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Protesters plan bigger showing in N.Y.
EFL.You could tell their hearts weren't really into it up here. The Dems really aren't their enemy, right?The protests were muted, the arrest tally small. But the mix of anti-war, anti-corporate, anti-government-as-usual groups are leaving Boston and the Democratic National Convention with a promise: Wait until New York. The NYPD welcomes you! "We never advertised massive turnouts in Boston," said Leslie Cagan, national coordinator for United for Peace and Justice, a coalition of anti-war groups. "There is, though, a tremendous amount of energy for the protests at the Republican convention." And they like that Tides Foundation money. Embarrass the boss's husband and maybe the checks stop coming. In the months leading up to this week's convention, local and federal authorities built an army of 5,000 law enforcement officers and prepared for as many as 2,500 arrests. Recent history gave them the impetus. Anti-war rallies have drawn tens of thousands of people around the country over the past year. The political conventions in Los Angeles and Philadelphia in 2000 saw hundreds of arrests.But arrests related to protests reached a grand total of four this week. The most action took place in court, where demonstrators unsuccessfully challenged rules that limited protests to a small area adjacent to the convention center. Kooks in a Cage. Posted by: tu3031 2004-07-30 |
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