Protest activists lay down gauntlet

[cal04]

"We're going to be taking back what belongs to us," said Eric Laursen, one of the organizers involved with A31, a coalition of activists who've spent months planning protests without permits.
Police may call them illegal, but the protests are acts of civil disobedience, organizers say.

The constitution "doesn't say you have freedom of assembly if the police want you ," said activist David Graeber. "In Nazi Germany, you had freedom of assembly if the police wanted you to."
Among the plans are hundreds of white-clad protesters marching from Ground Zero before "dying" on the streets in front of Madison Square Garden on Aug. 31, Day Two of the GOP gala, and sit-ins outside high-end companies. The activists range from a community gardener to the mayor of Nyack, who defied state law when he married gay couples this year.

All insisted the coalition doesn't condone violence and that their actions will be peaceful. But they also said they can't control what individuals do, and angrily blamed the cops for violence at rallies in the past. NYPD spokesman Jason Post said the police are "principally concerned about protecting New York City against terrorist or violent acts. At the same time, we expect everyone to obey the law, including protesters. We're prepared to take appropriate action for any situation."

Meanwhile, three city congressmen prodded Mayor Bloomberg to sign a pact spelling out procedures for regulating and policing of demonstrations at the convention. But Bloomberg rebuffed the effort, praising the NYPD and saying he's always stood up for First Amendment rights. "This city is going to protect everybody in this city: those that want to protest, those that want to praise and those that want to be silent," he said.

Told the mayor had already said no, Rep. Charles Rangel (D-Manhattan) countered at a press conference where he was joined by Reps. Jerrold Nadler (D-Manhattan) and Major Owens (D-Brooklyn) on the City Hall steps, "We don't need his signature; we want the spirit of what we're doing, rather than a legal contract."

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/story/219107p-188437c.html

[CarolynEC]

1. Let the cops be cops

My biggest fear is that there are going to be repug/repuke plants in the crowd, there with the specific intent to spark violence.

And it doesn't help that there are plenty of people on the left all-too-eager to make a profound statement by hurling a rock through a Starbucks window.

We all know the Dark Side will try to make the protests into a smear against JK, not the resounding condemnation of Bush that they actually are.

People gotta show restraint. If the cops are arresting someone, just stand clear and let 'em make the arrest. If it's someone you know getting cuffed, follow 'em down to the station to help them out. Beating or grabbing the cop making the arrest is NOT helpful at all -- to your friend, yourself, or anyone else.

Not sure how to get to the station? Believe it or not, you can ask a cop for a ride, if they're heading to the same place to write-up the arrest. No guarantee they'll agree, but if they do, you'll have a chance to educate them a bit about the purpose of the protest -- and maybe get your friend sprung with a bit less hassle than there might have been otherwise.

We're not in a fight with the cops in NYC... we're in a fight against the 'evildoers' who have taken over our government in Washington.

[pocket]

2. rock through a Starbucks window.

those little black-block indymedia tards would make a mockery of the whole thing.

[el_gato]

4. You obviously have no clue as to what you are talking about

[el_gato]

3. The cops are playing politics

While the cops are helping destroy democracy in America they
should be held accountable.