I just got back from the Boston Anti-Ashcroft/Anti-Patriot-Act Rally!

[Atlant]

It was an extremely, extremely cool experience!

Ashcroft was to speak at a place called Faneuil Hall.
Now this is an old colonial three-story brick building
dating back to the American Revolution. In fact, it was
one of THE places where the American Revolution
was planned, so this was an auspicious site for Ashcroft
to come to talk about the death of the American Democracy...

AND THE CROWD KNEW IT!

AND WHAT A CROWD!

One, it was big. I was afraid that this was going to be
another one of those "a dozen faithful" sort of protests,
but there were certainly hundreds there, if not a thousand
or more. (The building is a large square building in the
heart of Quincy Market so we couldn't see all of us from
any one vantage point.)

Two, the crowd was a beautiful cross-section of New England
America. The young, the old, white, minority, EVERYONE
was represented there. And there were a very large number of
hand-made signs, all precisely "on-point" about how Ashcroft
and his USA Patriot act represent the undoing of EVERYTHING
that the founding fathers (and mothers) fought for. One of my
favorite vignettes in the whole experience was the sight, across
the barricades, of a white-haired older woman (who well could
have been a Barbara Bush impersonator!) "discussing" with the
police exactly why she wasn't going to move from the spot that
she had chosen at the barricades.

You just KNOW it's a movement when little old ladies
are out there telling cops where to go!

You should'a been there!

(No, wait; some of you WERE there! Hi, Everybody!)

There was plenty of press, the crowd was loud but generally
non-violent, as were the police.

The police had to pull a "feint" to get Ashcroft snuck out
of the building and, unfortunately, it half-worked. They went
out the way my contingent was expecting, but not where the
vast crowd was expecting.

(Funny how our "open" government can never use the Front
Door since, oh, I dunno, January 2001 or so!)

In any case, watch for the press coverage, and, if you can,
high-tail it down to NYC where Ashcroft is headed next.

Atlant

(If you see any photos, the first side of my sign had a
cartoon of a Calico Cat and the words "Scares John Ashcroft"
on one side; the other side had a drawing of the Constitution
and the words "Scares John Ashcoft even MORE!.)

[NewYorkerfromMass]

1. hope you got in some choice words for the nutcase

as he walked by you.

[arendt]

2. Saw your sign!

And, thanks for the explanation about why everyone
all of the sudden ran around the opposite side of
the building. (Ashcroft leaving.)

Its a shame we didn't pre-arrange a DU rendezvous
(pardon my French).

It looks like we agree about crowd size and composition.
(see my thread)

arendt

[leighjen]

3. I loved that sign!

I had to get to work at 8:30, but even then there were tons of people there.

Now if only one of the media outlets would actually report on it.

-leigh

[jarab]

5. Welcome to DU, leighjen !!

jarab - moderator

[prolesunited]

24. Welcome to DU!

And way to take a stand. :hi:

[LearnedHand]

4. Way to go, Atlant!

:thumbsup: And thanks for the terrific report!

[readmylips]

6. If A$$crap has a PR campaign going...

to justify the patriot nazi act, it must mean that he knows that the patriot nazi act is not working.

Cheers to all the Real American Patriots; the demonstrators defenders of our Constitution. Cheers! Cheers!

[Atlant]

7. That was one of our chants!

> Cheers to all the Real American Patriots; the demonstrators defenders of our Constitution. Cheers! Cheers!

That thought was the kernel of one of our chants!

Atlant

[TNOE]

8. A Great E-Mail I received from one of our 9/11 Citizen Activist

Omigawd! I just came from the Ashcroft protest at Fanieul Hall in Boston. It was awesome! There was approximately 1000 people there with some great signs! My sign said:

John "I know what you did last summer" Ashcroft
You're no Patriot!
Lose the Act!

