Arrested at the RNC.

• Author: Tant, Ed
• Position: Letter to the Editor

Thanks for Marcellus Hall's article and illustrations about being arrested at the Republican Convention in New York ("Under Arrest," October issue). I am an opinion columnist for the Athens Banner-Herald, the daily paper here in Athens, Georgia, and was arrested in New York on August 31 while covering a protest. I could certainly identify with Hall's words and pictures.

Getting arrested during protests over the Bush Administration's repressive regime is an occupational hazard for a journalist, but it also is a badge of honor.

The people I was jailed with were inspiring and unforgettable. Even under the harsh conditions of holding pens and jail cells, every arrested protester that I met showed unfailing humor, kindness, and camaraderie.

The New York mass arrests were just one more example of a war on dissent that has escalated under the Bush League crew. Such repressive measures underscore the need for stronger street protests.

As Martin Luther King Jr. said...