This is What Democracy Looks Like

A quick note before I begin this update. A few of you asked about my New York Times interview. Unfortunately, the reporter never called me back and the story ran (on the front page, no less!) in Friday’s paper. My views weren’t represented but it was fun to take part in a poll.

Back to the streets – (don’t let that fool you, I’m writing from the 35th Floor of a building in the Financial District-not normally known as the bastion of underground blogging.)

The United for Peace & Justice organization sponsored the demonstration on Sunday that everyone feared would end in violence and mass arrests. The route and rallying point had been contested in court. In the end, the march moved up Seventh Avenue (that is Fashion Avenue to you, Nancy Johnson) from 23rd Street to 34th street. At 34th the route turned right to Fifth Avenue and then moved south to Union Square.

Organizers suggested marchers bring whistles, drums, tambourines, and noisemakers. So I headed to Union Square on one of the hottest days of the summer with my tambourine, a few bottles of water, and the New York Lawyers Guild pamphlet, “Street Law: What You Need to Know during the RNC Protests” that were distributed at the women’s march on Saturday.

I spent an hour or so taking photos and talking to people. I had an extended conversation with a 16-year old Communist from Atlanta who was disappointed to learn I worked for a big, fat American corporation. “Dude, that like sucks like so bad.” he told me. I said, ‘No dude, a paycheck that covers my rent does not suck at all.” He replied, “Dude, see that is so, like the problem, like, with capitalists, like, they think, like, money is like, power.” I said, “Dude, they, like, think that - because, like, it IS.” As he recovered from my bluntness, I added, “But you know, so is knowledge and idealism – so don’t lose your optimism!” I wanted to ask him how he had managed to get from Atlanta to New York without money but I figured it was time to move on.

High on my entertainment list of Union Square folks were the anti-Bush cheerleaders. A unisex group in pink, black, and red A’s for anarchy - protesting Bush with funny cheers and general silliness, e.g., awkward ballet moves from men in kilt-like skirts. The guys from gwvoodoo.com got a laugh from me while asking people to “stick it to W” - red, white, and blue pins to stick in their plastic W doll - a clever reference to voodoo economics from 41. Both of these groups are in the photos.

I noticed a good deal of diversity in the crowd , the same that you see in the subway everyday - men, women, grandmothers, grandfathers, strollers, Sikhs, Latinos, Asians, Indians, African-Americans, Italians, straights, gays, yuppies, lawyers, military, Quakers, Christians, Jews, Muslims, Arabs, Socialists, Communists, Democrats, - all united in sticking it to the MAN as Jack Black would say.

It took a long time to start moving because there were people from 23rd Street all the way down to Canal. As the crowd approached an intersection, it stopped to allow people spilling in from the side streets. It was awhile before I could find the friends I was supposed to meet. The man in the photos carrying the “Let Peace Begin with Me” asked me to join his group from Chelsea. We stood next to a group of young people who were pretty rowdy and fairly obscene in their chants (which I cannot remember) and he said, "Let’s hear it for the undergrads!” Everyone laughed, except the undergrads who didn’t get that we were all very, very post-grad. Someone added, “Rage on!” and they liked that better.

After a block or so, I caught up with my friend Alicia and we started moving with the crowd. We walked by so many creative displays, costumes, posters – many of which I captured on film; the enormous white fabric with the No-Bush graphic, the green dragon which later was set on fire and those responsible arrested, the hilarious signs with that very unfortunate photo of W; the huge beach ball globe with a man dressed as W hammering it. . I also noticed that several of the groups selling t-shirts and buttons – presented their websites as dubya.dubya.dubya. whatever -their-name.com. The giant pink penis balloon being followed by a big green bush. Check out the Empire State Building in Picture 41.

Those were the little things that made me laugh out loud.

A list of buttons I bought this weekend:

“One Nation Under Surveillance”
“Asses of Evil”
“Re-Defeat Bush in 2004”
“NYC does not love (heart-graphic with a line drawn through it) Bush more than ever”
“Get that warmonger out of the White House”
and the classically crass - “Fuck Bush”

There were also numerous t-shirts that declared,
“The only Bush I trust is my own.”
“My Bush would make a better president.”
"ABB Anybody but Bush"
and the one I wanted to make into a tee – “Dissent is Patriotic.”

And the t-shirts I purchased – (all sweat shop free, of course!)
"Resist and Refuse"- with a Keith Haring graphic (refuseresist.com)"
"I Love Liberals!"
"I’m not Down with G.O.P." (all the sales people at a local store in my neighborhood loved that one.)

There were lots of chants:
“Drop Bush, Not Bombs”
“No More Bush”
“George Bush Sucks”
“Hey Hey, Ho Ho, George Bush has got to go.”
“What do Want? Peace! When do We Want it? Now!"

There were also a fair number of failed chants that just didn’t cut the mustard. Someone started chanting, “Bush is a no-good, scum-sucking, neocon, warmonger…”, but a voice from the crowd said, “Dude, that’s too long to repeat.” Always a critic in New York.