Ashcroft had to drive in through the crowd and everyone was chanting "facist pig, facist pig." And then it went on to "shame, shame, shame." He looked scared to death as did the secret service! When he went inside, there people yelling through bull horns and drums playing while people chanted "This is what democracy looks like" and some other great chants. Ashcroft was speaking in an extremely old building so I'm sure he could hear us very clearly. Right before Ashcroft exited the building, people knocked down the barracades, and the Boston Police were clueless as to how to keep the crowd in control. As he came out of the building, I was standing only 10 feet away and I yelled: "Ashcroft, you Nazi." He looked right at me. As he pulled away in his motorcade, throngs of people chased after him giving him the finger and yelling everything imagineable! There was plenty of media coverage who seemed more interested in the protesters than the nutcase Ashcroft. Go Boston!

I guess he's on to New York right now. Go gettem' New York!

[IrateCitizen]

9. When and where is he scheduled to appear in NY?

I'd like to attend during my "lunch hour", if I can!

[TNOE]

21. Will send an e-mail and try to find out for you

THANKS TO ALL OF YOU FOR GETTING OUT!!! You make us all proud!

[knight_of_the_star]

52. Yeah!

Show him how tough you people are!

[StopTheMorans]

10. Atlant, did you get out front when he came in?

I was just leaving and happened to pass the front of Faneuil Hall right as he came in. I knew you were front and center in the back, did he end up leaving out the back, or did he leave the same way he came in? BTW, loved the sign:)

[Atlant]

14. I ran alongside the motorcade, dodging "mounties"

> I knew you were front and center in the back, did he end up leaving
> out the back, or did he leave the same way he came in?

AFAIK, he came out the side door and went right into his SUV. I
was at the barricades on the Quincy Market side, directly in front
of the motorcade, so I helped chant him into his SUV. Then, I ran
along with it when it veered left across the front of the Hall.

What a coward that man must be! A shining example for the Right!


> BTW, loved the sign

Thanks!

Atlant

[Raven]

11. Hey Atlant, you don't sound like you're from Boston...

did you travel a distance to get there? Lots of good things got their start in Boston: the tea party...just a stone's throw from where you were this morning; JFK, RFK, EMK; Martin Luther King went to school in Boston; and last but not least...The Red Sox.

[StopTheMorans]

12. Raven, did you see my thread about Aschroft's Boston visit

in the lounge? in response to the last line of your post was one of my favorite signs from today:


"ASHCROFT: MORE EVIL THAN STEINBRENNER" :)

[Raven]

18. I did see that!

Classic Boston humor!

[StopTheMorans]

19. there was also a guy who started a chant in a thick Boston accent

saying "NO BIG BROTHAH, NO BIG BROTHAH!" It was hilarious, the whole crowd started laughing, and then repeating, with accent "NO BIG BROTHAH, NO BIG BROTHAH". I love this place:)

[Kathy in Cambridge]

33. That was WICKED funny

I thought it was for real, being from heah.

[StopTheMorans]

34. yeah, I was kind of saddened when the side of the

crowd that could only hear us, and not the guy who originally started yelling it, corrupted it to "NO BIG BROTHER, NO BIG BROTHER", I was enjoying the parody:)

[Kathy in Cambridge]

30. My favorite sign!

Although Steinbrenner's evil comes pretty close to Herr Asskkkroft!

[Atlant]

15. I live in Nashua, NH, and work in Boston (Chinatown) every day.

> Hey Atlant, you don't sound like you're from Boston...

I live in Nashua, NH, and work in Boston (Chinatown) every day.
It's one heck of a commute, but I ride the bus whenever there
isn't an early-morning protest. :-)


> The Red Sox.

Umm, err, well, thinks a little, and agrees non-descriptively by saying:
"Yes,there are lots of good things in Boston"

Atlant

[ignatius]

13. Wow, thanks for sharing this. What a perfect setting

to protest he and this administration and their warped view of America.

[arendt]

20. Perfect setting in many ways

Not only is the symbolism of Faneuil Hall the
perfect hook on which to hang Ashcroft's phony
patriotism; but the small size of the building
and the nearby big buildings maximized the impact
of what were only 1,000 or so demonstrators.
From some angles, though, you saw a sea of
demonstrators and signs right up to the walls
of buildings.

