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ARCHIVES
Reports from the Pro-Democracy
Protests
Held Saturday, November
11, 2000
(All this was acomplished with 2 days
of "email organizing" which started in a very small way on Nov. 8th.)
Albany, NY
Athens, GA
Atlanta, GA
Austin, TX
Bloomington, IN(new)
Boston, MA
Chicago, IL
Cincinatti, OH
Cleveland, OH
Columbus, OH
Dallas, TX
Eau Claire, WI
Eugene, OR
Fayetteville, AR
Fort Worth, TX
Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Gainesville, FL
Hartford, CT
Houston, TX
Kansas City, MO
Las Vegas, NV
Little Rock, AR
Los Angeles, CA
Madison,WI
Milwaukee, WI
Nashville, TN
New York, NY
Olympia, WA
Orlando, FL
Philadelphia, PA
Phoenix, AZ
Portland, ME
Portland, OR
Richmond,
VA
San Francisco, CA
Santa Barbara, CA
San Diego, CA
St. Paul, MN
Stanford/Palo Alto, CA
Tallahassee, FL
Washington, DC
Wilkes-Barre, PA
Albany,
NY
Small turnout, but we are a small city and it was raining ...non the less all
tv stations and newspapers were on hand and we will be on the NEWS TONIGHT! As
someone else said....we must focus on the issue that we are NON- Partisan, WE
ARE THE PEOPLE! AND we are here to demand that the people of Florida and their
votes are heard. We made it also clear..."We have only just begun, if necessary
we will continue for the next four years!!!! We are a grassroots effort ready to
plant a lawn!!! :-) We read the letter from Michael Moore and sang 'we shall
overcome'. Other folks in the crowd spoke and we all cheered. Had one enemy
calling his henchman on the phone. Something to be aware of next week when the
opposition will be trying to quiet us. We will be back next week with more!
Athens,
GA
1 Citizen - 1 Vote End the Electoral College Rally Saturday, November 18,
2000 1 PM - College Square Downtown Athens, Georgia Two hundred people attended
the 1 Citizen - 1 Vote/End the Electoral College Rally on Saturday, November 11
in downtown Athens, Georgia. At the beginning of the rally, the names and
protest sites of 100 participating cities throughout the nation were read to the
crowd. In the Southeast, there were rallies scheduled in Asheville, Chapel Hill,
Ft. Lauderdale, Gainesville (FL), Knoxville, Memphis, Miami, Raleigh, Richmond,
Tallahassee, and West Palm Beach. Numerous local citizens called for the
abolishment of the electoral college and the adoption of 1 Citizen - 1 Vote,
direct presidential vote. Email addresses were collected and everyone was urged
to mobilize people for the next Athens rally on Saturday, November 18 at 1 pm in
downtown Athens. For more information about the November 18th Athens, Georgia
rally, contact Michael Collins at (706) 613-7443 or email srimichael@a....
Atlanta,
GA
I only heard about the rally last night, so i scrambled to get it together
for today, and had to go alone.I brought signs reading: FAIR IS FAIR - FLORIDA
RUNOFF and ORGANIZE THE FLORIDA RUNOFF ELECTION and my favorite, AN ACCURATE
ELECTORATION ARE OUR RIGHTS!, which is, of course, translated into Bushspeak.
Look for 'em on CNN! Our gathering owes everything to an organized group of Gays
and Lesbians who were holding a conference in the area, and took time out of
their schedule of events to show their support. Will we do it again next week? I
hope so!!
Austin,
TX
Just got in from the austin rally which, as far as I know,
is still going on. We were met with lots of pro bush protesters but we stood
our ground and i think we made our point clear. the turn out was better than
i could have hoped for!!! Hope someone took pictures! There was a woman from
AP who asked us a few questions and stuff so i hope we get good coverage on
the national front. Ill scan tomorrow's paper if there is anything in there
see you next week!!
I arrived at the Governor's Mansion at about 12:30pm today. There were about
100 Bush supporters outside the Mansion rallying and chanting "Bush won twice,
Bush won twice..." I was amazed at how organized they were. Pumped and ready to
go I looked for the Pro- Democracy rally, meeting on the east side of the
Mansion. There were only about 6 of us. I started to get scared and
disappointed. The Bush rally came marching around the mansion. I thought to
myself "we'd better have a decent showing or it's going to look pathetic." My
fears were banished to the dungeon soon enough; by 1:30pm there were at least
150 people in the Pro-D rally. (What's true is that even if we'd only had 10
people we would have made a statement.) The 150 people that were there were
pumped and ready to go. There were ready made signs like "349 > 19,000:
That's fuzzy math." There was press galore. I was interviewed by a reporter from
the AP. All the major television stations were out there (probably left over
from the election). I saw a lot of people being interviewed. There were Nader
supporters, socialists, Gore supporters, even Republicans who supported the
process. The crowd had a great diversity of ages - families with children,
grandparents, lots of adults in their 40s and 50s. There was also a contingent
of Student Democrats from UT-Austin (at their first rally, they were so
excited). It was a great mix of people. I sensed that people were out because
they really cared and were really committed to having their voices heard. The
Bush rally came over to where we were standing and got in the middle of the
rally. It led to a few tense exchanges between people, but nothing significant
resulted. (What can I say, people are passionate). The state troopers were very
respectful and effective. It was a great show of authority without being
authoritarian. At about 2pm we marched (between 300-500) of us to the Capitol.
Voices were booming "what do we want? Democracy. When do we want it? Now!" Cars
honked (in support or disgust), families clapped or booed. It was quite the
scene. The Annual Texas Book Festival was happening on the Capitol grounds
today, so there were hundreds of onlookers. It was great. We rallied at the
Capitol, walked around it, waved our signs and were cheered on by people on the
grounds. When we came back around we shouted to whomever was looking (a couple
hundred people and cameras etc.) The Bush folks eventually showed up and there
was a tete-a- tete in front of the Capitol bldg. The Bush folks on one side and
the Pro-D folks on the other side. I've heard from two different people that
there was good news coverage. That's my version of the rally in austin. I was
proud to be an American today. Way to go Austin, way to wake up America!
Bloomington, IN
The Bloomington rally began at one p.m. at the corner of College
and
Seventh street, at the Criminal Justice Building, near the
courthouse
square.
Bloomington is in very conservative, very Republican
Indiana, and
yesterday was a home football game, but we did get a good and
enthusiastic
crowd. Reporters and photographers from local newspapers were
there.
Signs included: "Gore Got More," "'Oops!' Founding Fathers," "Palm
Beach
Re-Vote Now!" "Gore Won," "Bush only cares about the Rules when his
ox
gets Gored," and "We Told You So, The Green Party."
The crowd was
multi-cultural, with attendees from three continents, and
multi-party, with
self described Greens, Democrats, and Republicans.
There were youths in their
teens, and gray haired elders, and an equal mix
of males and females.
Several people spoke, some spontaneously, one man with a
carefully
researched text on the folly of the electoral college. A
counter
demonstrator with a bull horn spoke, and he was received with
politeness.
I spoke about the illegal ballot in Palm Beach County, the Bush
campaign's
drive to disenfranchise c. 30,000 voters, and the need for a
re-vote. I
also denounced the Republican's stooping to fascist tactics, that
is,
their insistence that America is plunging into chaos, and that
their
strong hand of discipline was necessary, in spite of the will of
the
people.
I pointed out that America has a president -- Bill Clinton --
and that
America was not plunging into chaos, and that our demo was orderly
and
responsible.
