Keep it peaceful
Leave a Comment“”Peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek, but a means by which we arrive at that goal.” – Martin Luther King.
Last night, Critial Mass, a monthly bicycle ride through urban streets (which has been happening in San Francisco for probly a decade and in New York for 4 years) was busted by the police. The event, In a frightening foreshadowing the looming protests in New York, demonstrated the tensions between protesters and the police.
From the Village Voice:
“The ride ended outside St. Marks Church, in the East Village, and police in riot gear waded into the packed street, toppling to the ground one young biker who wailed in pain as they bent his arms behind his back for handcuffing. The crowd surged and a moving scrum broke out between police and demonstrators seeking to free the man. Police scooters plowed through the crowd, knocking into more bikers, prompting violent scuffles as a beat cop swung his baton menacingly, waving the crowds back.”
Although the ride’s been happening every month for 4 years, the police cracked down, and somewhat hard (the police passed out fliers at the beginning of the ride warning that people would be arrested for traffic violations, but since when is traffic enforcement done in riot gear? Clearly the police are getting ready for the million+ people coming to protest the RNC) The police are obviously and understandably nervous. The City is about to experience an unprecidented influx of protesters with no where to go, really. This week will certainly challenge (and hopefully strengthen rather than diminish) the right to peaceful assembly, but only if the assembly is peaceful.
The grave concern is the possibility of the protests being prematurely stirred by nefarious forces. In all the demonstrations and gatherings I’ve been to, (even the anarchists in Boston Commons), the people were peaceful and mindful of the reasonable limitations on free speech and assembly. And certainly, the protesters represent a healthy cross-section of Americans: the elderly, young, female, male, ethnic… they’re all there. I’ll have my eyes peeled on NYC this week, that’s for sure.
I’m on the fence about going to Burning Man. I’m going to make the call next week, and crank on getting things ready to release the flash movie. I’m not leaving until things are rock solid.
More later