Just Who Should Tread Lightly?

by Osage Bell

Revolutionary Worker #1248, August 8, 2004, posted at http://rwor.org

There have been articles, nightly news segments and press conferences claiming, insinuating and promoting the idea that protesters coming to the Republican National Convention will be violent and cause much chaos throughout the streets of New York City. For example, in the July 16 issue of amNew York (a free paper published by Newsday ), Editor-in Chief Alex Storozynski wrote an opinion piece titled "Tread Lightly." He said in the piece that "while the Republicans will assemble peacefully, protesters should behave as well."

First, we want to say that all protesters stand together in solidarity. Secondly, we thought that in accordance with trying to adopt "good behavior" in New York this summer, we would propose guidelines that protesters could uncompromisingly adhere to.

Can the Republicans coming agree to them as well?

Protesters will NOT:

• Invade any countries we please.
  
• Occupy any nation - or any city for that matter - and brutalize, terrorize, rape, or torture the people living there.
  
• Reduce people's homes to rubble and their loved ones to ashes and bones.
  
• Wiretap, infiltrate, harass, or otherwise spy on or intimidate people from protesting (or simply breathing) in order to prop up a repressive regime (here or abroad).
  
• Organize to overthrow the governments of sovereign nations for the expansion and benefit of the U.S. empire-- or any empire.
  
• Unleash the police to brutalize anyone, anywhere, at anytime. Or justify such things.
  
• Try to lead people into the dead-end trap of bourgeois elections (ok, perhaps some protesters will do this).
  
• Lie, lie, lie.
  
• Lie, again.
  
• Develop prisons here or abroad where detainees are beyond the reach of all laws, and kept blindfolded and unable to contact anyone, whether it be lawyers or loved ones.
  
• Kidnap, detain, interrogate and torture immigrants (or anyone for that matter).
  
• Promote widespread fear of the people of the world or fear of our neighbors.
  
• Did we say lie?
  

So, if the Republicans (and Democrats) can agree to that short list, then perhaps things would go much better-- not just in NYC in August, but worldwide.

But something tells me that's just a little outside their reach.

And what does that say about them?

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This piece by Osage Bell appeared on her blog (osage.blogspot.com), where she will be posting her commentary on the RNC protests and the elections.