A Weekend of Peaceful Protests
an article by Charlie McNally

Last weekend in New York, what many feared would be a violent demonstration that played into the hands of Karl Rove and the most negative political campaign in American history, instead turned into a weekend of nonviolent protest as diverse as it was wonderful.

The weekend kicked off with a "Critical Mass" bicycle protest, and as the riders prepared to depart from Union Square, onlookers where amazed at the sheer volume of riders. Although no estimates were released from organizers or police, it was clear there were thousands of people there to protest our reliance on cars and the anti-environmental policies of the Bush administration.

On Saturday, there were so many protests it was difficult to keep up. The largest of the day was Planned Parenthood's pro-choice march across the Brooklyn Bridge, but there were many others as well, including a life size monopoly game called "Oligopoly" in Washingtong Square Park, a rally of Starbucks workers against unfair labor practices on 36th and Madison, a protest to "Ring out the Republicans" where protesters surrounded Ground Zero ringing small bells, and even a wet T-shirt contest for change in Central Park.

The weekend came to a deafening cresendo on Sunday when almost half a million protesters came from all over the country to march past the convention site at Madison Square Garden and voice their displeasure with the Bush agenda (See related CPNN report). There were people there of every race, creed, age, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, and any other affiliation you can think of. Street performers used creativity to mock Bush, and with the exception of a paper mache dragon that went up in flames when anarchists briefly confronted the police, the march proceeded without incident. Truly, this was a weekend of victory for peaceful protest.

DISCUSSION

Question(s) related to this article:

How effective are mass protest marches?


As a reader, you are invited to join in the discussion of this article based on any of the above question(s): just click on the question, read the previous comments and add a new reply. You may also enter a new discussion topic on this article - see bottom of this page.

Thematic forum(s) in which this article is being discussed:

MARCHES AND PROTESTS

LATEST READER COMMENT:

Hi.

I have two comments about this report.  The first is on the question about the effectiveness of mass protest marches.  

Recalling the effectiveness of mass protest marches in the 1978 Iranian Revolution, I looked it up on a search engine and found the following account of the revolution's climax"

  "In November, the Shah turned the government into a military government in order to force strikers back to work. But the worst, everyone knew, was about to come. The month of Muhurram was approaching, the month in which Shi'ites traditionally celebrate the martyrdom of Husayn. It is a passionate and highly religious month, and since the protests against the Shah were largely religious in nature, everyone knew that the country was on the verge of exploding.. . ...more.

This report was posted on September 2, 2004. The moderator is CPNN Coordinator.

If you wish to start a new discussion topic on this article, please copy the title of this article which is A Weekend of Peaceful Protests and its number which is 159 and enter this information along with your discussion question and a brief text on the new topic form.

A few stories are retained on the main listings if they are considered by readers to be a priority. If you have not already done so, please take the time to check a box below: should this article be considered as a priority?