Just Because We're In A Cage Doesn't Mean We Aren't Free

I recently read with interest a story in the Rocky Mountain News that said that Denver law enforcement had done such a good job of policing the Democratic National Convention, that their approach would now be a guide and model for all future conventions.  Before we light our cigars and pat ourselves on the back, however, I think it is important that we hear the other side of the story.  This is my take on the new Denver model.

As I was covering police and protesters for KGNU last week, five questions kept coming to my mind.  By Tuesday night my answers to these questions led me to believe that Denver had developed a new model for policing large political conventions, gatherings and protests, and that this new model was indeed very successful.  Unfortunately, completely and totally successful.  Here are my five questions:

First, why did police keep such a large presence in Denver when it became clear by Sunday night that the number of protesters was vastly smaller than predicted?  The answer is that Denver's strategy was never proportional response, but shock and awe.  From the first day of the convention, Denver presented an overwhelming force of riot police, police on horseback, bike, and foot, as well as an awesome array of police cars, busses for mass arrests, swat tanks, and large SUV's to transport officers.  The clear intention was to show all weapons and forces in overwhelming numbers, sending the message to protester and populace that if anybody gets out of line, they will be crushed.  De-escalating forces to match the number of protesters would have short-circuited this plan of shock and awe.  All forces and weapons would be shown from beginning to end, no matter the number of protesters.  Shock and awe is the first pillar of the new Denver model.

Second, why were even small protest demonstrations surrounded by such large numbers of riot police?  Answer: The Denver model calls for constant intimidation of any group of protesters.  Here are two examples.  On Monday afternoon, in a playful and symbolic protest, about sixty protesters tried to magically levitate the Denver Mint, shaking out money for the poor.  Even though the Mint has heavily fortified walls, with a surrounding fence of sharp black spikes, well over a hundred riot police and police on horses completely surrounded this small protest.  Why so many?  Because police strategy was not to control this gathering, but to intimidate it.  Second example: On Wednesday afternoon a small protest began in Skyline park, which is actually two small plots of grass on both sides of the 16th street mall.  One person pounded a drum, while about fifty others clapped.  In the thirty seconds it took this tiny protest to cross the mall from one plot of grass to the other, at least sixty riot police, with many more on horse and bike, completely surrounded this hand clapping demonstration.  Why so many?  Because police strategy was not to control, but to thoroughly intimidate any demonstration, no matter how small.  Constant intimidation is the second pillar of the new Denver model.

Third question: why were there so many arrests on Monday night of convention week?  Answer: the Denver model calls for preemptive arrests of anyone suspected of plotting mischief.  Everybody knew that some groups were planning to disrupt delegate gatherings on Monday night.  These groups advertised their plans on web sites and hand outs, and they were openly discussing their plans in Civic Center Park on Monday afternoon.  When everybody started putting on bandanas, you knew the plot was afoot.  But before they could do anything, the police strategically corralled many between 15th and 16th streets, and then arrested them.  Arrested them not for plotting anything, but for the fabricated charge of failure to obey a police order.  Now, I completely understand that police have to act on reliable intelligence, and it is their job to prevent acts of violence and disruption.  But is it ethical or legal to arrest everybody before they barely leave the park?  On a bogus charge?  But here is the real problem.  It was not just those corralled that were arrested.   Anyone wearing a bandana that night was rounded up and arrested, even if they were alone, far from Civic Center, and doing nothing illegal.  If you suspect there might be problems, then preemptively arrest and sort it out later.  This is the third pillar of the new Denver Model.

