An
open letter from Nicholas Wolfson on the subject of the August 29 Demonstration
Dear Friends,
Many people looking at my photos of the 29 August, 2004 demonstration have asked me what - beyond the pictures
- the mood and feel has been in New York with the Republican Convention happening
here this week. Many have said that the
situation in
That media impression couldn't be more wrong.
There were thousands upon thousands upon thousands
of excellent and committed citizens at the demonstration, doing their civic
duty and having great fun with it. The people were fabulous, their spirit
was really good, there was peace and love and
self-expression and humor and determination in the air!
I was on my feet, not sitting down even once, in
extraordinarily hot and humid weather, in a densely packed crowd, for about
seven hours straight. It would have been better had we been MOVING. But
there were so many people that we created an incredible gridlock. My legs
were aching!!! But I was with a half-million friends, so it was fine!
(By the way, EVERYONE should get out and demonstrate
against the established order at least once a year, just to test the health and
robustness of our American system of freedom and justice that our ancestors so
wisely put together in the late 18th century. Use it (your
freedom) or lose it. At least once a year, turn around, check it out, make sure it's still there.)
Also, the police have been great. As with the demonstrators, there are a few bad-egg cops in the lot. But on the vast whole they are terrific. They're good natured, healthy-looking, alert, open, professional, and purposeful. That's really fortunate, since the city is absolutely CRAWLIN' WITH COPS!!!!
I'm not so sure about Mayor Bloomburg, though. He seems to be arresting demonstrators and hauling them off to the Guantanamo Pier to detain them until after the convention!
Let's keep it in perspective. New Yorkers are
real survivors. We're jammed into a small space - all races, all
nationalities, all creeds - and we get along amazingly
well. Our crime rate is low (and not because we're policed to death either).
Daily, we put up with a huge amount of irritation and random noise. The
current Republican convention is only a tiny piece of the daily action here.
However, I think that even hardened New Yorkers,
overwhelmingly Democrats, are somewhat reeling from the gloves-off, "red
meat" campaigning style the Republicans are showcasing at the
Convention. The Democrats know they could never get away with the kind of
speech Zell Miller gave last night. (What an opportunitstic monster Zell Miller is! May he rot in Hell.) If the Democrats tried
that rough stuff, they'd alienate their base, and simultaneously the Republicans
would be up on their hind legs howling for blood! The Republicans
love the rough stuff - reputation of America in the world be damned! - and the Democrats walk around stunned by it. The
Republicans can get away with good old slashing and burning, I suppose, because
they can go back to their safe communities and don't have to play nice with
others like New Yorkers have to. So the Republican bullies are in town, and in consequence there's a bit of
"we're stunned to speechlessness" going on here among native New Yorkers today.
Love, Nick