Hi George,

I read with interest your weblog report of the DNC and am responding because I was there at the DNC protesting and am planning to go to the RNC protests in under a week.

I came to the DNC protests almost by accident as I was with a friend traveling through the Northeast and she has family in Boston. We had been traveling to Vermont to be a part of the Bread and Puppet Theatre's yearly summer circus (this year titled: The First World Insurrection Circus, Upside Down World) and networked with other radical puppeteers/theatre folks to do a show at the DNC protests.

Our show was a cantestoria: an old Italian form of populist street theater that involves large canvases painted that tell a story about a certain subject (almost like a cartoon). Actors tell the story using song, chanting, and group speaking.

We built the show together over a period of two days utilizing methods we had learned at the Bread and Puppet theatre. Then we performed it Thursday evening at the Fleet center while delegates were entering for the evening's festivities. The show followed the adventures of a farmer who has to make a choice at the "not so free free market" between a donkey and an elephant. He chooses the elephant because he believes that the elephant will be the strongest. It turns out the elephant tramples the farmer's fields, the farmer's neighbor's fields and the farmer's neighbor's neighbor's fields.

Needless to say the farmer returns to the "not so free free market" to trade in the elephant for the donkey. The donkey's keeper "Ray Theon" (Raytheon is a large weapons company who donated money to John Kerry and the Democrats) suggests that the farmer keep the donkey on a heavy war diet with large corporate contributions. The farmer follows "Ray's" advice only to find the donkey replicates the behavior of the elephant. The farmer ends up carrying the donkey on his back, and his daughter says "Why are you carrying a donkey on your back dad?" He sees the absurdity of his situation and puts the donkey on the "BACKBONE DIET" which includes withdrawing troops from Iraq, instigating universal healthcare coverage and repealing the PATRIOT Act. With the backbone diet the farmer is able to till his fields and have enough food for his family and his neighbors.

The show was well received by most spectators, some were confused about the message.. Our main point was to say that the Democrats need to have a backbone of progressive issues to stand up to the Republicans. Instead of fighting on their terms and territory (claiming Kerry is a good "war leader") challenging the importance- or usefullness of war in the first place.

In many cases the convention was sickening. A friend was a delegate and allowed us to use her pass for an evening. The huge crowds, cued waving of flags, and (almost) complete restriction of any real meaningful debate all were disheartening. In some ways it seemed that the convention was more like a football sporting event than a real political/discussion!

Generally we had a great time in Boston, however. The police were all really friendly to us and the protests were pretty calm. We only wished that the Dems and especially Kucinich and been more persistent in pushing Kerry to be more antiwar.

Many of us from the Cville radical community are planning to attend the RNC protests which I think will be radically different from Boston. The NYPD is much more militant and the city less conducive to large numbers of people. On the plus side there are MANY more people protesting and the dissent will be heard loud and clear (hopefully nonviolently and without arrest!). My plan is to be involved with the NYC Food Not Bombs and the Anti Capitalist Kitchen in helping serve food to hungry activists and bystanders and also to get involved with other street art/theatre/puppetry if possible. I'll try to keep you apprised of our activities (we won't have a camera with us however).

Thanks George,

Alex Davis (electronic mail, August 22, 2004)