anti-Bush demonstration at 3rd & Salmon throughout the day

i cant make it to N Portland but I probly can go downtown, how many ppl do you expect?

I'll be downtown as well. I think it is a great idea to spread out and hold rallies wherever you happen to be. Indymedia, could you please post the downtown info on the A21 feature page?

Thanks and I hope to see y'all downtown if you can't make it to U of P.

This seems like a bad idea to have two demos at the same time. Also posting a demo that has only been planned for and arranged in the last day, also seems unwise. I would also like to know why indymedia techs put this as a event when it has obviously not been planned out as a feature to this days events. On top of that, its in a place that is tactically stupid. It has no value at all if were trying to make georgies visit unsuccessful.

so to recap.

1. Two demos will split people.
2. Tactically stupid. People will go to the place that is easier, which is downtown. All that is going to do is make a whole bunch of commuters angry at us instead of being constructive.
3. Not appropriate for a feature piece. It hasnt been planned. Its hasnt been outreached for. And its not going to be helpful.

Ello, I disagree. I'd like to see demos of any size, one person to thousands, all over the city. Getting in the face of the Emperor's guards is one way to communicate our dissent, but there are as many others as there are of us. Different themes, different tactics, different locations--it all adds up.

I don't think the demos will split people. For example, I wasn't going to attend the UP event anyway, because I'm not physically up to the melee I think is going to happen. (The tone of your post reinforced that impression.) But I will be downtown, being visibly a citizen among citizens, just as you will be at UP. So that's one MORE demonstrator overall, not one less.

The good folks downtown, if they knew about the imperial visit at all, probably thought they were going to be able to avoid it. We will (gently) bring it to their attention. We can also suggest why others might be at UP, giving an alternative frame of reference to the distorted news coverage they are probably going to see. I think all this is constructive.

I am grateful to the IMC techs for putting this announcement in a prominent place.

Thats fine. It works.

I would like you to consider how much bush cared about the protests following the day of bombing portland.

There were protests for about a week and absolutly nothing changed except that most people were jailed or burnt out.

Consider what your doing and why. Where is the media going to be? Where are you going to be effective?

Will having another protest downtown help anything? Or will you just piss off another couple people that you pass on the street?

Just consider and use strategy is all i say. UofP sounds effective. Protest downtown doesnt seem so effective. Do what you will.

I cannot get to UP tomorrow, but can make myself visible downtown. Having this alternative adds numbers. Also, lots of people, including experienced protestors, are not confortable with the current state of tension between certain protestors and the portland police. I know many people who would be out tomorrow but are afraid of the potential violence (from both sides). If this had gone up earlier, they probably would have made plans to attend the downtown protest.

As for what protests accomplish, everyone has different ideas. Some people are obviously trying to get a message directly to the president. He is probably not open to having his mind changed this way. A visible, non-threatening protest downtown may be a good way to start conversations and send a message to people who may be more open to hearing different points of view. (If your goal is to have an impact, you have to change hearts and minds, which is unlikely to happen when people are on the defensive. At the same time, massive protests can send powerful messages to people in authority - who often will not let on that they are paying attention at all).

Both protests can occur without damaging each other or the message.

Two protests are a good idea they will spread the police over a wider area. That means less cops in one place and more fun for all.

I think it's great to have two visible areas going on tomorrow. Don't worry about the naysayers they are probably G.W. plants. I wish I wasn't beaten down so much, otherwise I would like to make it to the N. Portland area just because... I will probably attend the the downtown one and if I have time drive to the N. Portland area before I have to go to the snake pit (salt mines), I call work. I need my sleep at this stage of my life so I hope there's plenty of time in the afternoon to show my dissent!