Posted on 08/30/2004 10:03:10 PM PDT by conservative in nyc
utside a hotel in Times Square, delegates to the Republican National Convention were swarmed by protesters dressed in black and swearing at them. Blocks away, delegates engaged in shoving matches with protesters seeking to spoil their night at the theater. And outside "The Lion King" on 42nd Street, a delegate was punched by a protester who ran by.
Although the organized protests yesterday and Sunday have been largely peaceful, there has been a starkly different tone to smaller incidents in Midtown and elsewhere: angry encounters and planned harassment of convention delegates as they go out on the town.
Sometimes the delegates answer back in toe-to-toe, finger-pointing shouting matches. Other times the police, who are guarding delegate gatherings, have dispersed protesters, who move on to other locations to taunt other delegates.
Since platoons of heavily armed police are guarding the convention site at Madison Square Garden, anarchists and other radicals are carrying out a coordinated plan to strike out at delegates at their hotels, breakfasts, parties, and on the streets.
The incidents are the result of months of planning by opposition groups, who report that they have obtained copies of plans and addresses for delegates' parties, caucuses and other gatherings outside the Garden.
Their efforts are aided by a support network that uses cellphone text messaging, among other means, to stay in communication. The cellphone messages were used extensively in a bike protest on Friday night and during demonstrations in Times Square on Sunday to direct protesters and alert them to where police were assembling.
"CT delegation breakfast everyday @ Maison (7th ave & 53rd) from 7-8:30. Can we get some dissenters?" said one text message yesterday, apparently referring to the Connecticut delegation's plan to gather at a Midtown restaurant. "Maison has outdoor buffet. It would be direct contact with delegates."
One Internet discussion list used by protesters posted an advisory about where some delegate buses would be idling in Midtown every morning. Another message included phone numbers and e-mail addresses for convention officials and advised that delegate hotels would be busiest in the morning and evening.
The harassment of delegates came as organized protests continued to draw thousands of people. The Still We Rise march by advocates for social issues was peaceful, and a Poor People's March, a column several blocks long, proceeded from the United Nations to the Garden yesterday after the police decided to let it go ahead even though organizers had not obtained a permit.
When marchers approached the Garden, a police officer was kicked repeatedly in the head by at least one male demonstrator and was listed in serious condition at an unidentified hospital, the police said. There was no immediate word of an arrest in the assault, the police said. As of 9 p.m., the police said there had been eight protest-related arrests.
The police are bracing for another round of unsanctioned demonstrations today, which protesters have designated a day of "nonviolent civil disobedience and direct action." Among the parties expected to be a target is the Tennessee delegation's gathering at Sotheby's. A group calling itself the Man in Black Bloc plans to protest it, saying it is angered that the convention intends to honor the late country singer Johnny Cash, who typically performed dressed in black.
Yesterday, Jamie Moran, who lives in Brooklyn and describes himself as an anarchist and helps direct the rncnotwelcome.org Web site, was roaming Times Square with a band of protesters shouting at delegates. "These people are in a bubble," he said. "This is absolutely better than standing outside the Garden and shouting to let them know they are not welcome here."
As delegate buses arrived at the Garden yesterday afternoon, protesters who had gathered for a demonstration screamed obscenities and gestured rudely at them. When the police spotted Pete Coors, a Republican candidate for United States Senate from Colorado, walking near the group, they swiftly steered him away.
Clearly, the protesters were not deterred by entreaties by former Mayor Edward I. Koch that New Yorkers be nice and an offer by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg to give peaceful protesters buttons and shopping discounts.
Adam Chase, 23, who said he came from Michigan for the protests, said that while he believed demonstrators should not be violent, "I think it is quite unfair for the R.N.C. and the delegates to tell us we should not be telling them we think they are exploiting the fears of the people."
Mindful that delegates are targets, police officers guard their hotels and ride aboard their chartered buses around town, and several receive police escorts. Numerous officers are assigned to many events outside the Garden.
"New York City is a fortress, and I love it," Joseph Kyrillos, the New Jersey state Republican chairman, said yesterday at a delegate breakfast. "We need to thank the New York police for all the protection."
Leonardo Alcivar, a spokesman for the convention, said officials recommended that delegates not respond to heckling and taunts, which he said have been "few and far between."
