Letters from NYC

On War and Peace

Friday was a day of conflicting emotions. Anger at the individuals that were arrested for threatening the peace and security of New Yorkers. Worry over the safety of my mom who lives right just a few blocks away from Union Square, the epicenter of protests, and where over 200 arrests occurred that night. Frustration over how a certain number of lawless individuals can create such chaos and cause injury (several police officers were cut by a knife wielding individual as they moved in to arrest protestors).

Finally, I’m truly saddened for what this violence means for our democratic process, for it is this process that is truly being hurt by everything that’s going on. I’ve tried engaging several of these protestors in a discussion over the last week, both out of curiosity and out of genuine interest in there positions. Each one of these opportunities has resulted in me being exposed to shrill and strident opinions, and some pretty foul language, that began with “I hate Bush,” and finished without a coherent discussion or a substantial reason for their point of views. From what I gathered, they are against the war, more out of a self-centered need for peace, that on any geopolitical point of view they may have on the war on terror. Debates and stumping seem to be dead in America. Instead, it has been replaced with an anger that has finally boiled over to hostility and violence in New York City.

The violence that erupted Friday night was unlike anything I’ve ever seen. Protestors hurling stuff in the air, so that innocent pedestrians and cops would be hurt, unaware of where the projectiles came from. Drivers getting out of their cars, to fight it out with the bicyclists or demonstrators who were laying down in intersections, blocking traffic until police officers on scooters and bicycles arrived to remove and arrest them. The physical struggle many of these protestors had with police when arrested was scary indeed. At one point I became very afraid to leave the bus, even though staying meant getting home hours later. I was just afraid of getting caught in a sudden melee and getting physically hurt.

For the first time I saw momentary states of anarchy at various locations. The whole point of rallies and protests are for people to express their opinions, so they can educate those who are not aware of their point of view. What has amazed me is what little of that is going on and how virtually no information is available as to who they are and what their protest is about. The unifying motive for their protests seems to be their hated for George Bush, wanting the war in Iraq to end and for a guarantees of their being no more wars.

It is evident to me that there position is not one of isolationism, nor is it one where we would retreat to our shores and increase security of our borders. What is truly alarming is that these protestors are insistent, not only on the withdrawal of our troops but on our diarmament of our country. As a New Yorker that means not only having a target on my back but essentially inviting Al Qaeda to attack us with our blessing.

As I have gone around the city and listened to the conversations in cafes and in the streets, it is evident that lNew Yorkers don’t feel as these protestors do. If they did, they would have stayed home and participated in any number of demonstrations. Don’t get me wrong, a significant number did participate in the less violent ones, but those protests were centered around issues, like the one organized by Planned Parenthood. In the more violent and unlawful demonstrations, however, the issues ranged from Freeing Mumia and Palestine (although I don’t know in which order), to ending corporate welfare, support of the arts through public funding and having housing available for all.

As for the chants, nothing original, although the 4 letter words towards Bush & Cheney really annoyed me as I hate the use of profanity when the same point could be made in a more intellectual way.

Saturday was providentially, a better day as there was less violence and subsequently, less arrests. It seems that either the lawless were still in jail or gearing up for Sunday’s massive demonstration by resting. It was also close to 90 degrees with 89% humidity, which possibly discouraged protestors from marching. There was a large march organized by Planned Parenthood which ran almost the length of the Brooklyn Bridge. Perhaps that was peaceful demonstration because a number of their participants were the elderly and children. Perhaps it was because birth control and abortion is not a major issue in the northeast, and doesn’t occupy the minds of both sexes.

Still, even a demonstration of 100,000 was enough to disrupt and delay the arrival of one of my houseguests, who was escaping lower Manhattan for the calmer environs of where I live, just across the river from Manhattan. Unfortunately, I was unable to convince my mother to leave the Union Square area and stay with me. She insisted that no two bit communists were going to drive her out of her home. So her solution against the loud noise, she sleeps with ear plugs to block out the chants and yells from the street. I hope you’re getting the picture of how stressful it is, because, just after a few days of unlawful actions by protestors, I truly began to feel as if New York was under siege.

I think if I gave you an idea of the physical environment where all this was taking place, you would have a better understanding of the magnitude of the stress New Yorkers are experiencing, The island of Manhattan is 13 miles long and approximately 1 mile wide. The area where the protesters are gathering, and where the convention is being held, is less than a mile from the Convention. There are other protests happening simultaneously, that are spread out over another 5 miles. This means that almost the entire southern or lower part of the island is seeing simultaneous rallies and protests, which means people in the streets, on the sidewalk and cars unable to use those streets until the protestors leave.

Today, badly needing some R&R, I worked my schedule around the rallies and demonstrations and went to an early morning church service, hoping to be out of Manhattan and on the beach by 1pm. As I walked to the subway I saw virtually no one on the streets immediately north of the frozen zone. It was like a ghost town. When I got to the beach I realized where everyone had gone. There I was joined by hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers who were ignoring the protests in their own best way, by boycotting them. If you watched the news or read the papers you know exactly what happened during the protests. Me, I was just so grateful to enjoy such a spectacularly beautiful day amongst truly peace loving individuals.

Here’s hoping for a peaceful tomorrow.

Posted by Michele at August 29, 2004 06:04 PM