Posted on 09/08/2004 11:00:51 PM PDT by kattracks
WASHINGTON -- The magnificent work of the New York Police Department last week under the masterful leadership of Commissioner Ray Kelly obscured an ugly fact of life today in America. The protesters, while unable to disrupt the Republican National Convention as intended, represented a disturbing new development in the nation's politics: hatred in the streets.The organized demonstrations were purely negative, attacking George W. Bush with scant expression of support for John Kerry. Individual marchers singled out any person they thought might be a convention delegate, firing off angry, often obscene, denunciations. The streets of Manhattan were not pleasant for anyone foolish enough to wander around wearing a convention badge.
I have covered every national political convention beginning with 1960 and never before encountered so unpleasant an atmosphere. Not even the infamous 1968 Democratic convention in Chicago approached last week's level of animosity. The irrational loathing expressed daily on the Internet by passionate, though poorly informed, bloggers was transferred into the streets. While Sen. Zell Miller's old-fashioned stemwinder inside Madison Square Garden was upbraided by news media critics for being too harsh, they largely ignored the real hatred in the streets.
Organizers of last week's protests in New York threatened to repeat the havoc of 1968, when blood was spilled in pitched battles with the Chicago police. But there really is no comparison. The Chicago protesters were trying to force a change in Vietnam policy by a Democratic Party where close to half its party and half the delegates supported anti-war demonstrators. The attempted disruption in New York had nothing to do with changing the position of a political party. This was an attack on "The System."
The model for last week's demonstrators was less the Chicago convention 36 years ago than anarchist attacks around the world at global financial conferences. When hundreds of thousands of protesters marched down 7th Ave. outside the Garden, the signs predominantly called for Bush's defeat and the departure from New York of all Republicans. Any support for Kerry was extremely hard to find.
While the 1968 demonstrators foolishly risked street combat with the Chicago cops, their 2004 brethren wisely kept their distance from New York's finest. Unlike their predecessors of 36 years earlier, last week's protesters wanted to single out individuals with verbal abuse that was often vile for the sole reason that they were presumed to be Republicans.
Tim Carney, a reporter for this column, got a taste of that last Thursday night as he left the Garden. He was wearing a three-piece suit and presumably was mistaken for a delegate by a young woman, who yelled at him: "Get out of New York!" She added to Carney, a native New Yorker: "You don't belong here!"
That was much milder treatment than one journalist (who preferred his name not be used) underwent one day when he probably also was mistaken for a delegate. Walking out of the arena, he was called a "Nazi." That was a favorite epithet used by protesters, along with "fascist," "scumbag" and "crook." This reporter, who has spent much more time in Europe than I, says such harassment in the street is commonplace in European cities. He regrets its spread to this country.
Delegates and journalists mistaken for delegates were attacked as anonymous lackeys of the global economy. Unfortunately, many demonstrators recognized me from my television appearances and condemned me as a "traitor" because of the CIA leak case, some suggesting I should kill myself. I had to resort to using a security escort to move a short distance to fulfill commitments for CNN.
Noisy and obnoxious though the protesters were, they were careful to avoid physical confrontation with the police. The NYPD was businesslike in carting away anybody who broke the law. When the new jail inmates whined about the facilities and civil libertarians protested, Mayor Michael Bloomberg correctly observed: "This is not Club Med."
Many individual police officers also recognized me, and I was flattered to be encouraged by their support of positions I take. I have not always gotten along with law enforcement officials during 56 years in journalism, but they are truly welcome counterweights to today's street radicals.
I always look forward to the informative and intensely interesting articles you post on Free Republic! You just keep getting better and better; keep up the good work!
Robert doesn't understand demon oppression or possession. In this day and age, when demons are more and more being loosed from the pit for their last day judgment, it won't be long before your either "for or against God", there will be NO middle ground. You either be a force for the Spirit of Christ, or the spirit of Antichrist. Too many are blind to the day and hour we are living. They are about to be rudely awakened.
They know they're losing, and it drives them even crazier. Unfortunately, the RAT lapdog media supresses the truth about these rabid animals.
I recently read a book on the French Revolution, similar passions have been stirred up many times before.
