Disrupters Dragged Kicking and Shouting from Wolfowitz Interview at the New School, NYC

firsthand report | September 21, 2003 | firebrand

[firebrand]

Protestors yelling, "War criminal!" and "Murderer!" were the first to be dragged out of the auditorium at the New School this afternoon, after being given repeated warnings to stop disrupting Jeffrey Goldberg's interview of the Deputy Secretary of Defense.

Although the majority of the audience seemed to be sympathetic to Wolfowitz, shouts of "Go home!" and "Resign!" and "Oil!" continued to partly drown out the speakers.

Then a very big, buff personage in a tank top and a ponytail alarmed the security staff the most, as he ran up the left-hand aisle toward the stage, angrily shouting and menacing the Secretary. This got most of the many Secret Service men who were there to their feet, but he too was quickly subdued and pulled fighting from the room.

The Palestinians then got into the act and a woman had to be forcibly removed as well.

The shouts continued, and after the interview, outside the university on West Twelfth Street, belated protesters were holding banners, banging drums, and marching around in goosestep.

Various other protesters were from the Lyndon LaRouche camp, the indefatigable Free Mumia crowd, and the organized thousand or so family members of American troops who want their loved ones brought home now.

As for the interview, it went exremely well, when it could be heard, with the Secretary articulately expressing the position of the Bush administration and other sane Americans. He was so convincing that I cannot help but think some who were committed to the other side may have walked out with second thoughts.

[firebrand]

NYU, mostly, which is right around the corner.

[firebrand]

There's a story about this on page 5 of the New York Sun today.

The headline--"Wolfowitz Defends War to Staunch Anti-War Crowd"--is a bit misleading (although the story itself, by Matthew Sweeney, is accurate). The crowd was mostly sympathetic to Wolfowitz. The lefties must have been near the end of the line and were in one section of the rear for the post part, and of course were louder than everyone else, but I definitely wouldn't call the whole crowd "staunchly anti-war."

[firebrand]

See reply 22

[firebrand]

post part = most part

[firebrand]

ping

[TopQuark]

Thanks for the ping and pointer to the article.

[NYC GOP Chick]

My experience with the folks who write the headlines at newspapers is that I wouldn't trust them to babysit a pet rock, let alone write an appropriate headline.

[Tabi Katz]

So the entire Bronx Zoo escaped, huh?

[Tabi Katz]

I remember this crap in the sixties,a bunch of idiots with too much time on their hands...

...and too little gray matter between their ears.