Nose rings, tattoos at Republican Convention

By Deborah Scoblionkov\Reuters

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - They are mostly idealistic young white kids, some with tattoos, nose rings and brilliantly dyed hair, a few are black or Hispanic. There is also a sprinkling of veterans of the '60s anti-war movement.

Their mission: to disrupt the Republican National Convention on their way to transforming the world into a Utopian society.

Welcome to "Convergence Week," where demonstrators trickling into Philadelphia attend training classes and planning sessions for days of civil disobedience protests that are very likely to result in mass arrests once the convention opens on July 31.

At "Action Basics," a class that instructs novices on nonviolent protest, civil disobedience, first aid and jail solidarity at a makeshift convergence center in West Philadelphia, the lessons are simple: don't wear oil-based sun screen and remember to write your lawyer's name on your arm.

"I've always been interested in activism," said a seasoned 17-year-old suburban high school student named Jane, who boasts of having persuaded her parents to support her activist habits. "At least they know where I am and that I'm staying out of trouble -- unless the police arrest us!"

Before taking to the streets, protesters are urged not to wear sun screen, which can make it difficult to wash off chemical sprays, bring water, a change of clothes, and a bandana soaked in lemon juice and vinegar to relieve the effects of pepper spray.

And on their arms goes the hotline number to a legal center that will connect them with a network of lawyers organized through the American Civil Liberties Union -- a precautionary measure learned from previous actions.

Those are lessons learned from protests at the World Trade Organization in Seattle last year and the World Bank in Washington in April.

MORE SOPHISTICATED SINCE SEATTLE

"We've gotten more sophisticated since Seattle and Washington," said Jennifer Krill, a 28-year-old landscape architect from San Francisco, who belongs to a national group called the Rainforest Action Network.

The trickle of protesters was expected to become a flood by Friday with the arrival of thousands of activists with day jobs, representing causes that range from social justice and organized labor to women's rights and saving the rain forests.

But the question is just how many people are likely to show up for UNITY 2000, a peaceful rally set for Sunday, and the days of scattered civil disobedience protests that will follow.

"If you read the Internet, there's probably a million and a half coming," joked Philadelphia Police Commissioner John Timoney, who warned reporters not to be taken in by "some 14-year-old kid ... who's on the Internet and who says he's coming with 10,000 irate Irishmen."

Tensions with police have abated. On Thursday, city police pledged to be careful how they handle demonstrations. And while Timoney is unapologetic about keeping organizers under photo surveillance, claims that police were also eavesdropping on protesters proved groundless.

Organizers have predicted the largest gathering of protesters ever seen at a national political convention, including the Vietnam War era Democratic convention in Chicago in 1968 and the 1972 Republican convention in Miami.

But with days to go before the start of the four-day Republican fete that will nominate Texas Gov. George W. Bush as the party's presidential candidate, organizers are having some problems.

NUMBERS VARY

For one thing, the numbers being unofficially batted around have fallen -- from up to 100,000 a few months ago to 30,000 a few weeks ago to somewhere between 10,000 to 20,000.

Some training workshops had to be canceled this week for lack of attendance.

One problem may be that those who do come contend with a shortage of accommodation dire enough for organizers to ask the city for help with housing. The city has turned down a request to open a park so that out-of-towners can camp.

Then there is money. UNITY 2000, a mass rally set for Sunday, has raised about $30,000, enough to cover the cost of a city permit, insurance and services. But it is far short of the $100,000 the event could cost.

"We're still struggling," said Mike Morrill, a leading UNITY 2000 organizer who has repeatedly asked for donations.

Rainy weather has also been a problem. But protesters donned plastic trash bags and sat stoically outside beneath a leaky tarpaulin this week, eating their allotment of vegetarian food from the Arizona-based group Seeds for Change.

"By definition, social movements such as ours, do not have money on our side," said George Lakey, founder of Training for Change, who organized many of the workshops, "what we have is people power."

Copyright 2000 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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