This protest will be the largest and most powerful rally against the RNC in history. Coordinated, in part, by United for Peace and Justice, there will be over 200,000 people converging on New York city. These instructions are your guide to making a powerful statement while being safe, having fun and meeting people. Dozens of your friends won't print this out, or wont have access to the internet. So print it and give it out to others who don't have it as well.
Get out your markers, cardboard and make signs. The easiest way to do this is to go to your local art supply store and tell them you're making a sign. You can save money on materials by stapling paper onto old boxes. The best signs are home made and hand-drawn. But please print them if you've got sloppy writing.
Don't use any wood for the handle. Get a thick cardboard tube, like a poster-mailing tube.
If you're not feeling creative, some good ideas are located at the TV News Lies website, scroll down for all the flyers.
If a sign isn't your thing, print out at least 100 flyers. You're going to need them to hand out to the people in the street. Always ask people if they'd like to read your flyer before you give it to them. There's no reason to waste paper on people who will throw them out.
It's hard to take a stand for something, for hours on end. So that's why this is a group effort.
We're clustering into groups of 4. This is for legal reasons. If there are more than 4 people on a single corner, you can be asked to leave. If you are still asked to leave, don't worry, there are thousands of corners in the city - you'll find one.
If you're already in a large group or organization, break up into groups of no more than 4. If you are going alone, that's OK, just link up with another pair or triple.
Everyone is going to be looking for a fourth person to join them, so don't be shy if you see two or 3 people with a sign or handing out flyers. Everyone needs to help each other to talk to people, juggle papers, and support each other.
You don't have to stick with the same group, but please try to stay with a group most of the time.
The grid is north of Houston street, east of 8th avenue, west of Lexington, and south of 72nd street. The main map is here. Pick any corner within that grid, as long as you don't see another group of 4.
This protest begins August 29th at 1 pm and continues until 6 pm. If everyone shows up on time, the impact will be enormous and will be felt throughout the city. But, if you're late, you're still invited.
Afterwards, you should proceed to the nearest rally park, where there will be music and speeches given by organizers. It's important that you go to the nearest park, so that way no one area gets overcrowded. There will be so many people coming to protest that we cannot have the afterparty in one location.
Rally parks include: Washington Square, Union Square, Thomkins Square, Central Park (south of 79th, Sheeps Meadow, Strawberry Fields or Cedar Hill) and Madison Square Park.
If you've never been to a protest before, this is overall good advice. Avoid any confrontation with other protestors, with police and with passers by. Don't try too hard to convince people - hard sells just turn people off. The point of this protest is that people will see anti-Bush messages everywhere, all day long!
Unlike other rallies, the media *has to cover this one*. Why? Because if people begin to suspect that the media isn't covering events that they are witnessing with their own eyes, then the people will stop believing the news. It's easy to ignore 200,000 people standing in one place. It's impossible to ignore people all over the city.
