TRASHING THE BILL OF RIGHTS!
November 3rd, 4th, and 5th from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM
42nd Street Passageway, Grand Central Station, New York

SIGN UP NOW TO VOLUNTEER OR COME GIVE YOUR SUPPORT


Artists Against the War welcomes everyone to a three day action at the Freedom of Speech site in the42nd Street Passageway, Grand Central Station, New York.

The site is located along the west wall across from the IRT subway escalators, one of two areas in the station created for peaceful activities by groups with a permit, who are dedicated to free expression. This event will utilize and activate the Free Speech area, engaging the public in a lively dialogue on Election Day, the day before, and the day after.

Like many Americans, we are deeply concerned about the Bush administration’s attacks on the Bill of Rights (the first ten Amendments to the US Constitution, written to protect the fundamental rights of individuals against tyranny). In the name of national security, our government has vastly expanded its police powers and suspended personal freedoms. We have seen a precipitous increase in racial profiling, suppression of dissent, unlawful detention, and government surveillance. The US Patriot Act gives the FBI unprecedented access to private records and other belongings, as well as the authority to monitor, in complete secrecy, people not engaged in criminal activity or espionage, violating both the First and Fourth Amendments to our Constitution. Under Section 215 of the Patriot Act, for instance, the FBI could enter our homes and libraries without a court ordered warrant, seize private documents and forbid their suppliers to ever notify anyone, even if the information procured poses no threat to the nation.

On those three days, a participant identified as “Ashcroft,” sporting a hat topped by a flashing red alert device, will feed the Rights into a paper shredder installed on the top of a ladder. As the machine grinds, its sound audible above the crowd, thin ribbons of shredded paper will drop haphazardly through an opening at the top of the ladder, down its rungs into a large, clear garbage bag below, marked TRASHED RIGHTS..
As the hours pass, these jumbo bags will accumulate. Meanwhile, members of the group, in front of a sign reading TRASHING THE BILL OF RIGHTS, wearing black T-shirts labeled KNOW YOUR BILL OF RIGHTS, will grab the falling strips of paper, stuff them into baggies labeled SAVE YOUR BILL OF RIGHTS, and offer them as gifts to passing pedestrians, who can take them home and put them back together. Literature (about the history of the Bill, the ongoing corruption of our civil liberties, and what we can do about it) will be available on a card table attached to the bottom of the ladder.

Please spread the word about this event and invite all those who care about free speech to support and witness our action there!

Outreach:
If you would like to sign up to participate in the action, or
if you can help transport props, please contact:
212 598 0293
aawnion@hotmail.com, www.aawnyc.org

Press:
For further information, contact:
212 643 9943, 212 226 6971
aawnion@hotmail.com, www.aawnyc.org





1st Day Pictures
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Links:

 


Home