A group of young white males in an SUV driving past
shouted
unprintable obscenities, followed by the phrase, "Bush Cheney!" That
was
the only negative feedback from passersby. Other drivers honked
their
horns and gave the "Thumbs up!" sign.
Our demonstration lasted one
hour.
It was agreed upon that we would meet again in a week's time.
Danusha Goska
Boston,
MA
Oh my God! There were about 400 (maybe more) people out front of the State
House. My friend took pictures and is developing them now, I'll send them in
once we scan them. All three major local news stations were there. This really
made a statement. People had printed out and blown up the fliers that have been
posted on the list, and had home made signs. We coincided nicely with a veterans
day parade. They had a sound system set up playing patriotic music in the
background as we chanted pro-democracy slogans. Amazing that everyone could pull
this together in 2 days!!!! GO WEST COAST!!! GO MIDWEST!!! Can't wait to hear
more reports! --Thrilled in Boston
I'll write a full Boston report later, including our hour-long march through
the streets, with a police car protecting us and cars honking in support. Some
parallels to this wonderful story from NY happened in Boston: We didn't realize
that there was a veteran's parade scheduled in the same place at the same time.
At first, the head veteran was furious, saying that we were disrespecting what
he fought for, but we emphasized that we were fighting for what he fought for -
making sure every vote counts. Once we convinced him, the police were with us.
What we did was to respectfully pay attention to the veterans' rally, and then
someone had a brilliant idea: We started chanting "THANK YOU VETS". and we wrote
"Thank You Vets" on the back of our signs. So we'd chant that, then "hey, hey,
ho, ho, this fuzzy math has got to go" or "What do we want? Democracy! When do
we want it? Now!" or "Our voting rights are under attack! What will we do? Act
now; fight back!" (all those cheers thanks to Shauna Shames) The veterans were
smiling at us and ended up really liking us. Some anti-establishment protestors
came and tried to saw a wooden american flag in half, but we grabbed the saw,
and a police officer came and dragged their wooden flag away. It was clear that
the veterans appreciated that too. We drowned out the anti-military protests
with "Count All the Votes" protests, so they were very grateful. And we tripled
turnout at the Veterans' Parade by our being there. (After the parade, we had
speakers and then marched on sidewalks for an hour, but I'll report on that
later.)
Chicago, IL
I'm going to guess that the number eventually grew to about 200 in Chicago.
Can anyone else who was there give a better estimate? (My count probably might
have been too quick, and could be wrong.) I do know that the gathering grew
quite a bit as it went along. It started with roughly 30-40 people chanting and
giving invididual (and improvised) speeeches. Nice range of age groups among all
of us there. Eventually we left Daley Plaza and marched east to Michigan Avenue,
chanting the whole way and picking up a number of thumbs-up and cheers and honks
from passerby. We marched south on Michigan, then eventually headed westward
back to Daley Plaza. The police were on the periphery of the crowd at first in
the plaza. As we marched, they helped direct traffic. Police presence was
helpful and at the same time not overbearing. The police did a fine job. It was
nice to know, for instance, that an officer was helping us cross the street at
one point while we chanted "This is what democracy looks like!" Yes, it was what
democracy looks like. Same time next week: Sat. Nov. 18, at Daley Plaza.
I'd say a hundred or so people were there. (Anyone else with an estimate?)
There were identifiable Nader and Gore folks there; didn't see any Bushies.
Police were friendly--heck, we were echoing the message of the Mayor's brother,
so they should be. Lots of signs and chants. Some partisan good Gore, bad Bush
signs, but nothing big. Major television stations showed up--Fox, 2, 7, 9, etc.
I did two on-camera interviews (channels 2 and 9) emphasizing that all I cared
about was a full, free and accurate count to determine the legitimate winner.
"Whoever wins, I accept him as my President." (Don't worry, I didn't introduce
distractions like the Electoral College, Bush, Gore, etc.) I'm not used to the
press, I was very nervous. I hope I don't get any hate calls from Bushies. My
friend and I peeled off before the gathering started to march, because we were
freezing and hungry.
Cincinatti,
OH
From trustthepeople rally at Cincinnati City Hall Saturday, November 11, 2000
1 PM About 50 people attended the rally in the course of about 90 minutes.
Because everybody learned about the rally over the Internet and by E-mail, few
of the people who showed up knew each other -- except for the people that they
came with. It made the event lots of fun, with people introducing themselves and
chatting about their view of the election. Gradually, we began to chant "One
Person, One Vote," "Revote Now," "Count the Votes, Count ALL the Votes," "Every
Vote Counts" and other chants that we created along the way. One person,
Elizabeth, brought a black magic market and perhaps 10 pices of white poster
boar. We created our own banners. The site of the demonstration -- Cincinnati
City Hall -- was perhaps not the best site for the demo, because it is located
5-6 blocks from the center of action downtown on Saturdays. That center is
Fountain Square. However, by gathering at City Hall, we didn't have to worry
about getting a permit to demonstrate, and the echo that our chants created off
the beautiful brownstone walls of City Hall made us sound even more boisterous
than we were. Across the street, the downtown Jewish temple drew a crowd for a
regular service, and a few people came across the street to extend their
support. Many drivers honked their horns in approval. Considering that
Cincinnati is one of the big national centers of GOP votes and fund-raising, the
number of folks who drove by expressing support of the Bush coup was surpringly
few. To gather media coverage, we called two TV stations and the daily newspaper
that publishes on Sunday -- the Cincinnati Enquirer. One of the demonstrators
called them on his celphone. So, as he spoke to them, we gathered near him to
chant, making the size of the demonstration sound massive coming over the phone.
After that sales job, it was amazing how fast they showed up -- in minutes! I
was interviewed by one station, and it will be broadcast tonight. _________ For
next week, we agreed to gather at the same time and place. Fortunately, there is
really big demo planned next week at Fountain Square -- 6-8 blocks away -- by
the "Transatlantic Business Dialog (TBD)." This group, a big-business
organization meeting in Cincinnati to push globalization, will be protested by
probably several hundred people locally and from around the region. We plan to
produce a leaflet to distribute to those protesters, informing them about our 1
PM rally. Hopefully we can pull a few hunred of them over to our rally one hour
later.
Cleveland,
OH
Cleveland: Small but Rowdy! Well we made it: We had drums and signs and a
bullhorn and lots of screaming, dancing, and chanting. There was a strong core
of students and about 15-20 other Cleveland folks there to help out. We only had
about 40 total, but I think we got a strong, non-partisan message across: That
we the people will not stand for a fraudulent election and that there should be
nationwide respect for the popular vote. "Ain't know power like the power of the
people, cause the power of the people don't stop (rise up!) !!" If we're gonna
make next weekend work we're gonna have to have much more Cleveland networking
,so people get excited! Get involved! Lets make this thing work. Local media was
there, taping and interviewing, as well 4 men in business suits holding cell
phones and Bush/Cheney signs that said "If you can read this you're a
republican." oh yah, good point. good work around the country everyone: Lets
keep our focus grounded and effective. Don't get discouraged! True change takes
energy like we wouldn't believe..
Columbus,
OH
With NO traditional organizing of any sort, turnout
was 85 - 100 people. Very spirited, good reaction from passersby. Only the daily
newspaper and one of three TV stations showed; ABC local showed up after the
demo had ended at 2 pm -- they had responded not to the national story carried
on ABC.com but to a local phone call, and whoever called them said the demo
would go on for "several hours". We took email addresses and will start a local
listserv.
