Thursday, February 13, 2003

"There is a long history of marches in New York, including a silent antilynching march in 1917, marches to demand unemployment relief, a nuclear disarmament march in 1982 that drew as many as 700,000 people and a 1994 march and rally commemorating the Stonewall Inn incident that helped ignite the gay rights movement."
Not this time.
I expect that the rally will go on as scheduled, but I also expect that this ruling is only going to inflame those protestors who are inclined to be confrontational. The rally is expected to spill out onto first avenue, and I'd be willing to bet the street will end up shut down anyway. But I would also bet that there's going to be some civil disobedience this time, and the clash of angry protestors denied their permit to march with New York's finest, enjoined to keep the peace, will not be a pretty sight.
I can understand why people want to march. Let's not forget the mass arrests in DC last year.