Opening Salvos of the RNC Protest

August 18, 2004 Off By leigh

The Republicans are coming! The Republicans are coming! The first signs of the impending “big bang” created by the collision of New York City irreverent art and political protest around the Republican National Convention began last night with The Vomitorium, a reflection of the gorge-fests of the empire of ancient Rome with the new American empire of the Bush administration.

The Republicans are coming! The Republicans are coming! The first signs of the impending “big bang” created by the collision of New York City irreverent art and political protest around the Republican National Convention began last night with The Vomitorium, a reflection of the gorge-fests of the empire of ancient Rome with the new American empire of the Bush administration. A suitably debaucherous, disgusting satire of the excesses of consumption which drives the imperial agenda, it is just the beginning of a storm of ingenious actions which highlight the Republicans illegitimacy and moral bankruptcy.

From the sombre and tragically necessary War Crimes Tribunal (echoing the famous war crime tribunal convened by Bertrand Russell and Jean-Paul Sartre, among others, to indict U.S. governments of war crimes in Vietnam) on Aug 26th, to marches across the Brooklyn Bridge for women’s reproductive freedom Aug 28th, the massive anti-war protest Aug 29th, the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network protest at Union Square on Monday August 30th, Anarchist direct action on August 31st. All to spell out clearly, the RNC is not welcome in New York City.

Watch out for actions by The Missile Dick Chicks, Billionaires For Bush, Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping, and the Critical Mass Bike National Convention among others. These are part of performances of the well timed Howl Festival held in the East Village. Not for many years has the role of dissident challenging art and political sensibility fused with such urgency and purpose.