WINSTON-SALEM - The mood was alternately festive and angry when college students wearing "democracy" headbands, anarchists clad in black, supporters of Ralph Nader and other protesters gathered outside Wake Forest University last night.
Debate organizers had planned for all protests to be contained in an orange-fenced section of a ballfield out of sight from any roads, but by the time the candidates had begun to spar, about 600 protesters had proceeded with their own ideologies to Wake campus' north entrance.
A street skit kicked off the protest, which was guarded by a row of state troopers standing shoulder to shoulder and decked in riot gear. In the skit, a massive papier-mâché puppet depicted Al Gore and George Bush as a two-headed beast framed by a paper stage that bellowed to masked actors, "You must pay the rent!"
The skit was organized by the North Carolina Green Party, whose presidential candidate, Ralph Nader, was not included in the debate and will not be on North Carolina's Nov. 7 ballot.
"I'm here basically because I believe there is no democracy in America," said University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill graduate student in sociology Tanya Golash. "We have these candidates that are essentially the same on all the issues I think are important."
The demonstration took on the feeling of a jamboree when protesters danced in a circle just following the street skit, waving homemade flags that declared "Rise Up," "Power to Decide," and "Freedom."
Michael Anderson, a student at Winston-Salem State University, gave a speech on the need for increased activism outside the traditional political system: "Just last week, people in Serbia took control of their future and voted Milosevic out. This is a new world that people are creating, and you must join us. We must break out of 'now I can't' towards 'now I must!'"
After a speak-out session, demonstrators, including a handful of Duke students, gathered into small groups to discuss their individual causes and their disappointment in the current political process. Throughout the evening, protesters preached their concerns to the riot police.
"I think it's typical that the police are here to protect the corporate interest when they should be protecting the people and democracy," said Marty Bergoffen, an Asheville resident. "I think it's ironic that they came prepared for a riot, and we have people sitting around talking about democracy."
Some broad concerns that repeatedly emerged in the group discussions included the corrupting influence of corporate America on politics and media, the paucity of voices represented in the political process and the public's overall apathy toward these issues.
"Who cares about gas prices, about injustice, about the economy and the environment?" asked Del Basdeo, whose gray suit made him stand out from the rest of the crowd. "People look [at us] on TV and think, 'What are these idiots screaming about?-I've got my dog and my armchair and my kids.'"
Doug Stuber of Hillsborough, the chair of the state Green Party, said that the night's demonstrations gave many a chance to express their dissatisfaction with party politics. "I think it provides an opportunity to reach the media with their concerns for America's fading democracy," he said. Stuber explained the decline in representation is "because so much money is being pumped into the two parties."
Down the street at Wake Forest's east entrance, a group of Hari Krishnas chanted in front of about 50 protesters.
One contingent demonstrated on behalf of Greensboro residents opposed to the construction of a FedEx sorting hub in the city. "They're going to build a sorting hub that will fly 63 giant airplanes from 12 a.m. to five in the morning," said Greensboro resident Nancy Morton. She added that she did not want $800 million worth of taxpayer money funding the project.
The American Atheists were represented as well. Ellen Johnson, who drove to North Carolina from her home state of New Jersey to attend the rally, said, "It's all very negative when [the candidates] talk about the atheistic, secular community. They both want to funnel money into the church via faith-based social programs."
Darryl Tate, a sophomore at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, came to Winston-Salem with a different flavor of rhetoric. Holding up a tattered piece of notebook paper with the words "I Love Youthful Idealism" scribbled in black marker, he said, "Basically, we're protesting protest.... There are better ways of getting your ideas out here than carrying signs."
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