Here is my fourth question:  why were fences put up in Civic Center Park for the Taste of Colorado a day and half earlier than usual, and why were air conditioners in the Steele street detention center turned up full blast twenty-four hours a day?  Answer: the new Denver model calls for harassment, whenever possible, of any protesters.  The fences in Civic Center Park didn't have to go up early Wednesday morning.  They could have gone up at six p.m. Wednesday when the protester's permit expired.  They could have gone up on Thursday afternoon like they always did in the past.  But by putting the fences up far earlier than ever, the city and police were sending a clear message to the protesters that we don't like you, and we are just barely tolerating you.  This is harassment.  Why was the air conditioner kept on full blast at the detention center?  When the protesters found out about the center, they complained that if the warehouse had been too hot to store voting machines in, how could you think about putting voters there?  So the police and city said, "you want air conditioning? We'll show you air conditioning."  So they froze the place, kept detainees there longer than the promised four hours, and then refused to give anyone blankets.  This is nothing but harassment.  Harassment of protesters is, without any doubt, the fourth pillar of the new Denver model. 

Here is my final question: why was the free speech zone, or freedom cage, kept so far from the Pepsi Center, with a large media tent preventing any view of the convention, with no access to delegates and with no water or toilet facilities?  Answer: the new Denver model calls for isolating protesters and demonstrators far from the convention center and far from any delegates.  In my opinion there may never have been a convention in American history where dissent and protest had less access to the delegates and to the convention center than this convention in Denver.  The free speech area was an insulting and ridiculous joke.  Nobody went there.  Many people I talked to couldn't even find it.  Some called it the dead zone, or a free speech deprivation tank.  If you tried to get near the Pepsi Center somewhere else, you couldn't.  The security perimeter was so far from the convention that there was no hope of being heard by a delegate.  Protesters could demonstrate in Civic Center Park, but that is a good two miles from the Pepsi Center.  What happened inside the convention was absolutely insulated from what happened in the streets.  This is because isolation of protesters and demonstrations is the fifth pillar of the new Denver model.

Shock and awe, constant intimidation, preemptive arrests, harassment, and isolation.  Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the new Denver model.

One last thought.  On Thursday afternoon I was in the freedom cage at Invesco Field, and the only people who showed up were the legalization of marijuana group.  By five o'clock only a handful of these youth were left, and they enjoyed the chance to safely curse out, for the only time in their lives, the two policemen who occasionally checked out the cage.  At one point about fifteen police officers on bikes rode into the cage, and they were promptly screamed at told to leave by the angry occupants.  "This is our cage," they joyfully shouted.  One young man yelled at the police, saying, "just because we're in a cage doesn't mean we aren't free."  Just because we're in a cage doesn't mean we aren't free.  What an amazing statement!  Was this young philosopher simply stating a fact?  Was he offering terms of surrender?  Or was he issuing a battle cry?  That is a really good question.  All I know is that for five days last week law enforcement completely locked down protest and dissent on the streets of Denver in an iron clad freedom cage.  

I just keep wondering, are we really free?

CoyoteJ

    

Ghostbusters

Coyote is seeing and hearing way too many ghosts.  Scary.

The ghost of Seattle, in this Coyote's opinion, haunts the streets of Denver.  For the police, the cry is, "Seattle, never again."  And to make sure Seattle never happens again, they have presented themselves in Denver with overwhelming force.  We won't be fooled again.

For the protesters, Seattle was the last great protest.  Their cry is, "remember the Space Needle."  So, they are trying to call up the ghost of Seattle in all that they do.  They are protesting the last protest.

Coyote believes it is time for both police and protesters to get past Seattle already.  Times change.  Seattle was almost ten years ago.  Lets creatively move forward.

Casper the friendly CoyoteJ  

How Low Can It Go?

It looked like a Civil War battlefield.  Coyote could see wounded everywhere, as the protesters were routed, demoralized, and driven from Civic Center Park.  Coyote will call this the battle of Civic Hope.

What happened?  As a few wounded protesters wandered into Civic Center this morning, injured last night in the battle of 15th and Court, spirits were clearly low.  But there was some music playing, a few speeches were given, and a Procession for the Future street puppet march was planned.  There were things to look forward to.  But at ten o'clock the battle of Civil Hope began.  Three or four angry fundamentalist preachers from street preachers.com began shouting awful things about God, women, homosexuals, and America.  A crowd began to form around them.  The hateful preachers eventually moved to another part of the park, but the crowds with them got bigger and bigger, draining almost all the energy from the protester's plans.  Police on foot and horse surrounded the crowds.  When pathological fundamentalists can conquer your energy and steal your agenda, and when the police are focusing on them and not you, the rout is on.

