The First Night of the RNC

The first night of the Republican National Convention has got me feeling somewhat glum right now. Yesterday, I participated in the large anti-Bush march that closed down 7th Ave. and surged past Madison Square Garden. This morning, I read the papers dismayed to find that the "un-official count" of protesters was 120,000. Considering the 4 blocks I managed to move in the march's first 2 hours, I find this a "conservative" estimate at best.

I carried a home-made sign this time. It showed Bush's head on a golf tee next to an arrow point "out of office". Above it were the words, "Yo George: Check out THIS drive."

At Saturday's March for Womens' Lives, I carried a premade sign from N.O.W. that said, simply: Fight the Radical Right.

The shirt I'm wearing tomorrow, says simply: November 2.

Which is what it all appears to boil down to, I suppose. One day. A bunch of us vote, a whole lot of others do not, and all of us get stuck with one of two extremely wealthy members of the establishment promising us our slice of the pie with two fingers crossed behind their backs. And if that person is the radical and uncompassionate compassionate conservative who is currently in office, I fear I may join a rush of young, progressive, creative, and compassionate folks on their way to the more tolerant, vibrant, and peace-loving societies that exist outside this country.

In the paper today, there was a photo of a helicopter-stationed sharp-shooter with his large rifle carefully trained on 8th Ave behind The Garden. I suspect that at some time yesterday, protesters were in his crosshairs, whether he was looking through them or not. I wonder what this says about the freedoms we have? I, for one, feel worried for my country, when a city must arm itself to the teeth in order to let some outsiders espouse their globally unpopular political message.

But still, what I would estimate as at least 200,000 people took to the streets yesterday, ready to salvage the good name of America to those friends of ours abroad who cared to watch.