There were about 100 people in Columbus, Ohio (112 was the highest count of
the afternoon; the press insisted to me they counted only 75). We had media out
there (print and tv) and a diverse, articulate and energetic crowd, all of whom
had heard about the rally only yesterday. I am so proud of my city and my
country right now. Send on reports from every city as soon as you can: we need
to feel the energy on a national level. We here in Columbus are ready for
whatever comes next, and I am certain we can bring out 300-400 next week. Trust
the People, Count the Votes!
We probably only had about 75 to 100 people, but we were on the sidewalk in
front of the State Capital building. Most of us had signs and we were chanting
loudly. Many cars that passed honked in support. We had the local CBS affiliate
taking pictures and interviewing a few of the protesters. I think that if we do
this again next Saturday, I can help to generate more publicity and to get more
people prepared to show up. Some of the signs people made up were great--a lot
about fuzzy math and "Bush is not presidentialable". All in all, there were good
feelings in spite of the disappointment about the low turnout, hundreds and
hundreds of cars and busses drove by--this is one of the busiest streets in
Columbus, so we were certainly seen!
Dallas,
TX
about75 people versus close to 30 for bush.a great rally.we sang we chanted
we froze our tails off.towards the end we might have strayed a little from our
mission...became partisan.but all in all a great event,local
media(abc,nbc,wb)varius print media.be interesting to see our belo spins
this.
THANKS TO ALL THAT SHOWED UP IN DALLAS. REMEMBER...NEXT WEEK SAME TIME SAME
PLACE. THROUGHOUT THE DAY OVER 200 PEOPLE SHOWED UP...WE WERE IN DIRECT
COMPETITION WITH THE BUSH WACKERS. BEST SIGN: "HAIL TO THE THIEF". THANKS TO ALL
PARTIES THAT SHOWED...IT WASN'T JUST THE GORE SUPPORTERS THAT ASSISTED
US.....REMEMBER....WE ARE THE PEOPLE...AND THE PEOPLE HAVE SPOKEN
Read more on the Dallas site
http://www.oocities.org/countercoupdallas
Eau Claire,
WI
We did ok, but not much people knew about it in Eau Claire. We did get the 2
local televison stations there though. We also had a lot of positive thumbs up
by passerby's!! 5 people wasn't enough we need help Eau Claire. Where are you
democrat's? We are ready to protest again next Sat. See you all then...
Eugene, OR
I did not see an update for Eugene, Oregon. I am hoping someone will help me
get it posted right. Here it is: About 30 people met in front of the Eugene City
Hall. Many people honked and showed a "thumbs up" to our group. We had signs and
someone made some flyers to hand out to passerbys. We then walked to the Eugene
Saturday Market and stood in front of the "Free Speech" Plaza and sang "This
Land is your Land" by Woody Guthrie. We plan to meet next Saturday in front of
the Eugene City Hall and walk to the market again. Please join us if you can.
Bring big signs so people in cars can see them. We will meet next Saturday,
November 18th at 1 PM
Fayetteville, AR
success! for such short notice, the fayetteville demonstration was a great
success. best of all, though, we received wonderful media coverage. but the best
is yet to come!! with a week to plan and promote, next saturday will rock NW
arkansas!
We had almost 40 people show up in a small town of 40,000. It was a good turn
out for one days notice and cold weather. Most of the local media was there and
covered the event. Non-partisanship was expressed from the begining and the
rally was started with a moment of silence for the veterans. I made a speach
promoting voter reform on all levels of government and strongly encouraged
people not to let go of this issue. We have to strike while the iron is hot. We
are GO GO GO for next week and hope for a much larger turnout. Contact
docthanatos@y... for more info and location site has been updated. Apathy is
dead, long live the people.
Fort Worth,
TX
Given only 24 hours notice, we had a great showing. The rain waited until
after 2! We were filmed and interviewed by two network stations and the Dallas
Morning News. We had lots of supportive comments from passers-by. It was great
fun and we got our message out to many!
Read more details at http://www.kenkuhl.com/trustthepeople/
Ft.
Lauderdale, FL
I was one of only about a dozen people who turned out today Saturday the
11th. This, I believe was only due to the sight not being specific. There are
several "Court Houses". We ended up at the Federal Court House on Broward Blvd.
and will be there tomorrow at 1:00 again. Although our turn out was low, we did
have good coverage, i.e., NPR, Channel 7 local news, The Miami Herald sent a
reporter as well as a political reporter from Chicago. Please post this sight
for tomorrow.
Gainesville, FL
The rally was small--there were only about 30 of us. We had all seen the
rally on trustthepeople.com and just decided to come out. One woman came up from
Ocala, a 40 minute drive, just to be a part of it. We lined University Ave.,
holding signs and waving to the passersby who were all enroute to the UFL
football game. Barbara Howe called the local media and they came and filmed the
rally. We got in some good sound bytes. There were those who wanted it to be
non-partisan and those who were for Gore. There were no Bush supporters present.
But we all agreed on one thing--and that was that the process in Florida is
flawed and there must be a remedy if the will of the people is to prevail. We
agreed to get better organized and meet again at NW 13th and University Ave. on
Tuesday, Nov. 14th at 5:00 pm.
Hartford, CT
I'm writing to let everyone know how the Re-Vote Protest held 11/11
at
the State Capitol Building in Hartford, CT went.
Saturday was a cold, raw, rainy day in CT. There were not many of us;
perhaps 25 to 30 (not counting dogs, LOL), but we were all ages and
all
colors! A Veterans Day Rally was held just before ours, and so
there were a
few people left over from that, as well. We stood
around, holding up our
signs, talking quietly about the situation.
A Capitol Police Officer showed up and wanted to know if we were at
the
Capitol for the re-vote protest he had read about on the
Internet; he also
asked who was in charge. We told him that no one
knew who was in charge;
that all of us read about it on a web site
and had simply showed up, just
like he did! He started laughing, but
hastened to assure us that he wasn't
laughing AT us. He actually
praised us, saying that it was a decent sized
gathering, considering
there were no area organizers and we had had only two
days to find
out about it. He asked about the protest for next Saturday, the
18th,
and suggested that someone call the Capitol Police to let them know
about it ahead of time. He was really very nice, and as it turned
out,
it was fortunate he stayed. Eventually, the media arrived and
spoke to
almost everyone in our small crowd. There was one TV camera
(the local NBC
affiliate) and three print reporters (The Hartford
Courant and 2 other local
newspapers).
Suddenly, a huge angry male, carrying a 8 foot flag pole which was
flying
the Marine Corps flag, charged into our midst, yelling very
loudly about the
"death of democracy" because of people like us and
because of Al Gore, who,
he said, "is trying to steal this election."
He was very menacing. Even so,
some people tried to discuss the issue
with him, telling him that it was not
a partisan issue -- that the
voting rights of Republican, Independent and
Third Party voters could
also have been violated, as well as the rights of
Democrats; the man
was not impressed by this logical argument and continued
to shout at
the top of his lungs about the subversion of true democracy by
Socialists and Communists. I noticed that the Police Officer was
slowly
inching closer and closer. One of the women who was attempting
to talk to
the man reached out and touched him on the arm. This
pushed him over the
edge, apparently, and he went berserk! "DON'T YOU
TOUCH ME! I'LL HAVE YOU
ARRESTED!" He pushed her away, and she almost
fell over backwards.
Fortunately, the cop was right there. He jumped
in between them, pushing the
man back with his baton, until he was at
a respectful distance. All the
while, the cop talked quietly to the
man, in an apparently successful
attempt to calm him down.
After that it was fairly anticlimactic. We discussed the situation
for a
while longer and finally vowed to meet next Saturday if the
situation is not
reconciled by then.
Have a great week! Long live our wonderful Country!
