DNC Protest Pics & Dispatch: Charlotte Cops Get Tested, Facilitate Beef Between Activists and Delegates
It
wasn't a conspiracy that more protest news didn't come out of the
Republican National Convention. There weren't utterly significant
events to report, let alone a larger bloodbath for journalists to
hang a week of coverage on. Considering the circumstances,
authorities in Tampa weren't all that unreasonable; the few arrests
that did go down could have been avoided if protesters heeded simple
requests from cops. Perhaps officers were just giddy over the new
mountain bikes that taxpayers gifted them; but between their good
manners and supplying water to activists, it really was tough to
loathe the jacket down in Tampa.
Before
the Democratic National Convention officially began today, there were
signs that Charlotte cops also had some respect for rebels. As early
as Saturday, security forces allowed visiting dissidents to set up
camp at nearby Marshall Park, where there are currently in excess of
30 tents. Protesters who first settled there over the weekend say
that they were first asked to vacate, but were ultimately allowed to
stay. Even better, the welcome wagon rolled up an hour later with a
row of portable crappers in tow. This is all a major bonus for
protesters since – get prepared to throw up in your mouth – many
of the “public” parks in Charlotte are privately owned.
On
Sunday night, before the delegate masses descended on this cheap
excuse for a metropolis, about 800 activists marched through the
uptown area. Their demands were staggered – end the war, jail
corrupt bankers, things of that sort – but there was one resounding
message, and it's the same one that's painted on a number of signs
down at Marshall Park: “OBAMA IS A FUCKING TRAITOR.” Hardcore
progressives really do dislike the president – no matter how hard
the far-right tries to handcuff him to the Occupy movement. And
that's the note on which this tide is soon to turn.
After
writing the previous three paragraphs earlier today, I got word that
Occupiers were back at it, this time rallying for US Army
whistleblower Bradley Manning. Shortly after noon, a flock of about
200 – many of whom had an introductory clash with cops late last
night – arrived just a toss away from the Charlotte Convention
Center. Nudged on the corner of Stonewall and Caldwell – between
the designated “free speech zone” and the idiotic NASCAR Hall of
Fame – the Occupy contingent finally tested their boundaries, as
well as the extent to which authorities here will tolerate their
right to assemble.
It
wasn't pretty. With activists out in full force, police first
stumbled and then overreacted, circling the horde with hundreds of
mountain bikes and even motorcycles. And like that, a swarm of
bystanders and reporters flooded the zone, snapping pics of the
developing madness. Within a half-hour, cops with paintball guns
sealed the perimeter, and began making up rules as they went along –
who could be where and when, and what would be permitted from whom.
It was a turning point if there ever was one. As activists hugged the
blacktop and engaged in a two-plus-hour stand-off, the tension became
increasingly palpable.
Outside,
right now, protesters from as far as DC, Oakland, New York, and
Seattle are, as they like to say, tearing up the concrete. They're
arguing with delegates, many of whom are hollering right back at
them. The cops aren't helping those relations, and at one point even
arbitrarily blocked one of the few exits out of the convention zone,
which pissed a whole lot of people right off. There have also been a
few arrests – one of which police said was for wearing a mask in
public – and there's little chance of that trend cooling down. With
marches planned through tonight, Charlotte's looking less and less
like Tampa every minute.