If they try to tell you that there were no people out protesting the Republican National Convention here today in New York, don’t believe them.
I just returned from the march, which was moving like a vast human river down 7th Avenue. I am a veteran of many civil rights demonstrations, but nothing prepared me for today. I have never seen such a crowd in my life. Hundreds of thousands gathered for varied and different reasons, but the one goal was peace.
All different groups came together and intersected with each other. The parents from the Family Ties era, who had marched against Vietnam, were now holding up protest signs alongside a new generation of dissenters; the gay contingent, with their rainbow flags and boyfriends in tow and the feminists, drumming as they went which gave the afternoon a decidedly tribal atmosphere. I got stuck underneath a giant inflatable pig, which was cool and shady, a nice vantage point for the revolution. The mood was incredibly jovial, although it was hot and close.
I had worried that the weather would keep people away. “I know that they compromised the Constitution and destroyed democracy, but it is so humid!!!” Everyone made it despite the frizzy hair and the sweaty conditions.
There were police all over the street. More than were necessary, and more than I thought actually existed. I am sure they had a major recruitment rush before this week, because their uniforms were ill-fitting and too new, and they all had an awkward nervousness to them. Every once in a while, you would see a grey suited delegate speedily walking alongside on the other side of the barrier. Often, they would be hiding their badges with their hands as they almost ran back to the safety of Madison Square Garden.
There was a small group of delegates sitting near the entrance, watching the enormous crowd go past, with glum but semi-stunned looks on their faces, as if they were watching their empire crumble, which is exactly what was happening.
There were precious few cameras and no news vans at all, just a lone C- SPAN cameraman atop the marquee of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel and a couple of NYU film students working on their final projects for documentary class. But I was there, as were thousands upon thousands of others, marching for humanity.
Republicans would never turn up to march like this. There were a pathetic number of crackpots with their counter-protest signs, a couple of anti-abortionists and various other lunatics who do not understand what is going on. Of course the cameras magically appeared to document them, and their frivolous clashes with liberals who were fed up by the lack of media coverage and the unbearable heat.
Ultimately, the march was resoundingly peaceful, almost euphoric, mostly due to the incredible optimism people felt. We’d all expected this kind of turn out, but worried also that it might be too much to ask for. Equality and fairness are not too much to ask for, and neither is peace or democracy. However today felt less like a request and more like a demand. New Yorkers are demanding their city back, and in turn, Americans are demanding their nation back.
I hope the media are responsible enough to report the numbers honestly, but I am not sure they will. How would they know if they weren’t there?