From New York Magazine: “…..On a day long touted as the
return of Occupy Wall Street, Union Square was part protest, part social
justice fair, and part music festival. Morning rain clouds and underwhelming
crowds made for a slow start on Tuesday, but by 3 p.m., people were pouring in
from the north end of the park to enjoy the May Day sunshine and share their
many, many concerns. Income inequality, stop-and-frisk, immigration reform,
corporate tax rates, justice for Trayvon Martin, sanctions against Iran, and
even Ron Paul 2012 — each and every issue had representation, and then some.”
“….For months, organizers have held up the international
workers' holiday as "the big kickoff of phase 2 of Occupy," first
promising a general strike and then softening their language to call for
"a day without the 99 percent." Still, New Yorkers went about their
business mostly unbothered as attempts at disruptive actions mostly fizzled. A
march across the Williamsburg Bridge saw a bit of snarled traffic and some scattered
arrests, as did more hardline anarchist gatherings on the Lowest East Side and
in Washington Square Park, with around 30 demonstrators detained through the
early evening. Rallies in midtown made stops at banks and restaurants. But
overall, things were largely peaceful and unobtrusive, with the NYPD well
prepared.
“It all coalesced in Union Square, where bilingual
immigration and living wage speeches gave way to Rage Against the Machine
guitarist Tom Morello's "Guitarmy." As he led the crowd in "some
rebel jams," including Woody Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land,"
weed smoke crept through and calm cops lined the barricaded perimeter.
Morello's generic onstage chant encapsulated the afternoon: "World wide
rebel songs/ Sing out loud all night long/ Hang on man, it won't be long/ World
wide rebel songs." It was overreaching, and rang somewhat empty.”
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