Houston,
TX
For short notice, we had a GREAT turnout in Houston! Approximately 60 people
rallied in a Downtown Houston Park in support of the of Florida's Election
re-count and re-vote. Channel 2 (NBC) and Channel 13 (ABC), as well as the local
newspaper, the Houston Chronicle, interviewed several protesters. Several
attendees spoke to the crowd. The rally and march lasted for about one hour,
before regrouping to formulate plans for next week's protest.
With such a short lead time we were thrilled with the turnout of 60. And this
was even with a last minute site change! Several speakers took their turn at the
bullhorn, one a medical student who hailed from Tampa and saw us while driving
from the medical center. Dr. De La Rosa let us know that Florida Latinos do not
support Bush enmasse and that rallies like this are what democracy is all about.
We Texans have been disheartened with our leadership for some time, but the
energy in this group was exciting! It was not the same group of activists that
we see at every meeting. This issue has people up in arms.
Kansas
City, MO
The protest in Kansas City, MO was modest-sized, about 40, I'd estimate.
(Weather was cold and cloudy.) Only real problem was that almost no one was
around to see us! (Though just about everyone who drove by waved and seemed to
approve.) Two television stations had cameras out there for a while, but the
newspaper didn't show. The talk afterwards was that we would go for a different
location next week (the Plaza). One of the people there said he plans to talk to
some of the unions, as part of an effort to get more people out next weekend.
Las Vegas,
NV
We rallied today in Las Vegas in front of the Federal Bldg... only about 12
of us showed up, but we got on the evening news... three TV stations came
out...no newspapers, but we got our point across... a lot of cars showed support
(with some notable exceptions, most notably the van that veered off the road
toward us shouting, "Scum!")... anyone interested in organizing in Las Vegas
contact me at colette@l... Bush is NOT the president! He has LOST the
election!!! Period!
Little
Rock, AR
Things started off slow with about four people. However, in all, about 12
people showed up. We were out there for about two hours. Many people passing by
expressed their support. We had reporters from a newspaper (Arkansas
Democrat-Gazette) and television station (Channel 11) there, we're supposed to
be shown twice this evening on the news. Not bad. Thanks again to everyone who
showed up!
Loisville,
KY
http://www.indymedia.org/display.php3?article_id=9178
There was a gathering today in Louisville of citizens concerned with fair
democracy in America. About 20 Kentucky citizen's met at 1 pm on the steps of
the city courthouse and discussed the situation facing our country and the
problems with a fair and representational vote in the presidential election. One
person drove down from Lexington. Annoucements for the meeting were faxed to the
various local TV stations and newspapers, but none responded. We marched up 6th
street to the front doors of the Courier-Journal newspaper, but the doors were
locked. So we stood at the corner of 6th and broadway - several passing cars
honked their horns in support. One driver flipped us the bird. I talked to a man
waiting for the bus - we discussed global economics - he expressed his full
support for our gathering, and predicted an economic civil war if Bush becomes
president. Another gathering has been set up for the same location next Saturday
on November 18th.
Los
Angeles, CA
LA rocks! There were at least 1,500 people at the
Federal Bldg. at 11000 Wilshire when I left at 3 p.m. All four corners of this
busy intersection in Westwood were packed and the crosswalks full every time
the lights changed. Lots of sign-making materials on hand - tons of signs and
enthusiasm! Huge response in favor from passing cars! Honking, thumbs-up, shouts
- lots of excitement! An impromptu percussion band played on the NW corner.
Many, many camcorders and cameras on hand recording it all. I saw the local
ABC affiliate and lots of press photographers. Fantastic!
Just came back from Westwood and WOOOEEEE! People's estimations here so far
have been right on -- I'd say close to 2000 people circulated the four corners
of the block over the course of the afternoon -- the LA Times, ABC, and a couple
of other news outlets showed up (look for LA Times photographer/journalist named
Paul Morris, who interviewed and photographed me and my friends). People are
energetic, cars honked, we were not obnoxious, people cheered and listened, and
most I've spoken to are gung ho about next Saturday, and EVERY subsequent
Saturday till Democracy is served. Those in LA, we should coordinate to hook up
next time, I'd love to meet you. Can't wait to see the news tonight, and the
paper tomorrow!
http://www.2wist.com/rally/ Over 50
Pics from todays rally in Los Angeles. Stop by and take a look.
Madison,
WI
We did it! Andy and I (that's right, just two of us to rally the whole city)
managed to do enough so that over 200 people came out, most with less than 24
hour notice! There were home-made signs, chants of "one person, one vote," and
we had six speakers (including the former Mayor Paul Soglin) and the crowd was
terrific. Tons of children, tons of flags, appropriate respect for veterans
day... There was a counter protest by some Bush-Cheney folks - they held their
own protest at 12pm on the opposite side of the capitol building, then marched
around to where our protest was being held. We outnumbered them at least 10 to
1, I'd guess. ;) We made a "let's agree to disagree, respectfully" pact, which
they broke by being loud, rowdy, and causing a few (physical) fights. (I didn't
actually see these, but I saw the cameras running to capture it on film). The
media was there in full effect - it was terrific. We've got names and numbers
and plan to hold another rally next Saturday! Cheers, everyone! The voice of the
people WAS heard!
Wow. Incredible. We only really announced this rally less than 24 hours
before it began and we had over 500 people. I was very heartened by the
response. We had the American flag there, Lis Harvey led the national anthem,
and invoked Veteran's Day. It helped that we recruited Ed Garvey, a Wisconsin
progressive firebrand; a local labor leader (calling unions is a great idea); an
environmental leader (local representative of the Sierra Club); a former Mayor
(Paul Soglin), two County Supervisors (I'm one, the other is Green Party); a
citizen Independent and his little daughter who called for due processes, and
hundreds of citizens. (In case anyone's wondering, I'm a Democrat, a Progressive
Democrat and party activist). The GOP responded with their own (small) rally. We
did not interfere with their rally, which started an hour earlier than ours.
They marched over and interfered with ours. I reminded them that we had not
disrupted them, and asked them to respect our rally. Asked that we disagree
respectfully. They agreed to that and didn't really follow it, because every
time someone argued with them, they started yelling. Toward the end, one of our
folks jostled someone, who said he was bonked over the head with a sign, and he
punched the other guy, got hauled off in cuffs, blah, blah.... Bummer. THESE
RALLIES MUST REMAIN PEACEFUL. Let's disagree respectfully. We had several
televisions stations, reporters, etc... It was a blast and felt great. The
response from folks was positive and spirited. It's good to read from the list
of cities. It becomes like a rising chant and is good for cheers. Special thanks
to Lis Harvey. We met through CounterCoup, and I'm glad we did. And 36 hours
before, we didn't know this was happening!
We had several hundred people, the media, and Bush protestors who shouted at
us during the rally. Former Mayor of Madison, Mr. Soglin spoke as did Ed Garvey,
attorney, (led the Jerry Brown delegation in 1992, defeated for Governor in
1998) spoke to the crowd as did an impressive law student who present the legal
issues in the Palm Beach County ballot issue. Can you believe it?! Bush doesn't
even wait for the absentee ballots to be counted before calling his wife, the
first lady, and himself the President-Elect. Surreal. It goes to show you, his
handlers will not be able to control him. AND HIS FINGER IS ON THE NUCLEAR
BUTTON!v
Milwaukee,
WI
Hi, We had a decent sized turnout for such short notice and some political
apathy issues in Miwlaukee. I'd say about 50 people came out, and thanks to
Arlene's help, we had a representative speak to us. The amp and mic I brought
didn't work because the power at the park wasn't on, but everyone was heard
easily. We had a Free Republic guy show up who was pretty extremist in views.
