May Day footage from The Rachel Maddow Show on Vimeo.
Following a rainy morning rally outside of Bank of America on 42nd street, but before the arrests of dozens of people down in Union Square and lower Manhattan, the May Day protests of Bryant Park in Manhattan yesterday morning were loud, but tame- and musical. New York City police officers clustered around the protests with a few feet of room to spare, while hundreds of protesters danced, chanted and sang (with the help of a fairly decent horn and drum section).
A few protesters shared what brought them to Bryant Park.
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I feel that the Occupy movement has good points, but they need to get organized and present them better. When violence gets involved as it has in Oakland and property is damaged it hurts the message and I do not feel that the majority of the movement is for that. It has gotten to where nice people are afraid to go to these rallies for fear there will be violence. At the gathering yesterday there was a group that moved in with the normal occupiers that had masks (like gas masks) or their faces were really covered and they carried batons or pipes they were there only for violence and to take anything of meaning from the rally. It was a terrible thing and I feel that the way the police reacted was appropriate. I just hope that none of the real occupiers that were there to make a point were not involved by mistake. Property was damaged people were hurt and the message was distorted. Whoever this violent fraction is they need to be stopped.
I was there in Bryant Part it was Cool as was the march down 5th ave. to Union Square
The OWS movement is, perhaps, well intentioned, but, like many others, is doomed to fail. Until they separate themselves from radicals, they will never be taken seriously. They have good ideas, but present no solutions. And, where is the press coverage on this day of worker strikes. Only one,Calif ferry's workers walked off, but already in a dispute.
'Barack Obama channeling Marx?' I know I'm posting in the wrong place, but I couldn't find a comment section, for that piece. On the homepage of my daily Rachel Maddow Show newsletter, is written ' The British newspaper "The Daily Mail" had this: "Mao, Lennon and a century of Marxist Radicals, the Controversial Origins of Obama`s New Campaign Slogan, Forward," along with handy side by side pictures of President Obama and Chairman Mao'. I noticed the spelling of 'Lennon', and, in checking the Daily Mail's website, saw it spelled 'Lenin', the correct spelling. I have to wonder if you made a spelling error, or if you were following the time-honored tradition of the Firesign Theatre, who had an album, 'All Hail Marx & Lennon'.