither protected, nor served by your stupid restrictions, which made it harder for us to exercise our right to free speech and made it less safe for everyone.
Heading toward the subway, we saw many vans full of cops sitting, getting warm, getting paid overtime for work they didn't need to do. I am not against police as some are, but the way they handled this rally was simply ridiculous and makes me more nervous than ever that the Bush White House cares not a whit about the rights this country's founders fought and died for.
Still and all, the marches and rally was inspiring and received greater news coverage (much yet to be seen) than any in the recent past. My day was made by the driver of a cab we took home from 96th and Lex. My wife and I shared the cab with another protester, a woman professor who reported that one cop had told her to "get a job"--yes, that's the best they could come up with (one anti-protester resorted to pure sarcasm, saying "sure the UN is going to get the job done"..interestingly I saw exactly two counter-protesters). The cab driver, a Pakistani man, told us that he felt the protesters had protested from their hearts, to avoid war and suffering. He refused to accept any money, and in fact made two stops for us and for the woman we were sharing the cab with. The best cab ride I've ever had, to say the least, a great end to a day where it felt good to stand up against those who would use our country's great resources to go to a war nobody wants. Thanks to everyone who came to stand up against suffering and greed, especially those who came from other states and endured long bus rides and early hours.
