March 28, 2003 - After a rally in front of Kollmorgan, a DOD contractor, several hundred marched to downtown Northampton where they met a welcoming crowd of over 100 and occupied the main intersection. 23 were arrested after a dramatic 'die-in.' Many then marched to the jail to vigil in support of those arrested. .
The 'die-in' was quite dramatic, with fake blood, dry ice 'smoke' and a sound system blaring sirens and explosion sounds. Affer the 23 people (mostly students) 'died' in the center of the main intersection, including 2 people in wheelchairs, a huge crowd of supporters gathered around in a circle, also 'occupying' the intersection. The police closed off the roads (as at Westover, can one block a closed off road?). Some minutes passed as protestors - those who 'died' and those in the circle remained in the intersection while photographers took pictures of the 'dead and dying Iraqi's.'

A police officer made an announcement to clear the intersection and arrests of those lying down followed soon after. The police (unlike Westover, they were generally not decked out in Darth Vadar gear) allowed photographers to intersperse with the circle of the 'dead' to take pictures. Then, even while making the arrests, they let people stay to take up-lose pictures. They'd occasionally asked the jostling photographers to give them some space. All this while many protestors remained in the intersection, observing and supporting those being arrested for blocking the intersection.

Police prevented photograhers from entering an area near the bus used to transport the arrested protestors. This writer observed several of the protestors, who had gone limp, being dragged in an obviously painful position to the buses. The police had plenty of officers available to bring the arrestees back to the bus in a safe and humane manner.

There were no arrests outside of the 'die-in' participants. The 'peace keepers' helped this process. At one point, they hushed a section of the crowd that started to chant when the police supervisor started to give the warning that arrests would occur.

The popular chant "Whose streets? Our Streets!" reappeared during this action. However, it didn't have the same 'righteous anger' intensity it had in NYC on Feb. 15, when police were trying to cage protestors behind steel barricades and section them off from other marchers.

Photos copyright 2003 Charlie Jenks, charles@mtdata.com
Traprock Peace Center, 103A Keets Road, Deerfield, MA 01342; 413-773-1633; fax 413-775-7507