There were a few Bush Cheney people there, one of whom left after demanding a
1996 vote recount, to which a crowd member replied, "How are we going to do
that? With a Time Machine?" The heckler left shortly thereafter. The other Bush
Cheney people stayed, as we tried hard to maintain a non-partisan platform of
letting democracy run its course, and let the people decide who the next
president would be. The state rep was more partisan, but hey, she was gracious
enough to speak on short notice, and she is a Democrat. Aside from some
squabbling between a Nader supporter, a Gore supporter and the Free Rep guy, it
went well. The press was in full force, and I spoke with the Journal Sentinel,
CBS 58, and WTMJ4. All in all, with no organization, and short notice, it went
well. We hope to have more speakers next week and I plan on making up some
fliers, etc. Great thanks to everyone's support, and especially Arlene for
polishing up my very grassroots, spontaneous efforts to help make the rally
happen. And to that mysterious person who intially posted Milwaukee as a rally
site-- Where are you? Power to the people,
Nashville,
TN
Our protest at the Legislative Plaza lasted for about an hour and a half with
a total turnout of perhaps 35-45 people over the whole time. Perhaps a dozen or
more people spoke over the small PA system we had set up. We had at least 3
local TV stations and a Vanderbilt University newspaper reporter there. In
addition, we had some Republican counter-protesters there, who refused to talk
to the crowd but made sure to talk to the cameras. We hope to have a much larger
turnout next Saturday.
New York,
NY
NEW YORK CITY REPORT: HUGE TURNOUT!
Hey -- I just got back from the demonstration -- it was AMAZING! I was
interviewed by a local cable station that's news only -- called "NY ONE" I hope
it airs! > We drew a couple of thousand people to Times Square. At first
there was NO police presence, and then they all started showing up. It was so
cool, because all they did was direct traffic. They were very respectful to the
demonstrators -- friendly, etc. We took up the big "wedge" of concrete right in
the middle of times square under the windows of MTV and ABC news! There were
cameras there from every network and newspapers as well! > There was no
"leader" to this demonstration -- no political party was running it -- there
were socialists there, Nader supporters, Gore supporters and believe it or not a
few people that voted for BUSH! One guy kind of became the leader and led the
chants -- and he announced to the crowd that he voted for Nader, and that he
wasn't there for GORE or BUSH, he was there for the American people. It was very
moving! > People had signs that said "People of Florida -- we will fight for
you! We want your voice to be heard!" The point of this demonstration was
re-vote -- not a Bush bashing. Of course, some people did stupid chants for
Gore, but the rest of us quickly hushed them. There was a bullhorn, and one girl
got up and start spouting out some rhetoric trying to publicize the socialist
party, and everyone booed her off -- it wasn't ABOUT that -- it was about THE
PEOPLE. BY the people FOR the people! It was very moving and I feel like I did
something that mattered today! > The COPS were so cool and amazing! I really
wanted to get this one cop's badge number that was in charge so send him a
commendation. He was so cool. he went to the leader guy and told him he could
not use a bullhorn as it was illegal. The leader was very cool and they had a
very civil and quiet conversation. He asked them if they would arrest him if he
continued to use it? And they said that they would have to or they could get in
trouble. The leader said something like "I totally understand -- I support you
in your job," and they gently carried him to the van. It really started a frenzy
of newspaper reporters and camera people -- it was the best thing to happen to
our cause. Many passersby joined in and chanted "let him go!" and "Freedom of
Assembly, Freedom of speach!" and stuff like that! > About a half hour later
the cops let another demonstrator use HIS bullhorn, to thank people for coming
and to tell them that they had really made a difference today. The demonstrator
also publicized the future demonstrations (Monday at the Federal building in
Manhattan at Noon and again next Saturday in Times Square at 1:00 PM). The
demonstrator also asked the people to peacefully disband, and told them which
way to exit Times Square. Which we all did. As we were leaving the COP got on
the bullhorn and THANKED everyone for coming -- and then the COP began to
publicize the sites of the future demonstrations! It was so amazing -- I got a
little choked up on that one! > There was no violence, everyone was smiling
and happy -- passersby on the open double-decker busses > were cheering --
city taxi drivers and bus drivers honked their support. The cops were cool and
it was a very non-partisan event. For the people, by the people! > > I
feel good! > Kindest regards,
Saturday 11/11 at 6:40pm The Times Square protest seemed very successful. My
estimation is that there were 300-400 people. Major News media was there from
the Associated Press, Village Voice, and local news stations. At one point there
was a message on one of the big TV screens about the protest, which people
cheered to. Gore supporters, Nader supporters, and bewildered tourists joined
in. The police seemed pretty friendly, however the main speaker (the guy in the
red sweater) was eventually hauled off by the Police around 2:15. Before getting
hauled off (was he arrested? is he out now?), he had the crowd chanting as well
as involved in call and response. ALL VERY IMPRESSIVE! The event lasted from a
little bit before 1pm through about 3:15. I personally collected a couple of
hundred names, and people from a variety of causes turned out (including some
people with strange banners that had little to do with Trust The People. There
will be another protest on Monday!. The Trust the People website fails to
mention that it's on Monday.... Here's the info: Monday November 13 12:00 Noon
Federal Building 26 Federal Plaza (Broadway and Worth St). for more info, go to
Joe's website later tonite: http://maytriks.com/democracy
Oakland,
CA
To the trustthepeople organizers: Thanks for doing this. Here is a summary
report from Oakland, CA: NOTE: The address given at oocities.com/countercoup is
wrong and confusing! The name is Frank Ogawa Plaza (not Osagawa) but it's not on
any map: It's best to say City Hall at Market and 14th. Peak attendance: 140-150
Democrats, Naderites, Socialists, other activists; very few passers-by (the
place is normally deserted on a Saturday); old and young alike, some children
Dozens of signs, some attacking Bush No police presence Democrat party
organizers passing around email address sheets to notify people of further
events Many short speeches (through a bullhorn) by whoever wanted to speak; many
cogent points I had to leave around 2pm; the meeting was still going on, but
petering out
Olympia, WA
At 1 pm about 125 community members in the city of Olympia, Washington
gathered at Trivoli Fountain on the Capitol Campus to protest the illegitmacy of
the elections. For about an hour, a haphazard street meeting / town hall
discussion ensued in which anarchists, democrats, socialists, and the
non-politically aligned publicly discussed the elections process and got to know
each other.
The diverse crowd of middle aged, infants, elderly and young
brought up harrasment of black voters in Florida, the occupation of the Florida
State Capitol Building by black students, corporate domination of the political
process and called into question the validity of the Electoral College system.
One good speaker riled the crowd up with a call for Olympia to secede from the
United States and to constitute itself the Olympia Free State.
At around 2
pm, a group of about 40 protestors marched into the Washington State Capitol
Building and occupied the third floor, hanging an upside down American flag over
the banister, chanting and drumming. Protestors were warned that State Troopers
were coming to arrest them for displaying the flag upside down - a military
symbol that means "state of distress".
By 2:30, the protest reconvened to
march downtown with about 30 people, taking over the streets. Chants heard
included: "Anarchists for Bush and Gore" "Rock the Vote, Mock the Vote" and "If
I Cant Have a Revolution Why Would I Want to Dance". Protestors marched up 4th
Avenue through downtown and up State street to the Gannettt Olympian newspaper
where an upside down American flag was attached to the front window.
By 3
PM, one lone protestor decided to lay down in the street and refused to move
when police approached and arrested him. Shortly afterwards another was picked
off and arrrested for walking on top of parked cars and trucks. The crowd
decided to proceed to the police station to support the arrested but when they
went to go in the station another was arrested for "blocking traffic", something
everyone had been doing before.