Still, he said, "Our delegates understand the old adage, do unto others as they do unto you."
The tensest encounters between delegates and protesters so far occurred Sunday evening when large groups of demonstrators moved through the theater district while delegates were attending shows under arrangements prepared by convention planners. Several protesters were arrested for trying to block hotel and theater entrances, and face-to-face standoffs abounded.
Outside "Bombay Dreams" demonstrators shouted at and videotaped people standing outside for intermission.
At "Aida," a group of protesters unfurled a banner and hurled invective at delegates leaving the show. Some looked nervous, but a few shouted back, "You're sick, sick."
Delegates lined up to see "Phantom of the Opera" ended up in a sing-song, tit-for-tat with protesters. One protester shouted, "The phantom dies at the end."
Flora Rohrs, a delegate from Colorado, burst into song, "This is my country," with bits of "God Bless America" thrown in. She said, "What is going on here is we are still going to get George Bush re-elected."
For some, there was no escape even at dinner.
"A person came by and used an explicative and stuck his finger in our face," said Deb Etcheson, an alternate delegate from Iowa. "But I don't blame that on New Yorkers. I just love this city."
Some delegates seemed perplexed, even hurt, not because they did not expect protesters to be here, but because they did not expect them to get personal. "They were using foul language, getting real ugly," said Kim Kirkwood, a delegate from Amarillo, Tex. Her husband, Jim, said he could not understand it. "I have friends who are Democrats in Texas, and we talk about things, agree to disagree."
Reporting for this article was contributed by Anthony Ramirez, Marc Santora, Mary Spicuzza and Jennifer Steinhauer.
Trust me, the NYPD's watching. And they're not going to let the protesters get out of hand.
John Kerry, Call off your Protesting Attack Dogs!!
The GOP - fighting terrorism. The liberals - fighting America, alongside the terrorists.
I can't believe that this ran in the Times. It's actually kind of sympathetic towards the delegates, not the protestors!
particularly when one of these imbeciles is trying to murder another policeman.......
I think the cops will turn aggressive...
I noticed at the anti-Bush protest in my town, that the worse people were young nothings, with piercings everywhere, and they were foul mouthed and very personal in their attacks...
I hope the Demonrat media at least have the decency to show their own uglies on the news shows......
Kerry and the DemocRATS sure are desperate. Despite claims to the otherwise, ALL of these punks are voting Kerry. I wouldn't doubt direct collusion with DNC Kerry is definitely doing nothing to discourage these attacks.
except they should have used the true term....."democrats"......
Oh, what I wouldn't give to be a GOP delegate accosted by some communists, anarchists, hippies, or other assorted scum. If a group of rightists met a group of 'rats on the street I know which side I'd want to be with.
Is anyone surprised that these pukes would actually throw a sucker punch at a guy?
This from the Times? The rest of the country..especially the "undecideds"...will be turned off by these creeps. Kerry is staying away from these people, but I loved when I read Ed Gillespie say that the protesters outside were inside the DNC last month...it was great
Well, they're attacking cops now. The delegate from Texas seemed pretty naive to be suprised that the RATs were loud and profane. The lady who said a demonstrator stuck his finger in her face should be told how to deal with that problem. You grab that offending (offensive) digit and bend it backwards until you hear a loud "snap". I saw that done once in a bar and it was very effective.
Democrats learning from Osama. Just not deadly yet.
"Protesters' Encounters With Delegates"??
Bzzzzt. Wrong. Delegates' encounters with protesters. The headline makes it appear as though the delegates were seeking out the protesters. Lazy, stupid, inept, or biased reporting...
APf
Probably the last story that writer will get in the Times.
Protestors, these are Kerry and DNC democrat goons.
The delegates are being pretty feisty with them. Good for them!
Thursday is going to be ugly. I think they plan it that way
I hope that tv news crews pick up on this and capture this harrassment on tape. If I were a delegate encountering this scum during an evening out, I couldn't imagine feeling anything but pity for them all the while having a good laugh at their expense. They are so pathetic. "Ooh, ooh. Surely I feel shame over my position on the issues now since you disagree with me."
America look at the true face of the democratic party. Pretty ugly, don't you think? Somewhere in this crowd of anarchist you will even find future democrat presidential candidates. God help us.
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