A huge Fox News banner near the Garden motivated the crowd to stop and scream, “Fox News Sucks” – Try saying that numerous times at the time of your lungs.

And my personal favorite:
A lone voice with an arm pointed toward the Garden – “That is what Hypocrisy looks like!”
The crowd answered pointing to themselves, “This is what Democracy looks like.”

After I chanted that for a few times, I felt like I do after I vote. Corny, I know but the potential of freedom is limitless.

We stood there for a good 10 minutes chanting. I realized for the first time the absolute adrenalin rush of a crowd. Between the chanting, horns, flutes, drums, whistles, bells, tambourines, I can understand the appeal of a tribe, even if it is momentary and based on solely on emotion. It was a powerful moment and it made me feel a tad bit better after four years of being pissed off with W’s atrocious politics. My girls from Betty might say that with a tad more gusto and much more colorful language.

Once we passed the Garden, the police presence was massive but calm. A good portion of the police were smiling and laughing or others just seemed serious and focused on doing their job. I never saw or experienced any violence except for a girl who shoved me trying to get through the crowd. I called her out for her un-peaceful protest-like behavior and she promptly apologized. The crowd was quiet as we walked down 34th Street to Fifth Avenue - all the energy expended for those last few blocks in front of the garden. The crowd seemed to thin and I assumed we were at the end. I later discovered that the march continued behind us for two more hours! An anonymous police official agreed with the organizers that the crowd was close to a half million.

As we neared the end of Madison Square Garden, a women next to me yelled, ”Hey you Republicans, why don’t you all just GO BACK TO KANSAS where you came from!”

I said, “Hey sister, my family lives in Kansas!” I think I caught her off guard.
“Oh no! well I didn’t mean it like uh you know bad..“

I said, “I know but really there are some good liberals that live in Kansas. I’m related to them.”
I should have added - in fact, more liberals than who live in Staten Island!

She said, “Oh I know but you know what I mean.” I said, “Yes I do know what you mean, unfortunately.” But still, a girl has got stick up for her peeps in the heartland!

As we walked down Fifth Avenue, there was finally room for spectators. Down Seventh Avenue, the crowd had covered the entire street from sidewalk to opposite sidewalk without an inch to spare. And once again, a voice surprised me with its anger. A man started yelling apparently very confused in his understanding of American history and law , “All of you should move to Cuba! Go to Cuba! Go to Cuba! See what it’s like!!”

I turned around to look at him and my tank top inflamed him. “You with the Che Guevera t-shirt, GO TO CUBA and see what it’s like! GO!” I smiled and walked toward him, banging my tambourine and chanting, “NO MORE BUSH. NO MORE BUSH.” I walked away with a final comment, “and I love Cuba!” and the crowd around me started laughing. He was not amused.

Further down, another man yelled me at me, ‘Oh yea Che Guevera, oh yea lady, there’s another killer for you.” Che was not without his flaws but “killer” doesn’t quite cover the full spectrum of his life. I turned around banging my tambourine and chanting, “VIVE CHE, VIVE CHE” with a smile on my face. He was not amused either.

At Madison Square Park, we ran into the Billionaires for Bush dressed to the nines holding a pretend press conference to discuss tax cuts and yachts. Soon after, we saw the CodePink: Women for Peace group. They were pink from head-to-head and in great spirits giving W the Pink Slip! (their costumes? a big pink slip.)

We walked around Union Square and then headed to the East Village. At 17th and Fourth Avenue, the streets were calm and quiet. You would never know that a group of half million people were marching three avenues away. For the final time, a man yelled at me as he walked by, “Take off that Che Guevera t-shirt lady!” I should explain that Che t-shirts and pins are fairly common in Manhattan. I see one at least once a day. I’m not sure why my shirt evoked so much passion yesterday!

After a quick meal and no nude model scouts, I headed uptown to clean up, change clothes, and meet some work colleagues of the Republican persuasion for a beer in a local Irish pub. They loved all my stories and the chants. Yes, we all can get along. But it’d still be better without W.

I Am Woman Watch Me Vote

As I roam the streets of NYC this week, giving over to my lifelong journalist fantasy, please note that in my world, I don't have to be politically objective. It's all liberal, all the time. Some offensive language will be used in the spirit of giving you the uncensored picture and for purely humorous effect! The thing I did most this weekend was laugh - so much good will and creativity it was astounding!

My weekend started early Saturday morning when I took the 4,5 to Borough Hall in Brooklyn Heights to join the March for Women's Lives rally. (Visitors you've been here with me, this is the starting point for the brooklyn tour.) It was mostly women but there were a few men joining us. Several indviduals representing local Brooklyn government spoke and a womyn's (tongue firmly in cheek) a cappella group named, "Betty" sang "America the Beautiful." They introduced themselves by saying, "Get up and sing with us cause we dragged our asses all the way from Manhattan to tell the Republicans, "We're fierce, we're feminist, and we're in your fucking face."

I about fell over laughing. There were definitely some militant sisters marching next to grandmothers doctors, mothers, Christians for Choice,and sure enough, Republicans for Choice - 25,000 of us from Brooklyn to Manhattan. It was girl power all the way!

