Convention plan puts protesters blocks away

[Freddie Stubbs]

By Rick Klein, Globe Staff, 2/20/2004

Protesters at this summer's Democratic National Convention in Boston may be confined to a cozy triangle of land off Haymarket Square, blocked off from the FleetCenter and convention delegates by a maze of Central Artery service roads, MBTA train tracks, and a temporary parking lot holding scores of buses and media trucks.

Under a preliminary plan floated by convention organizers, the "free-speech zone" would be a small plot bounded by Green Line tracks and North Washington Street, in an area that until recently was given over to the elevated artery. The zone would hold as few as 400 of the several thousand protesters who are expected in Boston in late July.

"The area looks a little silly, to be honest with you," said Urszula Masny-Latos, executive director of the National Lawyers Guild's Massachusetts chapter. "People will not be able to express their concerns with whatever will be happening, because no one will have access to delegates. No one will be heard, and the area is just too small."

Officials with the National Lawyers Guild and the ACLU of Massachusetts plan to meet with Boston Police Department representatives in the weeks to come to ask that the plan be changed. Boston police say no final decisions will be made for months, and stressed that they're open to input.

more: http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2004/02/20/convention_plan_puts_protesters_blocks_away/

[bobbieinok]

1. both parties have isolated convention protestors for years - examples?

...

[kiahzero]

2. Just so long as I'm not going to get mugged on the way in

The protestors can be right out front, for all I care. Then again, I'm just a student, so it's not like my opinion matters, really.

On a more serious note, I wonder just how much of this is actual pragmatic concern - Boston doesn't exactly have a lot of open area for protestors to gather, and the city is going to be a mess from the people there to go to the Convention already.

[Kathy in Cambridge]

7. A lot of Bostonians will be on vacation, thankfully

downtown isn't nearly as crowded in July and August as other times of the year. Boston is a congested city, but also full of little back alleys and narrow streets. It will be hard for the police to keep protesters away from the Fleet Center.

[truthspeaker]

3. I think it sucks

Makes us look as bad as the anti-free speech Repukes, and sets a very, very bad precedent for the GOP convention in NYC.

You can contact the DNC here to register your displeasure: http://www.democrats.org/

[jansu]

6. Do you want to change this link as it gives us your personal information!

[LeahMira]

4. Are you surprised?

Protesters at this summer's Democratic National Convention in Boston may be confined...

I don't like the idea of "free speech zones" either, but I'd imagine there will be reporters both at the convention and at the "zone."

The country is pretty divided and there are really a lot of nutcases out there. It's sad that we don't give time for all voices to be heard, but that sort of national atmosphere is going to take some time to develop.

Meanwhile, we can't leave delegates and candidates at risk of assault or worse. I don't want to see anyone hurt.

Maybe when Bush is gone, people have jobs, and the world is at peace there won't be a need to have "zones."

[jansu]

5. Every public inch of this land is a FREE SPEECH ZONE!

Do not let yourself be shoved into a concentration camp like area, fenced off and you can scream all you want, and no one hears! We need to be out there right now, marching peacefully with our signs. And the more gray haired people you can get out front, the better. The reason we need to start now, is so this issue is settled by the Convention times. We can NOT afford to wait to take them on until then. We will be pushed aside and forgotten. But IT MUST BE PEACEFUL ON OUR PART! Remember Gandhi's peaceful marches and the results they achieved? Violence will give them the ammo to use against us. PEACE!

I receive so many e-mails from my friends, that really no one is against this war, this president etc. because there is no protest marches or signs or groups out there. They have done a good job of propaganda for them and against all protesters, keeping everyone out of sight, so American's believe that everyone loves this Resident!

[LeahMira]

8. Behind the scenes works too.

I receive so many e-mails from my friends, that really no one is against this war, this president etc. because there is no protest marches or signs or groups out there.

I think that impression is changing, but probably not fast enough to suit many DUers.

But you are absolutely right. Protesters need to be out now. For instance, the anti-choice folks are willing to freeze their buns to march in January, but the pro-choice folks wait until April to march. OK, part of that has to do with dates that are significant to each group, but still...

There are local protests going on throughout the country. Groups of ten or fifteen dedicated souls are out on street corners every Friday afternoon at rush hour or every Saturday afternoon at the local shopping mall. I also would like to see a large protest in DC, but travel is really a problem for some in the winter weather so local is good too.

Meanwhile, there are other things that people can do. There's an organized effort to speak to Congressional representatives one day soon to ask them to censure Bush for his lies about Iraq, for instance. There are always letters to the editor and call in radio programs. And most important is voter registration.

So, just because people don't see big protests doesn't mean that nothing is happening. One on one contacts really are more effective in the long run, and that's what I think... and hope... is going on all across the country. So, tell your e-mail friends.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

9. On an unrelated note: PLAN FOR GOP CONVENTION

Wear anti-Bush shirt under pro-Bush (or neutral) clothes. Have an anti-Bush sign covered with a thick sheet of paper with a pro-Bush slogan. Act freepy. As soon as the cameras roll, rip the pro-Bush paper off the sign. DON'T THROW IT AWAY or they'll come up with a littering charge. Take shirt/coat off to reveal anti-Bush T-Shirt. Again, don't discard your clothes! Be tidy at all times!

[Bandit]

10. Bad Move on DNC part

We can not protest "Free Speech Zones" and then use them ourselves. Bad dumb move. IMHO