September 3, 2004
Political protest goes uptown and high-tech
An excellent article written by David Washburn for the San Diego Union Tribune, comparing how the relationship between protesters and police has evolved since the Vietnam War.
"One activist, Robyn Su Miller of Boston, summed up her New York experience: "I came expecting violence, and what I got was a carnival. You could have brought your family to this.
The differences between then and now might be explained by a combination of a more technologically savvy and almost professional protest force, more advanced police tactics and an America that, while divided over the war in Iraq, does not display the same level of frustration and anguish it did over Vietnam.
Activists today are more loosely affiliated and their commitment to a cause is more likely to be a part-time avocation, scholars say.
Those who organized the demonstrations against Bush and the Republican National Convention this week arrived with press releases, e-mail lists and cell phone text messaging services. Reporters were asked to register before protest events."
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