This week's Bulletin, though lengthy, is an excellent resource for understanding recent mass protests, especially those at the Republican and Democratic conventions.
Public protest is one valuable form of participation in democracy.
The question is, where will the churches be in this struggle. In numerous situations since WTO protests in Seattle in late 1999, police have issued misinformation claiming unsubstantiated evidence of violent plans by protestors gathering for mass actions. The false information is then used as a pretext for unwarranted police actions. The misinformation concerning protestor plans have ranged from chemical weapons to bomb-making. None of the numerous claims of violent plans have been substantiated.