A slight chill in the air did not deter thousands from marching down Madison Avenue to Union Square Park, then back up Fifth to the rally beside Madison Square Park. It was easy to lose count of the placards being waved in the air, the most common being a pre-manufactured blue sign with white letters reading, “Bush Lies, Someone Dies.” Other anti-war protesters got creative; there was a young man wearing a sandwich board that read, “The Bush-Cheney Empire: Coming to an Oil-Rich Country Near You.” The letters of the sign accusing the Bush administration of empire-building dripped red droplets of imaginary blood. Less radical were the homemade signs and white T-shirts that read, “Money for Books, Not Bombs.”

It was hard to tell whether the turnout for yesterday’s anti-war rally exceeded what its planners expected. However, police barricades had to funnel protesters who wanted to get close to the rally through 26th Street, several blocks from the actual event. One of the anti-war speakers made a note of the hemmed-in conditions from the stage that was closed-off from the crowds. “While we are restricted from criticizing this racist administration in Washington, just as we are restricted here physically today,” said a black woman who worked with immigrants in the Bronx, “we must continue to criticize it.”

Calling the war in Iraq a racist war was high on the agenda of guest speakers. Just as popular was calling for a free Palestine, and a return to power of ex-Haitian president Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Many guest speakers spoke of visits they had made to the Middle East, and how they had seen first-hand that Iraqis were not benefiting from the American occupation. Some of the Iraqi peoples’ sufferings have already been mentioned by the media: high unemployment, accidental civilian killings, the delay in allowing Iraqis self-destiny. However, certain guest speakers, such as an intelligent, but whiny Middle Eastern woman, implied that none of the bright and sunny (not to mention bright and Shiite) stories reported from Iraq were true, that the Americans had done nothing good for the people, that women are still as oppressed as they were before, and that Iraqis in general hate the Americans because “they’re killing the Iraqi people.”

Other guest speakers included a rap artist who led the crowds in a chant of, “Damn, Bush! Get out the way! Get out the way! Get out the way!” This refrain might have been more effective if Bush were standing at the head of a line at Burger King, and was taking too long to order. However, as a means of protesting a president who has brazenly ruined this country in less than four years, it seemed lacking in willfulness. The crowds did not enthusiastically pick up on the chant. Meanwhile, the most impressive orator was a former member of the British Parliament. He spoke eloquently about a generation of Europeans who, having survived two horrendous World Wars within the same lifetime, pledged never to engage in such detrimental behavior ever again. America, the ex-Parliament member said, needs to do the same thing.

The crowd applauded and cheered the distinguished-sounding speaker’s comments. The response was even more enthusiastic for the poet who came on right after and said, “Brooklyn’s in the house!” Then came much rabble-rousing, pseudo rap style, about how blacks, Latinos, and the poor are being killed in Iraq in disproportionate number. “These people cannot afford to go to college,” said the orator in a non-rap. “They have no economic opportunities unless they join the army. They don’t believe in the war in Iraq, but they have no choice.” The man went on to list names of conscientious objectors who were thrown in jail for telling officers they will not fight, and who remain in jail.

The poet stepped down from the stage after one last “Brooklyn’s always in the house!” which earned a standing ovation. Next came a spelling bee winner, who mentioned that all the money spent in Iraq could have been used to hire over a million school teachers. This also earned loud, rowdy applause. The parade of rabble-rousers continued to a surprisingly low-key ending, where a guy with a scraggly-looking beard came on stage and gave everyone dates for more rallies—including a march in Washington D.C. to put Jean-Bertrand Aristide back in power (whether the majority of Haitians want him or not!), and a rally in New York City on the day of the Republican National Convention, aimed squarely at showing President Bush just how fed-up New Yorkers are of him.

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After the rally proper finished, it was easier to roam Madison Avenue between 23rd and 28th Street, to admire the more P.T. Barnum aspects of political protest. My favorite was this odd pantomime-style jig being performed by two men in coattails, wearing ghoulish plastic masks of ex-President Ronald Reagan and Secretary of State Colin Powell. The dance moves themselves looked like the kind of thing vaudevillians in blackface would have done, and they bounced a giant inflatable globe between them. In hindsight, I suppose that making fun of the Republicans is a legitimate way of protesting their policies. It would certainly be more effective than the placard I saw lying in the street on my way out. The blue magic marker writing on its face read, “To Protest Bush, Stop Paying Taxs.” (Quoted exactly as it was written.)