Democratic Convention
Today starts the weeklong Democratic National Convention. I am more interested in what’s going on outside than inside. Downtown Boston (my birthplace) is currently a heavily policed and militarized zone. Protestors have been ordered to congregate in a “free speech zone”:
The zone is large enough only for 1000 persons to safely congregate and is bounded by two chain link fences separated by concrete highway barriers. The outermost fence is covered with black mesh that is designed to repel liquids. Much of the area is under an abandoned elevated train line. The zone is covered by another black net which is topped by razor wire. There will be no sanitary facilities in the zone and tables and chairs will not be permitted. There is no way for the demonstrators to pass written materials to the convention delegates.
What an insult to citizens’ rights. I am really shocked that this is allowed to fly (although by now, I guess I shouldn’t be). Pictures and more commentary here. : “It’s like a scene from some post-apocalyptic movie – a futuristic, industrial detention area from a Mad Max film…This forced ‘invisibility’ is so painfully obvious.” So this is what democracy looks like, eh? Every American should be outraged at this.
There are many bloggers in Boston this week. Convention Bloggers, Feedster, and CyberJournalist are all conveniently listing in one place the bloggers covering the convention live. Check out my favorite news sites on the bottom left of this page for further breaking news and commentary.
In addition, be sure to check out Boston Indymedia for the absolute best live coverage of protests.
Jeremy said,
July 26, 2004 @ 5:17 pm
The main reason I’m pushing for the Democrats in 2004 is to slow the descent. I have no illusions that Kerry is going to save our ass, but I’m extremely clear that if Bush II gets re-selected, the crash of civilization will be a hard one where not much makes it out the other side. At least with Kerry if he seriously pushes hard for energy independence, which is going to require a lot of renewable energy, civilization might stand a chance.
Uncommon Thought Journal said,
July 27, 2004 @ 9:49 pm
DNC and “Free Speech Zones”
Emily at Strangechord has an excellent piece on the Democratic Convention and the so called “free speech zones.” I have talked about these before and Boston has gone all out with theirs - complete with razor wire. If “they” are…