But it got worse.  Recreate 68 pleaded with the police to remove the preachers because R68 had an exclusive permit for the park at that time.  The police no would do.  And then, at the height of  crowd tension, the police rushed in, knocked several to the ground, and arrested Carlo of R68 and a woman from Code Pink.  Complete defeat.  The protesters were spiritually broken.  The battle of Civic Hope was over.  Yes, the parade went on with many beautiful puppets, but half the people in Civic Center were still watching the preachers when the parade left.  After last night's defeat at 15th and Court, it looks like lights out.

Wars are funny things.  The energy and momentum can change in an instant.  Maybe the protesters will rally, and finish the week with optimism and passion.  But as of one hour ago, their cause looks grim indeed.

CoyoteJ

Provocation (Expletive Warning)

Coyote has so much to say.  He will try to make it brief.

I knew things had changed when I saw a very disproportionate police response to the protester attempt to symbolically levitate the mint.  Then ten minutes later a lot more police than yesterday in Civic Center Park.  Then it all fell apart.  Coyote wonders, why?

Here is a theory.  In studying police and protesters this summer, Coyote learned that a new police approach was being formed, an approach designed to be less provocative than usual.  In this new police model, the first level of police presence was regular police being visible, no dogs, horses, bikes, or riot gear.  Away from this first level of presence would be a second level of bikes, batons, and dogs, but they would be kept back, and mostly out of view.  The third level would be police in riot gear, strategically placed throughout a city, ready to go in an instant, but out of sight until, and if, needed.  The whole idea would be for the police to be as laid back, and as minimally provocative, as possible.  Coyote saw much wisdom in that approach.

But the Denver police approach at this convention seems to be exactly the opposite.  The Denver model is show everything you have right from the start, make a strong show of force, make sure everyone sees the batons, dogs, bikes, and riot gear on day one, and, apparently, hope this show of force prevents any problems.  The problem with this model is that it is provocative.  This approach seems to be subtly, and not so subtly, saying, if you F with us, we will respond quickly and with overwhelming strength.  This doesn't lower tension.  It increases it.

What you fear comes upon you.  If you are worried, and you provocatively say don't F with us, then you are setting up a situation where people will F with you.  And you will F with them.  This is not deep psychology folks.  This is psych 101 stuff.  

Coyote wonders, why?  

CoyoteJ

Less Than Zero

Ladies and gentlemen, Coyote proudly gives you your Denver Convention protest area.  The police there are like Maytag repairmen, the lonliest people in town.  I thought it was bad before, but this is, well, nothing. Absolutely nothing.  It isn't awful, or brutal, or humiliating.  It is simply nothing.

Imagine poor old Coyote walking a half-mile from downtown in ninety degree heat, slithering sweatily through the Auraria campus, excited to finally see the free speech zone.  Finally he makes a right turn, and there it is: the giant white tent.  All you can see is the tent.  The walkway where the delegates come in is a good three hundred yards away.  The "freedom cage" is small, isolated, and NOBODY IS THERE!  And Coyote doesn't blame them.  Any good protester worth their salt would never go there.  Honestly, it is a joke.  Nothing but a joke.

But this joke isn't funny.  Coyote could hear music playing as he approached, and it was coming from a Chinese band that was just finishing up.  They were playing and protesting about persecution in their homeland, and nobody was there to hear them.  How sad.  They went there, I'm sure, because that is where the protests are.  They did as they were told.

So Coyote is standing there, all by himself, and all at once he gets this crazy urge to drop his pack and make a sudden, insane lunge at the fence.  Maybe, just maybe, I could get over the first fence.  Maybe, just maybe, I could start climbing the second fence before I got tazered or shot with rubber bullets.  Maybe, just maybe, with a final rush of courage I could fall over the second fence and crawl to the media tent.  If I could just touch the media tent........ But who would see?  Who would know about my last act of profound courage?  Who would tell my story?  What an absolute joke.