Orlando, FL
The Orlando Protest at Lake Eola was pretty successful. We had between
50
and 75 protestors. We had age ranges of 18 to ~80. Some were
non-partisan,
many were Gore-Lieberman supporters, a few Nadar probably, and
even some
with Vampires Vote signs. One lady translated some of the points in
Spanish.
We had channel 2, 6, 9, and 13. We saw the most coverage on Channel
13 - a
blurb every hour! and channel 9.
There were quite a few personal interviews which made it on TV.
Certain
stations paid more attention to our group like Channel 13, while
some
stations paid attention to the 5 or 6 Bush supporters.
In the beginning a few Bush supporters showed, left over from the
Veterans
parade. They rudely shouted degrading remarks about Democrats
intelligence.
We offered them the microphone in front of the media but the
ended up going
home. One adult even sent their child to try to steal and
deface some of
signs. But by the time some media arrived, the Bush supporters
were gone and
those reporters said that no Bush supporters showed. ; )
We have all exchanged email. We will be meeting at Lake Eola in Orlando
next
Saturday 11/18 @ 1:00. We did not have a co-ordinator, and
this
confused/concerned/upset the media a bit. It looks like they will have
to
get used to it.
There was also a successful protest in Deland Florida on 11/11 near
the
Courthouse. It was covered nicely by the media, television and print.
I
live in DeLand but traveled to Orlando because I was unaware of the
DeLand
protest. Volusia County is another county where they are having a lot
of
tampering and recounting problems.
Heather Perry
bphp@g...
I have been given some of the co-ordination
responsibilities but I would be
really happy to share them.
Philadelphia, PA
I went to the Philadelphia protest, and was pleasantly surprised by the
largish crowd there - we had probably between 60 and 100 people there, with no
traditional organizing and no apparent leader. I was unpleasantly surprised,
however, by the extremem partisan bias of the protestors. More than half of the
signs there were Gore-Lieberman campaign signs. This is damaging to the
movement; people have already mentioned that if we hold Gore signs, we look like
sore losers. If we hold signs urging a fair recount/revote/abolition of the
electoral college, we'll look like concerned citizens. On the positive side, the
protest seemed to be going well, and we got good coverage. I'm worried, though,
that the media will call us "democrats," or "Gore supporters." It's really
important that we portray this as an issue of fairness and democracy, not as a
partisan issue.
Phoenix,
AZ
Actual count of 42 poeple showed up, Wobblies, Democrats, Greens,
Earthfirst!ers and anarchists. The Earthfirsters and anarchists actually cut
short a camping trip to show solidarity!! About ten Republicans were there at
patriots park for a counter- demo; two of them were wearing guns!! We were not
intimidated by them and shouted them down. Local channels 3, 10 and 15 were
there. Good speakers, chants and signs. Thanks to all who came out( 'cept the
gun-totin' Republicans), and see you all next Saturday at 1 pm.
Pittsburgh,
PA
It was great. About 50 people showed up (I know most of the regular activists
here, but this was all new folks -- I only knew 3 other people in the crowd!),
many of them Nader supporters. They took their Nader signs, turned them over,
and make them pro-democracy signs. Lots of spirit, chanting. Folks talked to the
media, comparing the US to the Balkans, and that we need to stand up for freedom
and democracy. Chants: Hey, hey, ho, ho, election fraud has got to go. Count
*all* the votes! Cool signs -- SloboGeorge MilosoBush; Why are the Bush Brothers
Afraid of an Honest Count? Honk for democracy. (Many, many did) There was one
anti there. His sign -- Clinton's Legacy to Gore: Hand job = hand count. He was
a total idiot, although the media interviewed him, of course. Local affiliates
of ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox all covered.
Portland,
ME
Hi, I found out about all this on the internet yesterday. I see no one has
reported from Portland, Maine, yet, so I will. We had a good little group of
somewhere between 20 and 25 people. At first there was a cluster of Democrats
and a cluster of Greens. But we determined that everyone was friendly and all
there for the same purpose - a fair election - so we joined forces and had a
good showing chanting slogans and marching with our signs (the greens had a big
banner, as well). We got more beeps of support than jeers, and some of the beeps
were very enthusiastic. The only press who showed up was one newspaper crew and
unfortuneatly about half our people didn't come until after the reporters left.
A TV crew drove by but did not stop (the TV headquarters were right down the
street - so they could have been going anywhere).
Portland, OR
Rally lasted about two hours. Confirmed local TV coverage by at least 3
stations. Initial assertion in early minutes by the single police officer
present at the start (hereafter referred to as the Lone Ranger) that we would
have to break it up due to lack of permit to be in Pioneer Courthouse Square
(brief participant discussion ensued over whether to pretend to be a massive
hackysack game, since that appears to be permitted all the time in the Square).
Didn't amount to any action, even after four other officers arrived later on.
Local news estimates of attendance ranged from "a few dozen" to "a couple
hundred". Rally was presided over by one man (hereafter referred to as
Mysterious Leader) who took the initiative to do so, who apparently had sent out
his own email asking people to come to the Square today, before he discovered
Portland was holding its own event for the nationwide countercoup.org effort.
Whoever this man was, he handled his self-appointed position fairly and sternly,
more than once insisting that everyone be allowed to speak if they wished
(included in this is his defusing of a potentially disastrous and wholly
unwarranted situation when a protester grabbed a Bush/Cheney sign away from a
Republican). Volunteer speakers from the crowd took turns for awhile, attended
by the contingent of local news cameras. Speeches ranged in topic from demands
for full recounts, to demands for a revote, to debate over the Electoral
College, with occassional veerings off into various pet peeves not immediately
relevant to the issue at hand. Speakers ranged from Democrats to Republicans to
independents to Greens, and probably others. Mysterious Leader led us on a brief
single-circuit march around the Square (without interference from the now
Not-So-Lone Ranger and his four compatriots), after which we moved to the side
of the Square and continued with the volunteer speaking, this time with the help
of a bullhorn (which was another point of contention on the part of the police
present, until someone apparently referred them to an alleged city ordinance
which permitted its use). Rally ended around quarter to three with a reminder to
show up again next week. - b!X bix@g..
San Diego,
CA
We had a peak turnout of 150. Some Gore signs, but most were non-partisan,
and the group hushed any partisan chants. It was a mixed crowd in terms of age
and gender. LOTS of people who had never done anything like this before. Great
media coverage, two folks from the Union-Tribune, and two (maybe three) of the
local t.v. stations. They seemed to spend a lot of time talking to the
counterprotesters, so it'll be interesting to see what the end coverage looks
like. A few speakers via a bullhorn, all impromptu. One member of the Electoral
College who spoke about the need to abolish it. We drew a few Bush folks who
tried to incite us, but most of us just ignored them and they went away after
about 30 minutes. After standing around chanting and listening to the speeches
for about 45 minutes, we started marching, but with a smaller group (maybe 60?).
