[Marxism] March 20 protest accounts

[Juan Fajardo]

>     * Subject: [Marxism] March 20 protest accounts
>     * From: glparramatta <glparramatta at greenleft.org.au>
>     * Date: Sun, 21 Mar 2004 10:09:21 +1100

> 
> Can comrades send some brief accounts, and estimates of numbers 
> participating, of the March 20 protests in their areas?
> 
> Norm.


I have just returned from the demonstration in San Francisco.  It was a 
quite lively and spirited atmosphere.  The march started in Dolores Park 
and made its way down Mission St and Dolores Ave (Street?) to Market and 
thence to Civic Center Plaza.

I marched near the head of the march with a Palestine support contingent 
   and was thus not able to get an image of the march as a whole. 
However, judging from what I saw in the park there were several thousand 
people present, but it was not particularly large, as marches go. 
Indybay.org has posted a crowd estimate of 20,000 as of 12:25 PM (the 
march started at noon).

There was a rally at Civic Center following the march, for which I did 
not stay.  A breakaway march, with arrests and beatings, being reported 
right now (4:30 PM PST) at 
http://mirror.enemycombatantradio.net:8030/listen.pls

At the plaza there were all the usual tables and stands hawking cold 
water, T-shirts, and literature.  I stopped by the Pathfinder table to 
catch up on news, but I knew none of the people there.  I talked for a 
while to a fellow from New York and explained to him about the Marxists 
Internet Archive, which I work on.  Like every other SWPer that I have 
talked to at these things he showed not only ignorance about its 
existence, but a singular lack of curiosity.

- Juan Fajardo