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Joshua Frank, who published "NYPD
Unplugs Cindy Sheehan" on CounterPunch should be commended for focusing
on the question of free speech in Union Square, but his assessment of the political
environment in this important battleground is way off. Those to whom he dismissively
refers as "wannabe Abbie Hoffmans" are in fact a wide range of different
types of dissenters. A few are obsessed with conspiracy theories, but almost
all are quite lucid, from the civil libertarians, to the anarchists, to the
liberal antiwar activists, to the Marxist revolutionaries. Some are also talented
public speakers, ranging in appearance from the ragged to the elegant. To say,
as Frank does, that they are "spewing their propaganda" is rather
disrespectful to a neighborhood political tradition that goes back at least
to Emma Goldman's arrest in 1893 for telling a crowd of unemployed people in
Union Square to steal bread.
The organized speak-outs take place from 4 to 7pm on Mondays, Thursdays and
Saturdays at the south end of the square and are open to anyone. Some of the
usual participants are significantly to the left of Cindy Sheehan and will probably
not get any time in the national press as long as it remains in the hands of
its present owners, but that is no reason to trivialize what they do. It takes
tremendous dedication to make the journey from an affordable neighborhood all
the way to Union Square three days a week, even in the dead of winter, with
large banners, political literature and hand-held megaphones -which they need
in order to be heard over the heavy traffic surrounding the square on all four
sides.
Also contrary to Frank's observation, these activists do indeed face almost
constant police harassment. Their megaphones are confiscated so frequently that
they have to buy them in bulk, and they face arrest, fines, trumped-up legal
charges, and heavy sentences of unpaid "community service." They defy
repressive city ordinances banning the use of signs larger than 2 feet by 3
feet without a permit, banning the use of amplification without a permit and,
on good days, they also end up defying the ban on public gatherings of more
than 24 people without a permit. At least two of these ordinances are a legacy
of Mayor Giuliani and have been engraved on a large metal plaque mounted high
on the wall of the cage that surrounds the World Trade Center site underlining
their inseparability from the War on Terror.
One of the main organizers of the Union Square speak-outs, Geoffrey
Blank, will go on trial in November for charges relating to a large number of
petty infractions like those mentioned above, and is facing a possible four-year
prison sentence. It is a case that should interest anyone concerned about the
state of civil liberties in the US. Supporters are welcome at the trial, which
will take place in Manhattan Criminal Court, 100 Centre Street, 4th floor, Part
A on November 28th at 9:30 am.
For more information, call the No Police State Coalition at 1( 718) 945-5188
or simply stop by Union Square any Monday, Thursday or Saturday afternoon.
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