The Marine at the Youth March

I arrived at Columbus Circle for the Youth and Student Feeder March organized by the Youth RNC Welcoming Committee at 9:15 AM. This was to be one of the many feeder marches converging in Union square for the massive anti-Republican National Convention march planned by United for Peace and Justice. On my way to the meeting point I had memories of the Youth and Student Feeder March in February of 2003, which was organized by an unnamed coalition of students from a multitude of schools in New York. At the time I was studying at a small liberal arts college with a student body of only a thousand students in upstate New York and we organized over 200 students to attend the anti-war actions in the city.

The recollection of the day still sends a chill down my spine. We, the students and young people numbering over a thousand, were full of rage and defiance against an administration which was about to send our peers over to kill innocent Iraqis over geopolitical domination. We weren't intimidated. And we took the streets in open refusal of police orders.

Sunday's march had a much smaller crowd, about three hundred. This was in part because most schools haven't started their fall semesters, but also because the war now feels less present in our lives. Our hopes of stopping the War from starting energized and inspired people to take action a year and a half ago. The media's spotty coverage of the ongoing atrocities in Iraq further the public's increasing sense of detachment about our military endeavors abroad.

The organizers of the march were easy to identify by their red t-shirts and gold armbands. Two young women were negotiating with the police with the help of a legal observer from the National Lawyers Guild. Lieutenant O'Brien finally caved into Monique and Leah's assertive negotiation and allowed them to take up one lane on 5th Avenue for their un-permitted march.

While all the negotiations were going on, Jared, 23, from Parsons School of Design was leading chants for the other young marchers. He said his plan for the week was to "make sure that the delegates have a shitty time" and to drive out the Republicans responsible for “the war on Iraq." He thinks that the police are being "ridiculous in their militarization of the convention.” Jared also said he believed that such a show of force “can only become provocative."

A big factor during large-scale protests is the pens that the police use to limit the movement of dissenters. For Jared, these pens are a great source of intimidation and he believes they keep many immigrants and people of color from participating. Since once you are within a pen you cannot get out without the permission of the police, those without an ID and those vulnerable within what he calls “the racist system” are taking a great risk just to be there. He echoes the frustration that many young people in the United States have with the two-party system and tells me that he plans to vote for Ralph Nader on November 2nd.

As people slowly line up, getting ready to march, someone whom I had noticed watching the congregation from a distance walks up to us and asks for a cigarette. He is dressed all black and a shining cross hangs from his neck. I feel a sudden gravitation towards this young man and follow him to the side of the park where he sits glaring at the protesters. He is clearly uneasy speaking with me, one of the protesters, and it takes a while and a few more cigarettes until we are able to speak comfortably.

Mike tells me he joined the Marines when he was 17. Now he is 24 and lives in Central Park. While Jared represented the radical end of the political spectrum of youth (he is a member of the International Socialist Organization), Mike is a perfect example of how serious the alienation of many American youth has become.