I came across this on a 2004 newsgroup thread, and thought that protest organisers might be interested: (Hit   ctrl +     to enlarge)

DANCARCHY REIGNS IN NEW YORK


I'm about to lead another sortie of dancing fools out into the
streets of Manhattan, so I don't have time to provide a full report.
But I want to dispatch some news from the field in media res.

(Perhaps I will never be able to give you a truly descriptive report.
There have been so many perfect moments already that it would take a
book to contain them. I will leave this enterprise with memories that
I expect to cherish forever.)

After four missions, Dancing in the Streets has exceeded my fondest
expectations. It was my objective, as it usually is, that we afflict
the comfortable and comfort the afflicted, and this is what we have
been doing by all appearances. We generally make the credentialed
Republicans we encounter visibly nervous and spread good will and
humor to most of the rest, including the police, who could well use
it at the moment. People dig it when they see other people dancing
in incongruous places. The most surprising people will join in,
falling on the dance with a kind of hunger.

Republicans were hard to encounter at first. They are being
quarantined behind the blue membrane of the NYPD (for whom my
affection and respect has only increased through this experience). In
addition, they spend much of their time inside the Garden having a
lot less fun than we were. (As several of them told us.) Levels of
engagement have increased with fine-tuning. The results vary, ranging
from the Stepford husband whom we made so nervous that he walked into
a plate glass window to the sweet young delegate from Oklahoma who
tore off his tie and joined us for the balance of the evening.

We've had many interactions with the police. They certainly weren't
interested in arresting us, though they kept us moving. Several of
them said wistfully they wanted to join us. In general they only
interfered because they are trying to maintain as familiar a peace as
they can. Major variations from standard reality worry them. But not
enough to go maximum on us.

We did have one of our members detained yesterday near Madison Square
Garden when a Secret Service agent thought there was something
suspicious about her and subjected her to a long, aggressive, and
surreal interrogation. Also, last night, we were set up on by a
dickhead cop with a megaphone who followed close behind us down the
block yelling (at about 130 db) that we should keep moving, which we
were. He'd had a long day though. We were right in an area where
about 500 protesters had been arrested a little earlier and he was
still working off the adrenalin.

Generally though, we found that as long as we proceeded along as we
danced, the cops were perfectly fine with it. It was stopping and
inhibiting pedestrian traffic that bugged them. Eventually they let
us do that as well. On Monday we found a deserted stretch of sidewalk
across from Crobar, where the American Gas Association was hosting a
"Wild Western Jamboree" and danced there for a good half hour without
getting anything but dire looks from the Republicans coming out of
the club. (These expressions were enhanced by the fact that most of
them were wearing really cheesy straw hats they'd been given inside.)

People ask us who we represent. We tell them that we are from The
Party. (And if you think the Republicans have a grand party, you
should see us...) We've been taken for Republicans several times,
and, and by sartorial appearance, we could easily pass. On numerous
occasions, people have thought we might be born again Christians,
dancing in joy for the Lord. (Now why they think born again
Christians would be dancing to the likes of ZZ Top, I don't know.)

Here is the note I sent out to the dancers after last night's foray:

Yay!

We just had another brilliant expedition into elephant country. We
encountered many of our quarry, converted a few, and made the rest so
nervous you would have thought their thin smiles might shatter their
faces. One of them said that he knew we were mocking George Bush.
"How are we doing that?" we asked. "By dancing," he snarled.

And that, my pesky friends, is paydirt.

Also a direct hit was the pair of fellows we passed at one point.
"What is that?" one asked the other. "That's happy people," his
friend provided. That recognition was common and heart-filling.

So we are psyched to launch again tomorrow. We're going to skip the
morning session. 11 am is rough on a hot day if you've been dancing
hard until 2:30 am the night before.

So we will have missions beginning at 5 and 10. As before, the 5 pm
launch will be from the southeast corner of Bryant Park. The 10 pm
foray will be from Serena, a bar beneath the Hotel Chelsea on 23rd
between 7th and 8th. Be there or miss a marvelous opportunity to
enjoy the human comedy in all its forms.

And to those members of The Party who contributed so immeasurably to
the cause of Dancarchy tonight, you are stardust, you are golden.

Rhythm and Joy,

Barlow


In any case, this is such a wonderful experience that I believe I
might turn it into a regular practice. I envision the dancing
equivalent of Critical Mass, the bicycle action. Perhaps we could
call it Critical Dance. I imagine gathering on, say, the second
Friday of every month, and dancing forth in increasing numbers.

If you're at all interested in joining us now, we have, as noted
above, two expeditions venturing forth today, as noted above.
Probably late for the 5:00 pm unless you're close to Bryant Park, but
there will be another tonight and probably a couple tomorrow. (TBA)

This is, as I hoped, a gas, gas, gas.

Yippie-ti-yo,

Barlow



--
**************************************************************
John Perry Barlow, Cognitive Dissident
Co-Founder & Vice Chairman, Electronic Frontier Foundation
Berkman Fellow, Harvard Law Schoo

 

Dancing Against Howard? It could catch on... it migth need lyrics.  Seeing that it's Saturday night I'll make an offering of a (c)rap

 The food that I eat comes from corporate boxes,
and the songs on my I-POD are of scoring Yank Foxes.
I wear Nike, drink Coke, my Levis still fit,
and when I go to the dunny Halliburton get my s***T
I Ilike Oprah and Raymond and George Bush too
and always salute to the Red, White and Blue.
Am I a proud Aussie?  Sure thing, man! 
With my cap turned backwards I get a great tan.
I am, you are, we are American, and frankly, my dear, I don't give a Saddam
if the ham with the scam for Siam is a sham

..... as Richard dances round a corner in his mind