greenpass: Little Zoe goes to the Big City

August 17, 2004

Little Zoe goes to the Big City

So I'm getting ready for my trip down to NYC for the RNC. When I was little, we lived in a series of apartments at or near 118th St and Broadway. My parents never locked our door and we were the only apartment in the building not robbed (I always imagine that burglars tried to come in and were so weirded out by our lack of locks that they ran away). They also walked our dog Ralph in Morningside Park, which they said was always oddly empty - they found out later that even the drug dealers were scared to go in. My memories of New York in 1983-85 are mingled with mounds of garbage, the homeless clochards on our doorstep, the cars that would go past with the pounding bass that would rattle our windows, and street after street of shuttered shops. I've been back a number of times since then, and am always amazed at how different it is compared to the other world metropolises (metropoli?) I've grown up in.

I wasn't expecting to have to stock up on surgical masks, though. In my rather worrying research I turned up this guide to the RNC protests, which admonish me to carry

A small, portable first aid kit with the basics: aspirin/acetaminophen, hydrocortisone, an antiseptic (like bactine), Vaseline (or aloe vera gel), Band-Aids, small bandages, surgical tape, scissors, hand sanitizer gel, a small container of vinegar (for personal protection against tear gas) and a small container of maalox (for personal treatment of pepper spray attacks), and a bandanna or surgical-style filter mask.

Maalox? I guess if it tastes like forest berries I can choke it down. Being pepper sprayed first might be a handy incentive as well.

I then went on to read this handy page listing my rights if I get arrested. Even though I have absolutely no intention of that happening, it turns out I could be arrested for using a megaphone or carrying a sign on a stick rather than a cardboard tube, and the police might then trick me into signing a deportation warrant, which would put rather a dent in my senior year GPA.

Then I took a look at the Security page.

Assume you are under surveillance if you are involved in organizing mass direct action or anything illegal, and take precautions. Only discuss sensitive matters in person. Never discuss sensitive matters on the phone or on e-mail or Internet chat. Never discuss illegal activity. It is never okay to:
- ask about someone else's illegal activities;
- discuss your involvement or someone else's involvement with an underground group;
- discuss someone else's desire to get involved with such a group;
- talk about your participation or someone else's participation in any action that was illegal;
- talk about someone else's advocacy for such actions or discuss your plans or someone else's plans for a future action.

The only time it's okay to speak about illegal actions is when you are planning them with the small group of trusted people who will be doing the action with you.

I honestly don't see the point of doing anything illegal at ALL in New York during the RNC (unless it's using a megaphone or carrying a sign on a stick). In my experience protesting is great, but the minute you do something illegal you immediately lose any credibility and/or moral high ground to get your message across. Even if it's cool and fun and seems justified by your cause, I can't imagine that illegal action in New York is going to really advance very much. What are they going to do - break through the security cordon? Throw tear gas at the police? Smash shop windows? That's a great way to make the Republicans look sympathetic and the protesters to look like kooky hoodlums jumping on the bandwagon to have a little fun. When I saw the G8 and May Day protests, it made me feel more sympathetic towards the finance ministers than the real poor and downtrodden who could never have afforded to take the day off work in the first place.

And finally, a little all-important fashion advice:

A comfortable hat that provides shade to your face and head, loose fitting summer clothes, comfortable shoes suitable for urban walking (i.e. running shoes, cross-trainer shoes, nurse's shoes, sports sandals).

As Ezra and Matt Gross may remember from my band-aid pilgrimage in the North End, I'm not a comfortable shoe kind of girl. And loose fitting clothes seems like an invitation for some cop to nastily pat me down for something sharp or dangerous. No, I think it's going to be Lauren and the Twins style week - maybe I'll even be able to blag my way through Security that way.

UPDATE: Here's a useful calendar of events. I think I'll confirm all those liberal elite stereotypes and go to the all-star reading of Sophocles' Elektra, followed by almost unbelieveable amounts of inspirational spoken word and Zen meditation. Crunchy!

Posted at 09:56 AM in Convention 2004 | Permalink

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» It's not just Houston from Off the Kuff
We know, as Ginger among others has noted, that the national political conventions don't bring in that much money to... [Read More]

» More Shopping, Please from Pandagon
Charles Kuffner and Zoe discuss how New York will be during the Republican convention. Both get a point which I wanted to lay out in more detail. Conventions don't bring money to cities, but nobody ever seems to explain why.... [Read More]

» It's not just Houston from Off the Kuff
We know, as Ginger among others has noted, that the national political conventions don't bring in that much money to... [Read More]

» More Shopping, Please from Pandagon
Charles Kuffner and Zoe discuss how New York will be during the Republican convention. Both get a point which I wanted to lay out in more detail. Conventions don't bring much money to cities, but nobody ever seems to explain... [Read More]

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August 17, 2004

Little Zoe goes to the Big City

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