"If a person cannot walk into the middle of the town square and express his or her views without fear of arrest, imprisonment or physical harm, then that person is living in a fear society, not a free society."
--Condoleezza Rice, National Security Advisor, January 18, 2005
Trailer of a documentary that examines the interactions between demonstrators, media, and law enforcement during the 2004 Republican Convention in New York.
Union Square
the downfall of an uprising
Although the local mainstream press reported the harsh treatment that protesters endured from the last day in August until the end of the Republican convention, very little of that reporting made its way outside of New York or continued beyond the time it took for the physical and psychological scars of those events to heal. The issues are obscured by the fact that some of the individuals arrested that day were performing acts of civil disobedience for the expressed purpose of being arrested. What is not widely recognized is that many others were curious bystanders or local residents coincidentally on the street while these acts were being performed. This film is a first-hand account from an independent documentary producer who spent five days in New York, two of them behind bars. Before you decide who was right and who was wrong, you should first see this story.
The Republican National Convention of 2004 was launched in New York City’s Madison Square Garden during the final warm and humid days of August. To the opponents of the agenda being promoted by the Republican Party, this was a confrontational choice of venue, because of the appearance that political advantage was being sought based on the federal administration’s response to the events of 9/11. A Republican convention had never before been staged in New York, perhaps because of the tendency of that city’s residents to be liberal in their politics. However, one of the peculiarities of American politics at the turn of the 21st century was the election of government officials that were more conservative than the majority of the electorate; during that year, the Mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg, and the Governor of New York State, George Pataki, were both members of the Republican party. So, despite the objections of many city residents, the RNC went on as planned, along with official assertions that maximum security measures would be instituted to prevent or react to acts of terrorism.
To the members of the many liberal activist groups in New York however, the choice of their city as the location of the Republican Convention was actually a great convenience. The selection of Boston for the site of the Democratic National Convention a month earlier was a significant hindrance to the efforts of conservative activists because that city was even more liberal in its politics than New York. However, there were hundreds of groups stationed in Manhattan and its surrounding boroughs that were ready and willing to take the opportunity to vocally oppose the policies of both the Republican Party and their apparent candidate for re-election, George W. Bush. Many activist organizers had planned large-scale acts of civil disobedience during that week, and their intentions, if not the actual specifics, were well known to the officials given responsibility of securing peace and order during the convention.
It was within this context that several mass arrests were performed on August 31st, a date which was given the codename “A31” by many activist groups. On that single day, 1200 persons were arrested in various parts of the city. To handle such a large volume of arrestees, the New York Police Department had constructed a facility in a former bus depot, known as “Pier 57;” however, delays occurred in the processing of the detained protesters, which resulted in jail times that in most cases were longer than the 24-hour limit required by state law. The producer of this film was caught in one of the mass arrests that occurred during an A31 protest, and offers video documentation of the three days leading up to and including his arrest. The result is an account that is primarily based on his personal experience, but which provides visibility on the events as captured by his video camera on the street. Viewers of this documentary are encouraged to conclude for themselves whether the actions of the protesters, as well as the response of the police to the organized demonstrations, were justified.
Whether or not one agrees with the ideologies of any of the players in this production, it’s easy to see that a fascinating dynamic was occurring on the streets of New York late in the summer of 2004, which was played out for the world to see through the efforts of hundreds of videographers and independent news organizations. This film is but one version of the story, as told by an observer who inadvertently, perhaps naively, became an active participant. It is hoped that the account of these events will encourage the viewer to be conscious of the tension that exists between the rights of people to express themselves, and the rights of the ordinary citizens to feel secure in an increasingly violent and divisive world.
On September 14 2004, two weeks to the hour after their arrests with 1200 others during the Republican National Convention, Charles Shaw and Michael Hall described their experience on a live cable acc... more
The demonstrations outside of the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston were relatively tame compared to the events that would occur in New York a month later. However,
the presence of riot ... more
On August 31, 2004, at about 7:00pm, a marching band launched from Union
Square in downtown Manhattan into the street as an act of civil disobedience. All
those who followed their path, and eve... more
The streets of New York City are never calm, but during the final days of August in 2004, there was an unrest of such proportions that, at times, traffic was stalled by masses of people who took to th... more
"As I spoke these words, my voice, the activist voice which I was trying out
for the very first time, became louder and more articulated. There was resentment
and indignation in that voice. It... more
"Clearly, there is a huge amount of money being invested in media these days, and behind it all is corporate advertising, that force which attempts to lure our attention away from all other aspects of... more
The Republican National Convention of 2004 was launched in New York City’s Madison Square Garden during the final warm and humid days of August. To the opponents of the agenda being promoted by the Republican Party, this was a confrontational choice of venue, because of the appearance that political advantage was being sought based on the federal administration’s response to the events of 9/11. A Republican convention had never before been staged in New York, perhaps because of the tendency of that city’s residents to be liberal in their politics. However, one of the peculiarities of American politics at the turn of the 21st century was the election of government officials that were more conservative than the majority of the electorate; during that year, the Mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg, and the Governor of New York State, George Pataki, were both members of the Republican party. So, despite the objections of many city residents, the RNC went on as planned, along with official assertions that maximum security measures would be instituted to prevent or react to acts of terrorism.
To the members of the many liberal activist groups in New York however, the choice of their city as the location of the Republican Convention was actually a great convenience. The selection of Boston for the site of the Democratic National Convention a month earlier was a significant hindrance to the efforts of conservative activists because that city was even more liberal in its politics than New York. However, there were hundreds of groups stationed in Manhattan and its surrounding boroughs that were ready and willing to take the opportunity to vocally oppose the policies of both the Republican Party and their apparent candidate for re-election, George W. Bush. Many activist organizers had planned large-scale acts of civil disobedience during that week, and their intentions, if not the actual specifics, were well known to the officials given responsibility of securing peace and order during the convention.
It was within this context that several mass arrests were performed on August 31st, a date which was given the codename “A31” by many activist groups. On that single day, 1200 persons were arrested in various parts of the city. To handle such a large volume of arrestees, the New York Police Department had constructed a facility in a former bus depot, known as “Pier 57;” however, delays occurred in the processing of the detained protesters, which resulted in jail times that in most cases were longer than the 24-hour limit required by state law. The producer of this film was caught in one of the mass arrests that occurred during an A31 protest, and offers video documentation of the three days leading up to and including his arrest. The result is an account that is primarily based on his personal experience, but which provides visibility on the events as captured by his video camera on the street. Viewers of this documentary are encouraged to conclude for themselves whether the actions of the protesters, as well as the response of the police to the organized demonstrations, were justified.