Some chants heard along the bridge:

"2, 4, 6, 8, we're the ones who ovulate."
"George Bush is a sexist, send that bastard back to Texas."
"2, 4, 6, 8, we don't have to procreate."
"George Bush is a wussy, keep your hands off our pussy."
"Keep your rosaries off my ovaries."

Buttons and stickers that proclaimed:

"Well-behaved women rarely make history."
"When Women Vote, Women Win."
"W. Like a Rock. Only Dumber."
"Teresa for President" (with the Heinz ketchup bottle as the backdrop.)
"I love pro-choice New York."
"Between a Dick and a Bush, we all got screwed."

There were lots of policemen (note: white plastic handcuffs hanging from their belts in photos) on the bridge but they were smiling and laughing with us. I asked one if I could stand on a bench to take a picture. He said, 'I'm turning my head - so I don't see what youse doing, but lady, don't jump."

Some of Randall Terry's group (Operation Rescue) were waiting for us on the Manhattan side. But they were small in number. When I arrived at City Hall Park, Eve Ensler (author of The Vagina Monologues - I highly recommend the play if you have occasion to see it.) was just finishing her speech. She ended it with - "So get your vaginas to the polls in November and vote!" Peggy Kerry, John Kerry's sister, an actress from "One Life to Live" whose name I cannot recall, along with women from several ethnic groups in New York talking about various women's health issues. By then, we were hot and tired so we headed to the East Village for a burger at Life Cafe.

The East Village could be considered one of NYC's most liberal neighborhoods so I was surprised when I was confronted by a less liberal agitator. As we were coming out of Life, a women sitting with her kids yelled at me, "Get that pro-choice shit out of my face."

She continued and I finally said, "Listen lady, I am standing on a street corner. I can stand here. If you don't like it, you can turn your head." (The pro-choice shit she is referring to is the sign in the photo of me on the bridge. It was leaning upside down against my leg outside of Life as I stood on the corner.) Some women having lunch yelled to me, 'You tell her, sister!" and "You ladies you just have a great afternoon!"

The pro-life person kept yelling at me so we left. We also encountered some not very friendly vibes as we walked by a fire station - which surprised me at first but later, it made sense considering the demographics of NYFD.

As we walked futher, we came across a man screaming in the street, "My name is Francisco Ricardo Gerado ... don't run away, I'm looking for nude models." But that's just a typical New York moment. Sort of like a commerical break. Although his demeanor reminded me of Mandy Patakin's character in The Princess Bride "My name is Iago .. . and I'm here to avenge the death of my father. Prepare to die."

I heard there were lots of celebrities but I only saw Maggie Gyllenhall (she was in The Secretary and Mona Lisa Smile) She looked hot, tired, but inspired like the rest of us!

In the small world category, the woman in my photos on the bridge with a baseball hat, jean skirt, and grey tank is a girl from San Diego who went to school at Mizzou! She's been to KC and knew lots of STA girls but no one I knew. Her girlfriend in the cowboy hat and pink Planned Parenthood shirt is a lawyer at Physicans for Reproductive Choice, the non-profit where Alicia (in striped skirt) my old rooomate from Brooklyn used to work. I noticed when I was downloading some of my photos that there was a woman with a Royals hat on in the crowd- I wished I'd noticed before! Stay tuned for more "Kansas" interaction on Sunday.

The barristers among you - notice the people in my photos with the neon green baseball hats. They were legal observers from the New York Lawyers Guild who were on hand to witness/support any issues that arose.

You'll be receiving an email shortly that gives you access to photos from Saturday and Sunday from snapfish.com. Enjoy!

Up next, a report about the Anti-Bush rally on Sunday, August 29. Half a million strong...!

RNC in NYC

News from the police state formerly known as Manhattan. I'll be providing intermittent coverage the next few days as events unfold, let me know if you'd rather not receive updates!

The Paul Revere ride ("The Republicans are coming! The Republicans are coming! One if by chartered jet, two if by S.U.V.” ) happened Sunday night down Lexington Avenue! I missed it but they are having another event ...

Crossing of NY Harbor – Friday, August 27, 2pm. Having lost Manhattan to the Republicans, we will stage a daring “Crossing of New York Harbor” on the Staten Island Ferry to liberate New York from the Bush loyalists, and America from its corporate monarchy. This will mimic the famous painting of George Washington crossing the Delaware with General Jonny America at the front. But, this is a crossing of a bigger America, one where we take back our government from the Enrons and Halliburtons. here's their website - http://www.greenedragon.org/


Saturday it's a woman's march for choice across the Brooklyn Bridge. The Operation Rescue folks will be countermarching against us. Sunday, the big anti-Bush march down Seveth Avenue.

Al Franken is asking everyone to yell out their window Fuggadeboutit" when Bush accepts the nomination. (I love this idea.)

In other news, the NY Times is supposed to interview me today for views I expressed in an CBS/NY Times Poll about Bush, Kerry, the RNC, the fear factor in Manhattan. If I make it to print it will be in Saturday's paper - I will keep you posted!