I've been thinking back to an anti Iraq War march I attended in Washington DC

[Siwsan]

We were a big crowd. An enthusiastic crowd. A LOUD crowd. A peaceful crowd. All ages, all races. We were in good voice. Before or during the march, I never heard even one whisper that indicated anyone was going to cause trouble. Well, there was a small contingent of Bush supporters, and I can't speak for them. Then seem offended when we waved as we marched past them.

Anyway, along the route there were police officers lining the entire way, especially in the vicinity of the White House, and LOTS of flex cuffs hanging on the guard rails, easily within their reach. I'm talking a big police presence. For a peace demonstration.

[Wicked Blue]

1. I probably went to the same march

The cops used a technique called kettling. They would force small groups of marchers, say 50 to 100, into culs-de-sac and narrow streets, and block off all escape routes. My husband and I got stuck in one of these for a couple of hours. The whole time we were menaced by lines of cops in riot gear or on motorcycles. The leader looked like a rabid pit bull. The cops refused to answer any questions. It looked like at any moment they were going to break out of line and start beating us.

We were mostly older folks, no physical threat to anyone, and everyone was terrified. There was at least one journalist in the crowd, who got through to then-Police Chief Ramsey, who eventually showed up. He glared at us for about 10 minutes, then finally allowed us to go.

[Siwsan]

2. We never encountered any problems or resistance during that march.

I wish I could remember the date.

I remember as we went along, the expressions on the cop's faces went from stern to almost bored, although certain signs got a furtive grin. Afterwards the group I was with ended up by the Washington Monument where there were a lot of different groups, some handing out literature for their particular cause.

Maybe I was lucky - the two BIG marches I traveled to (Washington DC and Chicago) were wonderful experiences. The group I belonged to, here in Flint, also held a demonstration every single Sunday afternoon - regardless of weather. I was a part of that group for about 4 years. I encountered FAR more resistance and 'abuse' on any single of those Sundays than I ever saw at the big marches. We had black SUVs pull up into the parking lot where we had our cars, writing down on license plate numbers. We had people drive by and scream abuse at us. More than one went by and pointed guns at us. Several cars swerved right towards us. And, of course, calling the police was a waste of time because the offenders disappeared into traffic. (Our demonstration was at one of the busiest intersections in the county, right at the City of Flint, Flint Township line.)

That being said, though, the police never harassed us. Not once during my experience, anyway.