We marched through downtown San Diego, through Balboa Park, and back to the
college. We marched until 3:30 p.m. Got some great chants going Hey-Hey, Ho-Ho
Fuzzy Numbers Have Got to Go Give Me Democracy Every Vote Counts/Count Every
Vote Let Every Voice Be Heard, Before the Final Word Democracy Works Fair Not
Fast Let's Get It Right It's Not About the Outcome We got A LOT of beeping horns
and waves and thumbs up all along the route. A few thumbs down and one elegant
lady in a Lexus flipped us off (very nice manners). The cops drove by the campus
as we started, but there weren't any issues. (We called them the night before
and let them know about it.) Democracy--It Does a Body Good!
another report:
Our rally attracted over 100 people to City
College. While most of the
crowd held pro=Gore signs,
a few protesters supporting Bush participated,
but
stayed in the background.As for media, there were several photographers
(print
and broadcast). Organizers asked people to return next Saturday if
the
vote remains in doubt. To see photos from today's rally in San Diego
pls.
visit: (WARNING: these are LARGE photos (1 MB+) that will take a
long
time to download over slow connections)
http://www.NETCONNECTION.COM/pbdemphotos/Vote%20protest/
Lori
Saldana, Vice President, Pacific Beach Democratic Club
Greetings, my sisters and brothers! About 400-500 protesters met at the
traditional radical gathering point in San Francisco - the intersection of
Market & Powell Streets. A bullhorn permitted *the people to speak*, as
individual after individual put democracy into practice and spoke out about the
injustices being perpetrated upon the people of the United States by the Florida
election and the Brothers Bush. Signs read or people declared: Revote! Revote!
Revote! -One person, one vote! -If every vote counts, then count every vote!
-Abolish the college! -The people united will never be defeated (divided?)! -!El
pueblo unido jamas seras vencido! -I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it
anymore! -Gore not Bore! -Check one: 1) Voter fraud, 2) Racial profiling, 3)
Illegal ballots Speakers vigorously decried the attempt of the Republicans - and
the Bush brothers - to steal this election from the people of the United States.
The protest proceeded from Market & Powell Streets (where the cable cars
turn around!) down Market Street to Jones Street, ending up in front of the SF
Federal Building. The media *finally* showed, just as we were breaking up, but
we managed to chant "This is what democracy looks like!" and a few of the other
chants above. San Francisco Bay Area is organizing through the eGroup
trustthepeople-sf@egroups.com which is associated with
http://www.oocities.org/countercoup San Franciscans and the people of the SF
Bay Area are royally pissed off! Let's have a civil, peaceful uprising!
San Francisco Rally Photos http://www.jasonandheather.com/sf_rally/index.html
As Jim Lovette-Black mentioned in his recap, we had an awesome show of support
in SF. Here are some photos until I get them uploaded to egroups. "this is what
democracy looks like!"
4:50pm Saturday 11-NOV-2000: I just got home from San Francisco where I and
about 500 other people marched on the Federal Building, demanding "Revote Now!"
and "Every vote counts, count every vote!". Similar protests, calling for
fairness in the national election in general and Florida in particular, were
held simultaneously in EIGHTY TWO other cities nationwide! When I first arrived
in San Francisco at the Powell Street BART station I was thrilled to emerge from
the subterranian transit cooridoor into a throng of demonstrators surrounded by
thousands of spectators. One man had a bullhorn and was speaking to the crowd.
The horn passed person to person; every one who wanted to speak had their turn.
It was awesome! (Mario Savio would be proud!) The posters and signs were great:
"Hail to the Thief!", "Every vote counts!", "Votergate!", "Revote now!", "Gore
got more!", "Abolish the Electoral College!". The rally was predominantly
pro-Gore but there was at least one sign that simply stated "WINNER" under a big
"W". And also, "Heck, let's just re-elect Clinton!". Then we took to the
streets. Some ad-hoc leaders were careful to restrict the march to a single
traffic lane so as to not block traffic completely. "It's growing!" observed the
guy in front of me, and indeed: more and more people were joining the rally!
Cars honked and people yelled in support; even the bus drivers! Flyers were
handed out to passersby. Soon we saw flashing lights and cops ahead of us. I,
for one, thought we might have some trouble of some kind, but no, the truth was
much different: The police were clearing the way for us! Arrival at the Federal
Building was a bit anticlimatic; unlike Powell and Market, the government
district was devoid of people, it being a Saturday and Veterans Day weekend
no-less. The Federal Building may have been a symbolic rallying point, but I
think that next time it would be better to stay in the areas bustling with
people. All in all, I think it was an unqualified success. More rallies and
demonstrations will be held next Saturday as well. Please see
http://countercoup.org/ for more information!
Santa
Barbara, CA
Great work. In Santa Barbara we had a small, but wonderful crowd of
intelligent people. There were some folks from the "other side" too, but they
were also intelligent and willing to hear our point of view. We had some local
news coverage for most of the 40 minute or so rally, some of which is most
probably make it on the evening news. Thanks to everyone, in particular the
great gentleman who was gracious enough to get us all organized!
Seattle, WA
Hi all, just got back from downtown Seattle and the first Votegate
protest. It was reassuring to see so many ordinary citizens, from all
walks of life, gathered together on such short notice. As one of my
friends said about the whole sordid affair:
"There's a Cambodian guy I work with who survived all the turmoil
there.
Srorn reminded us yesterday that, in a botched election in
most of the rest
of the world, the bloodshed would have started by
Wednesday sunrise. He's
saying the US citizenry's patience &
confidence in the process looks
'magical' and 'courageous' to him.
He's also saying the powers-that-be had
better realize what an
irreparable disaster they'll have on their hands if
they screw this
up."
We were the first to show up at Seattle Central Community College,
and a
few minutes later the organizer, Brian Middleton, drove up with
a car full
of Gore/Lieberman signs -- he had obtained them from the
Democratic Party
headquarters next to where he works. One of the Demo
workers had told him
the party couldn't have anything to do with this
protest (nice for them to
take a stand), so Brian had taken the signs
off their hands anyway.
A Seattle police sergeant immediately walked over to us and
asked, "Who's
the organizer?" Brian stepped up, and he asked, "What's
your agenda?" Brian
explained that we expected maybe 200 people for a
peaceful march to
downtown. After a business-like discussion, the
sergeant indicated that he
would escort us to Boren, after which the
West Precinct might or might not
escort us the rest of the way.
The policeman left to get his officers together, and we started to
disassemble the Gore/Lieberman signs and turn them inside out. We
wrote
our own slogans and stapled them back on their stakes. Notable
slogans were:
"Mess with Texas" (from a Texan), "Revote or
Revolt", "Got Democracy?",
"Bush Family Preys Together", "Something's
rotten in the state of Florida",
and "Bush for President is Jeb-o-
licious".
After an hour there were perhaps 300 people assembled, many with
their
own signs ("Corrupt Election = Corrupt President"). An amazing
turnout,
given the two days of internet organizing effort. Three Bush
supporters
stood on the opposite side of Broadway ("Bush won by
_law_", "How many
recounts?"), and soon crossed to our side to engage
some of the protesters.
They argued in low voices, inaudible to
anybody in the crowd. A few people
rallied the protesters, speaking
through a small bullhorn. Four or five bike
cops had assembled around
a police van and were keeping out of the way.
At 1:30 we started marching down Pine, toward downtown. This was the
same
route along which the police and WTO protesters had fought a
running battle
almost exactly a year ago. We marched down the right
lane, and the police
would zip by us on the their bikes to the next
intersection. Onlookers were
overwhelmingly favorable to the march.
Many of the drivers honked and gave
us a thumbs-up as they drove by.
Videographers hurriedly set up their
network's video cameras on
tripods, shot for a few seconds, then ran down
the hill ahead of the
march to set up again.
We approached Boren, where the East Precinct police handed us over to
the
West Precinct, who continued to escort us past the Paramount
theater. As we
passed a big construction site, the workers overhead
stopped to wave down at
us. Their supervisor seemed to want to ignore
us, but every one of the dozen
or so construction workers was
smiling, waving and giving us peace signs and
thumbs up. The whole
march stopped, looked up at them and started cheering;
some
shouted, "Union!". This reminded me of the best moments of the WTO
march last year, and goodwill spilled onto the sidewalks. Most of the
downtown passersby stopped to watch the march, as though the circus
had
come to town. Many waved, smiled, gave us a thumbs-up; a few
shook their
heads or stubbornly ignored us. We shouted, "Join us!
