Wow, what an uneventful day. It seems like Denver prepared us all ten-fold for the DNC, but only three folds worth of protesters showed up, and nobody is downtown. Today Denver metro looked more like the day after Thanksgiving than being in the midst of the biggest convention this town has ever seen. So, where are all the protesters? Scared? Unlikely. In jail? Only a 100 or so so far. Oh, right, they’re all incredibly unorganized! Of course! I’ve been bashing protesters here all week, so forgive me for another, it’s not that I don’t believe in the rights of free speech, or being liberal with idea’s, but when you are going to protest something, combine your forces. Too many different agenda’s have come to Denver and none of them are getting their point across.
There is also the matter of lying. Someone in Denver is lying. 9 News? NPR? The protesters? Whose getting tear gassed, pepper-sprayed and beaten seems to be getting lost in the shuffle. There is one report of an officer hitting a girl from Make Love Not War, confirmed. The rest (the tear gassing at least) seems to be getting confused. Was there tear gas on Monday night? Protesters say yes, cops say yes, media says maybe and the medics say no… and some of them say yes. Have you ever been tear gassed? I have (albeit when the Avalanche won the Stanley Cup, so, not cool like I was at the WTO protests or something) and its not really a confusing matter. You know when it happens, and although it doesn’t really hurt, it confuses you enough that it ought to stand out in your memory.
So, we don’t really know whats going on unless we’re there. I am not there, I don’t want to be there, I don’t care. I have too much to do. But with all the cop bashing and security threats I feel like I have to weigh in on a detail that might get me thrown out of whatever protester circles I might be known in. I feel sorry for the officers. I really do. These men and women are working long hours, in blazing heat, wearing all black uniforms that look as though they weigh 20-30 pounds. That doesn’t sound like fun, and if they get a little pissy at the end of their 16 hour day and lose a bit of their edge, I can’t blame them. Certainly they need to exercise a bit of self-control, but when some pink clad anarchist mumbo-jumbo is spitting in your face and calling you a pig, throwing bottles and cans, it’s inevitable that eventually there is going to be chaos. Of course, that might just be what everyone wants, chaos and the loss of control. Protester’s win, because they can go home and tell a story, whine about it on myspace, and complain about court fees. Cops win because they can make use of some really sweet new gear they got for this event. It’s a win-win.
Personally, I’ll be at home doing homework and playing video games.
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