More on the Santa Cruz protest

Santa Cruz, though thought of as a laid-back hippie/college town of 75,000, was out in force on Saturday to protest the coronation of His Fraudulency, King George II.

The festivities began with a parade by Art and Revolution down the city's main Pacific Avenue. The "royal procession" was led by a giant-headed George W. Bush, with a gown made of currency, followed by even larger puppets representing corporate sponsors, and cardboard missles representing Bush's support of the Star Wars missle "defense" program. The procession also included several street theater performers representing corporate lobbyists, W.'s handlers, two bought-and-paid for judges, and peasant workers groveling before their new emperor. The Art and Revolution procession, as always dripping with irony, was in turn followed by more straightforward protesters holding placards reading, among other things, "Hail to the Thief!" These signs also featured a caricature of Bush as Alfred E. Newman, saying "What, me worry?"

The protest march went several blocks, at times threatened by cars whose drivers were unimpressed by the protest, before reaching a large sidewalk area at Pacific and Cooper. Here the Art and Revolution group staged a mock coronation, though Bush himself did not read his address due to a hangover. After the official coronation, W's corporate backers took turns bashing effigies representing workers and the environment. The ceremony went off very well, although it was interrupted at one point by a policeman
who told the main speaker he did not have a permit to use a bull-horn. Fortunately, he was able to resort to the old-style non-electronic funnel megaphone, thus enabling him to be heard and avoid arrest.

The march then proceeded North on Pacific for a few more blocks until it reached the town clocktower at Pacific and Water streets, where it joined another protest already there. By this time, the march had combined numbers of at least five hundred people. The march converged at this intersection to refuel and regroup, and then turned East on Water street, marching about a mile to the city courthouse.

At the courthouse the protesters held a large rally with several speakers, including representatives of the Alliance for Democracy, the Green Party and other groups, community leaders, and Santa Cruz mayor and Green party member Tim Fitzmaurice (who was shouted at by homeless activists for his support of a city ban on sleeping outside).

Altogether the protest was a great success, with most residents and passersby showing strong support. Hopefully this will become a rallying point for future movement-building. Hasta la Victoria!

-- The Raven

P.S. On a personal note, it was interesting and amusing to be walking alongside a Democratic party contingent holding signs which read "Re-elect Gore in 2004". Unlike the "Teamsters & Turtles" observation of Seattle, I have no illusions that this anything will come from this. The best to hope for is that the Democrats will become radicalized through these occurences and join us, rather than try to co-opt us.

P.P.S. The police presence was very low-key, and appeared to be under a dozen. One cop, with an absurdly large club on his belt, paced back and forth in front of the mock coronation ceremony, but the only other thing the cops seem to have done was take pictures.
If anyone has those or other pictures, please post them for all to see!