This was a very photogenic and symbol-genic
"demo op".

arendt

[Sven77]

16. my roommate was there!

she said it was a great experience. the speakers were fabulous. channel 4 had a 2 minute news cast on it.

[proud patriot]

17. Thank You Patriots ....Talk the Talk , Walk The Walk

Thank you for your defense of the Constitution Today
Every American owes you a debt of grattitude .

[bloom]

22. Thanks for the presence and the the reports

:dem: :bounce: :kick:

[Generic Other]

23. We love you Boston!!

You showed that crisco anointed fool what real patriots look like!

[Atlant]

26. "Show me what democracy looks like."

"Show me what democracy looks like."

THIS is what democracy looks like!

Atlant

[knight_of_the_star]

53. Go Boston!!!

You guys know what REAL patriotism is!

[Kathy in Cambridge]

25. Great report Atlant, and great meeting you!

I was there with stoptheinsanity, SiobhanClancy, and jonnyblitz. Ran into Will Pitt too. Too bad arendt didn't hook up with us!

There were great signs and great spirit. Only saw one Freeper and he really was a sad sack!

[Atlant]

28. There were two guys...

> Only saw one Freeper and he really was a sad sack!

There were two guys of the "Young Republican" persuasion
standing at the barricade right by the front door. They
made it very clear that they were there to give John
Ashcroft their support.

The part they don't get is, that without a sign, then
can scream their heads off and they'll just appear to
be more of us! And even with a sign, they're unlikely
to be noticed apart from the rest of the crowd; when
you're flying by at 20 miles an hour, what's one more
sign that says "blah blah blah Ashcroft blah blah"
on it?

Ahh well, when we defend our rights, we also defend
theirs. :-)

Atlant

[Raven]

27. I see a lesson in today's protest.

I'm reading this thread and I can feel the excitement, the invigoration, and, most of all, the hopefulness. You folks who were in Boston today made a very important statement:

WE ARE TOGETHER. Regardless of which candidate we support, we know the enemy of democracy when we see him and we were united and in his face this morning.

WE CAN PUT ASIDE OUR DIFFERENCES. Because the stakes are so very high.

WE CAN KEEP OUR MINDS ON THE BIG TENT AND AVOID THE SIDESHOWS. We know that while we fight among ourselves, these men are stealing our freedom and our America.

The bottom line: we can all disagree but we've got to stay together.

[Atlant]

29. Yeah, but you know what happens next...

Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together, Dean and Kucinich
supporters standing side-by-side, mass hysteria!

Seriously, yes, that was another very cool feature today. There
really were Dean, Kerry, and Kucinich supporters all there. As
I said, it was most definitely a very typical cross-section of
New England.

Atlant

[Raven]

31. Since a majority of the American people don't know

who's running on the Democrat side, we need to keep reminding them of who shouldn't be in office. The rest, I think, will take care of itself.

[Individualist]

32. You folks who demonstrated

are terrific!! Thank you, thank you, thank you! :toast:

[Kathy in Cambridge]

35. Photos from protest

courtesy of indymedia

http://boston.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=16326&group=webcast

[KoKo]

36. Looks like a Huge Crowd! Toasts to you! He's getting protested All Over!

:toast: I just posted my pix from NC protest of him last weekend. They're here in GD.

This makes me feel good that we can pull these protests together on very little notice and get so many to show up. :-)'s

[jmm]

37. I was surprised by the number of people there.

This seemed to be planned at the last minute and it was a Tuesday morning so I wasn't expecting there to be so many people yet I wouldn't be shocked if over 1,000 people showed up.

[Pastiche423]

38. Is this your sign?

THANK YOU, BOSTON!

:bounce: :bounce: :bounce:

[Atlant]

39. Right in the center of that photo...

> Is this your sign?

Right in the center of that photo under that strange glowing
purple arrow. (Cool!)