I agree with Novak in that the protestors seemed to try to intimidate the convention attendees either one-on-one or in small groups that slipped under the radar. I think the protests were peaceful for the same reason they've been that way for years here. This isn't Seattle with only 2000 officers. We might have had 2000 officers either sick or on vacation the week of the RNC!
Instead of going up against us head-on they instead chose the route of trying to frighten delegates on side streets outside their hotels. Sounds like the tactics of another group of people that we deal with around here....
Robert doesn't understand demon oppression or possession. In this day and age, when demons are more and more being loosed from the pit for their last day judgment, it won't be long before your either "for or against God", there will be NO middle ground. You either be a force for the Spirit of Christ, or the spirit of Antichrist. Too many are blind to the day and hour we are living. They are about to be rudely awakened.
And me a conservative agnostic.
When everyone else in FR goes to Heaven, wave down at me now and then, huh? ;)
These creatures were beyond the pale.
Sam Kinison:
AAAAHHH!!! THEY MAKE WE ME WANNA RIP OUT MY OWN SPLEEN AND BEAT THEM TO DEATH!!! AAHHHHH!!! KILL ME NOW!!! THESE MAGGOT-INFESTED, PSEUDO-BOHEMIAN ROACH MOTELS! OOH, I WANNA BE AN ARIST. WELL PICK UP A BRUSH AND PAINT MY F**KIN' CEILING, YOU MEWLING, ASS-SCRATCHING, POETRY-RECITING FREAK OF NATURE! AHHHHH!!!! RUN OVER MY CEREBRUM WITH A DOUBLE WIDE! AAHHHHHHH!!! I'M LIVING IN BLAKE'S VISION OF HELL! AAHHHHHHHHH!!!!
You need some sort of avatar to lighten up your posts. Maybe a dancing banana or something.
You're a N.Y.C. cop? May GOD bless and keep you always and I hope you get a raise! :-)
I already yelled at that poster.Just ignore the religious nutter.
Hmm...
Now, I wonder where you'd find of one those around these parts?
Union thugs assault people trying to get to work They're bussed into other demonstrations to intimidate. Arrested ever? No, or at least very rarely and only in extreme circumstances.
The extreme left has moved into new space since the collapse of communism and is squeezing out more moderate liberals from positions of influence. These people bring a more radical and aggressive methodology into liberal movements and intimidate others. That is how they were trained. The Clinton Democrats, and I specifically mean those beholden to Hillary, are core elements in this transformation. As Hillary rises within the Democrats assuming JF loses (he will...please Lord) we'll see more of this. And make no mistake, while it may be Bill's network that facilitates it, Hillary will be responsible for the tactical execution.
The whole Clinton machine must be exorcised from the American body politic. It is a danger to the entire world. IMHO.
Thank you...There are a bunch of us floating around here, and I can tell you that my anecdotal research is that we're going at least 5-1 for the president.
I can't speak about things you might have experienced, but beleiev me when I tell you that these people were not of the union persuasion from what I saw. They were college kids and aging hippies with some guys in black and some totally disturbed people.
A few years ago,an idiot tourist knocked me down,as I was crossing the street and two of New York's finest rushed over to me,helped me up off the pavement,and wanted to take me to the hospital.I declined,but they were really great...collecting my packages and looking after me. :-)
Never fair to paint with a broad brush, I know, but the leadership of the movements drag their members through the dirt they disturb.
March for Morons...The chant goes up...
The leader says.."What do we want ?"
The group says..."I don't know !!!"
The leader says.."When do we want it ?"
The group says..."Now !"
Repeat six times, then retire to a seedy bar to bathe in each other's reflected (if somewhat tarnished and unwashed) glory of the march and to praise each other for the brilliance of the action. The leader brings out a book on Marxist discourse and offers tee-shirts of Che for Fifty Bucks a pop. The group runs off to the closest ATM and withdraws some money from the credit card they were given for their birthday by their parents. Fearless leader pockets cash quickly and tells group that it is going to be donated to an orphanage in Cuba, bids his revolutionary farewell, gives the salute and slinks off to a strip joint.
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