But Coyote is more wise than he looks.  He knows this was done on purpose.  This joke was no accident.  In the end, however, the joke is on the city.  This cage at the end of the earth will only force protesters back into the streets, where the city would much rather not have them go.  If this cage almost made a protester out of Coyote, think what it will do to those already fired up and ready to go.

CoyoteJ, growling with canine anger. 

Coyote's first P.S.   Every citizen should go down and see this place, and then think long and hard about what it means.

In the Beginning

Short Coyote thoughts from day one:

It is sometimes hard to tell if there are more protesters or more media.  What does this mean?  It can't be good.

Speaking of not good, the only real altercations were with Fox News (Coyote is always suspicious of foxes).  Who knows who started it, but people almost started punching a Fox News reporter at the Capitol, and during the anti-war march.  When the media becomes the story, too many media.

I think the police did a good job.  Coyote could tell they were going out of their way to give space, not react, be present, and yet not be too present.  I hope this continues.

Only Colorado people have heard of Recreate 68, or Tent State.  Anyone not from Colorado has no idea what you are talking about.

Most shocking was the disappearance of Tent State.  Coyote was told, as were we all, that twenty thousand or more Tent Staters would gather first in City Park, then it was Cuernavaca Park, and that at curfew they would march to the Pepsi Center protester area.  Very, very wrong.  At most thirty people went to the Pepsi Center.  Coyote wants to know, is there a Tent State, and if so, what exactly is it?

Most touching were dozens of pairs of boots at Cuernavaca Park, each with the name of a Colorado soldier who had died in the war.  Those boots brought tears to Coyote's eyes.

What does it all mean?  The union of opposites.  All life is a union of opposites, and more pairs of opposites will manifest themselves this week.  We can't know the light without the dark.  

CoyoteJ, who is always opposite to himself.

 

Morality Play

Time to howl.......

The stage for the play is set.  We have a chorus (the press), we have numerous plot lines, we have heroes and villains, we have Denver as the setting, and we have a very large audience.  Now the curtain goes up, and Coyote wonders, what exactly will we see? What is the title of this play?  Is it a tragedy or a comedy?  Who is the author?  What moral are we supposed to learn?  Why do we put on shows like this every four years?

Here is the most important thing to remember as we watch the play: it isn't personal.  It feels awfully personal.  It will feel extremely personal if we get arrested.  For some it felt very personal that Hillary didn't win.  Many will feel betrayed if Obama keeps moving to the right.  Lots of people will feel thrilled at the spectacle, the pomp, and the excitement of the convention.  Some will feel personally vindicated.  Others will feel abandoned.

But Coyote asks us to keep clearly before our minds this one fact:  it is a play, and it isn't personal.  It will be such a good play that we will, at times, be totally caught up in it.  It will be such a good play that, at times, we the audience will feel as if we are part of the the scenes and acts.  That is what a great play does: it draws us in so well that it makes us forget, for a time, that it is theater.  We get absorbed in the drama.  We become part of the drama.  As we should.

But it isn't personal.  We don't hunt down an actor who played Hamlet, and ask him why he was so mean to Ophelia.  He was playing a role.  It isn't personal.  We don't put the chief Puritan  inquisitor in "The Crucible" on trial for murder.  He was playing a role.  It isn't personal.  The key Coyote fact to remember is that all life is a stage, and we are but actors on it.  All life.  And especially these every four year extravaganzas.  If we take it personally, then we miss the play.  If we take it personally, then we lose perspective.  If we take it personally, then we lose the lessons the author is trying to get us to learn.  Focus on the themes.  Focus on the symbols.  Focus on the plot twists.  Focus on the comedy and the tragedy.  Keep our eyes on the play.  

If we can do that, then maybe,  just maybe, we will learn a bit about who we are.  The drama of the convention is a mirror in which we see our reflection.  Will we see the mirror, or ourselves?

CoyoteJ, reflecting only on his next nap.