Come on, America!" and
a few did join the march. One woman driving a
minivan pressed a bumper
sticker against the driver's side
window: "Read my lips: no new Texans". A
few Bush supporters heckled
the protesters, one standing silently with his
thumbs down, a baby
strapped to his chest. There were cameras everywhere,
carried by
people from both sides of the tracks. They were busy snapping
with
little point-and-shoots, as if they were tourists. The sign I
carried, "Bush Family Preys Together", seemed particularly popular,
and
drew quite a few laughs.
We arrived at Westlake Center and circled around the dais. An Asian
family lined up for a family picture in front of the American
election
protest; they were so happy to have the photo opportunity.
More speakers
rallied the crowd. It was all charmingly disorganized --
the speakers vamped
for time while we waited for the Seattle Police
to deliver a cruiser to
escort us to Pike Place Market. Members of
the crowd helpfully suggested
chants ("Two, four, six, eight, we
don't want no Votergate!"). We started to
suspect a delaying tactic
from the police, but in a few minutes a cruiser
arrived, and we
started marching again.
The protest passed through the Pike Place Market, and the
overwhelmingly
friendly crowd response surprised us all. We were met
with applause, smiles,
thumbs-up, and a kind of stunned amusement, as
if we were performers from a
distant city arriving in a remote
village. The sight of direct-action
democracy seemed to be a kind of
wonder to the downtown shoppers. Perhaps it
is. Another wonder was
the professional and courteous behavior of the
police; perhaps they
learned from WTO.
Another protest is planned for 2:00PM Sunday (12 Nov) at Westlake
Center.
And another protest, along the same route as today's, is
planned for
Saturday the 18th at 1:00PM (meet at Seattle Central
Community College).
Sites are springing up around the net:
http://www.countercoup.org and
http://www.protest.net/ are the most
visible organizers, and
http://www.trustthevoteofthepeople.org is
supposed to be up within 24 hours.
The Countercoup site plans to have
the contact information for the Electors
posted by Monday, so they
can be lobbied to vote according to the popular
will.
For the authoritative, original expose of the Bush family's dark past, see
"The Family that Preys Together" at
http://www.bbox.com/articles/conspiracy/cia/bush/The%20Family%20that%
20Preys%20Together.htm or http://mediafilter.org/caq/BushFamilyPreys.html
It's not a crisis yet, but the Republic needs us now. This election
is
too close to be decided by statistical noise, "irregularities",
and
accidental votes for Pat Buchanan ("The Elderly Jews of South
Florida...and
62 Years Ago Tonight",
http://www.michaelmoore.com/2000_11_10.html;
statistical analysis: "A
note on the voting irregularities in Palm Beach,
Florida",
http://madison.hss.cmu.edu/). As one chant today went, "When your
vote doesn't count, vote with your feet / Get off the sidewalk and
into
the street."
Luck to us all,
Jim Galasyn, 11 Nov 2000
blackbox@b...
St. Paul,
MN
With about 50 - 60 people showing up I would consider it a success. 2 of the
local network stations came out to interview as well as one of our major
newspapers. We are planning on having a better showing next week. Thanks to all
who attended!
Stanford/Palo Alto, CA
We got together at White Plaza, Stanford, today, virtually in the
shadow
of the conservative Hoover Institution tower. (the
institution's
conservative, not the tower.) It started slow, as if
people were a little
shy about declaring themselves, until I brought
our some newsprint sheets
and felt markers. Then people started
stepping up. There were eventually
some 45 people at one time or
other, maybe 35 at one time, with half the
group passing by and
deciding to join. Few Stanford students, but I think it
was a big
football weekend. We tried to make it "small but noisy" as the TV
stations typically say. Best chant was "Re-Vote!" It all seemed to
need
a speaker, so I up and talked of Charlie Rose's guest appearance
of Laurance
Tribe (Harvard) on public TV, who said it doesn't matter
whether the
government deprives voters of their voice on purpose or
accidentally, it is
illegal and can be contested and won. See if you
can find his remarks from
yesterday (Thursday's) show. Good talking
point. I liked the poster that
said "Cheney may not vote/ but 19,000
did:/ COUNT THEM!" Some Stanford
students came up, looked at the
period after "did" and decided it should be
a colon, and then joined
in.
No media appeared, though some savvy people did some calling. one
fellow
had a camera and will try to get pix in the papers. San
Francisco dwarfed
us, but I expect we will fight it through.
We will try again thursday at noon at same spot, then move downtown
Palo
Alto for saturday at 1:00. WATCH THIS SITE FOR CORRECTIONS TO
THAT! It's not
reliable.
Anybody catch Jay Leno, when he said "We seem to be suffering from
ELECTILE DYSFUNCTION" Turn that into a cool sign!
R. Miller
Tallahassee, FL
Saturday at 1 pm in front of Florida's capital, 45-60 protestors agitated for
a recount. Signs proclaimed "Don't you 'Trust the People'?", "No One Wins when
19,000 Are Lost" and "Arrest James Baker! He's Stealing My Vote." Protestors
included not only locals, but also supporters from Georgia, Michigan and Texas.
The protest was heavily covered since the capital grounds have become a media
circus. Protestors appeared on MSNBC, Meet the Press, Korean TV and local TV
channels. While few in number, recent polls indicate the protestors represented
popular opinion when they demonstrated against Republican attempts to avoid an
accurate count in Florida. There were also counter protestors present, arguing
for the coronation of W, regardless of the popular vote and the results of an
accurate count in Florida.
Washington,
DC
About 50-75 people convened at the Capitol steps with posters and a bullhorn.
The crowd built up to about 100 before we had to leave the steps. The police
were cool about it, doing their job. We snaked up and down the national mall as
a group making our way ever closer to the Washington Monument with signs and
loud chanting for about an hour-and-a-half, and the crowd peaked at about 250.
We got a lot of honks and a lot of interest from tourists and passers- by. Some
even joined in. Most demonstrators were Greens, enviros, Gore supporters, NOW
activists. And of course, there were others I could not identify. (Gosh, who
knows, maybe they were even concerned non-affiliated citizens!???!!) Eventually,
we decided to walk back down the mall and north several blocks up to the White
House. We chanted VERY loudly and got a lot of attention. We had no police
problems. We chanted at the back gates of the White House for about 15 minutes,
and then walked to the front. (No one even got arrested!) The crowd dissipated
pretty much after that. But you can be sure there will be a lot more people next
week. We stirred the pot pretty well. I don't think we got much TV coverage, if
any, but a couple of journalists did come and ask questions. All in all, a great
success.
Wilkes-Barre, PA
We had 10 people that showed up, with the local Green Party people being a
huge help. One of the 2 newspapers came and one television station. The only
frustration was the TV station reporter was frustrated with US that we didn't
have more people and that we were not members of a "group"! I guess the idea
that concerned citizens could just organize without having a "group leader" is a
new one for some in the media. Anyway, we were in the central square where a lot
of cars were going by, and we held signs like "Stop Voter Fraud" "Democracy Now"
and one with a petition website address. We leafleted some passersby with two of
the downloadable files (great work---this was really good to have something
written). I think it was good to have this presence (though small) since it will
still get some media coverage and can be tied in with the nationwide events. For
a city with about 40,000 people this was not too bad on short notice.