In downtown Manhattan today, about 1,500 people gathered to protest the planned Park51 Islamic center near Ground Zero. Speakers assured the crowd that it’s not that they’re intolerant, because this isn’t about tolerance, exactly — but so what if it is, because Islam is intolerant? Or something.Security was out in full force for the two-hour rally, with a few dozen police officers patrolling the barricaded crowds. One NYPD officer told me it was the normal amount of security for an event like this, and placed the crowd at about 1500.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://talkingpointsmemo.com/?p=121406