You can't see me, though; I'm about two feet "lower down"
in the crowd. That shot was taken from Faneuil Hall looking
outwards over the crowd towards Quincy Market (the columns
in the background); the people are facing towards the North
Market side where our speakers were standing.

You'll notice the "dozens" (quoting Boston TV-5 here) of
people; that shot actually covers about, ohh, 1/5 to 1/6
of the area that we filled ON JUST THE FRONT SIDE OF
THE HALL; there were more people on the other three
sides as well (although the crowd moved around to
accommodate changing circumstances).

Atlant

[GreenEarthAl]

40. Cool. He was here yesterday.

We didn't like him either.

http://www.allpowertothepeople.com/events/AshcroftCameToBuffalo/

[TeeYiYi]

41. Wow. This is the feel good post of the day . . .

Thanks Atlant and thanks to RationalRose for the pics. :hi:

TYY

[Zee Miller]

42. Anti-Ashcroft Rally

Way cool sign, Atlant! I'd forgotten that about Calico Cats! Maybe he's afraid of them because they're always female. Remember how he draped the Spirit of Justice because of her exposed breast?

That's what was on my sign---a picture of the Prude General in front of "Minnie Lou" and the words "FREE The Spirit of Justice!" I could hear people as I walked by discussing those $8,000 drapes that now cover the statue.

I was right there when he arrived; we were right up against the cars shouting "Shame! Shame! Shame!" I couldn't believe how close we got.

Did anyone hear the loud music? Someone brought a recording of Ashcroft singing! It was hilarious. I wish we'd have gotten a report from inside; they must've heard us because people kept poking their heads out the back door to look.

And I got an email from my friend (of the "Lose the Act!" sign) who said she came out of a coffee shop almost an hour after the protest and there was Ashcroft's motorcade *again!* She got to give him the thumbs-down and yell right at his car (again!) as he slowly drove past.

I feel sorry for the New Yorkers who were kept away from the Ashcroft event later in the day. We in Boston had a unique opportunity to face our public servant. (It shouldn't be unique, but that's another story.)

[jonnyblitz]

43. you were standing outside Gov't center T-stop..I remember now!

AHA! I remember that sign!!

[Zee Miller]

44. woo-hoo! 1200 strong!!

Boston Globe is quoting this police estimate!!

http://www.boston.com/dailynews/252/region/Ashcroft_defends_Patriot_Act_i:.shtml

Boston City Police estimate there were 1,200 protesters on hand outside Faneuil Hall during Ashcroft's speech.

[StopTheMorans]

46. I figured there were at least that many,

but the police always low-ball, this is great!

[David Zephyr]

45. Thanks for the Good News, Atlant!

Excellent! Heartwarming!

[Kat45]

47. I just saw a report on this on the Channel 4 news

The 5:00 report. Showed the protesting; looked good. I wish I could have made it this morning. Oh well, maybe next time. I'm glad to see (and hear) that there was a good turnout.

[Atlant]

48. Channel 7 just did the story now. (NT)

[Zee Miller]

50. Channel 7

I missed the beginning of the Channel 7 report; I want to catch it in a later airing because it looked as if they took the time to interview people.

The end of the report was irritating, though. Old Ashcrack says we're out of touch with the majority. And Channel 7 backs him up by reporting the numbers differently from the way the poll numbers were reported on Channel 4.

[Zee Miller]

51. Channel 5

Dang, I missed the beginning of the Ashcroft section on 5, too, but I saw some of Nat's interview. It was sickening. Ashcroft pretending they are only holding "perpetrators." Natalie corrected him with "alleged."

But didn't press him as to what they are accused of, and why all the secrecy and lack of representation.

[maxanne]

49. bravo Alant and all the DUers

and other protesters. Great turnout - really good work everyone!
Thank you all for being there, and defending our rights. :loveya:

I wish Boston weren't quite so far away. ;(

[Kathy in Cambridge]

54. Kick for the night crowd