Every four years, people who have been dedicating months, even years of their life in preparation come together in front of the TV cameras to live their dream in front of a world-wide audience. Of course I’m not referring to the Olympics but to protesting the presidential conventions. To be fair, there was a Mount Olympus feel to Sen. Obama’s dais during the DNC, while the poo and urine-flinging anarchists in the streets of St. Paul for the RNC suggest that a rerouting of the Mississippi River through downtown, alá Hercules’ method for cleaning the Augean Stables, might be necessary. While there were a lot of different costumes seen among the protesters, I don’t remember any togas though.
The protesters and anarchists weren’t the only ones who were busy preparing for their time in the spotlight, however. The authorities were also at work with plans of their own, and launched preemptive raids (with search warrants) on known anarchist hang-outs Sunday night before the convention started, capturing bolt cutters, sling shots, six throwing-style knives, smoke bombs, machetes, caltrops (for disabling tires and vehicles) and other devices for blocking traffic or damaging property. It was also reported that several buckets of urine were also confiscated, no doubt for testing to see if the wild ones had been taking steroids in preparation for their protests. A lot of buttons and propaganda were also taken into custody, and the pro bono lawyers who came to town with the protesters were in court Tuesday, demanding the return of all materials. District Judge Kathleen Gearin, however, denied an emergency motion brought by the plaintiffs to have some of the items seized by police returned to them.
“Who should we return the urine to?” Gearin asked.
I think it’s only fair that the buckets be returned full, and with triple damages.
Oh well, God love ’em, I can tolerate and only shake my head in amusement at most of the fey activists. The protests so far have generally been non-violent and even kind of amusing in a precocious way with strange dancing, crude (in craftsmanship and language) signs and trite slogans that perhaps suggest what the TV writers were doing last year in their spare time while they were on strike. At least these folks were willing to show their faces and even to be arrested.
Some, however, dressed oh-so-chic in black garb, masks and hoods, came with the intention of doing property damage, busting windows in a police car and running away; bashing in several storefront windows and running away; one even took a run at cop trying to drag a protester away, knocking the officer down and then running away. These true believers, of course, had to keep their faces covered so that “the Man” couldn’t identify them because, you know, civilized cultures have things like “laws” and consequences, which really frosts the anarchists. At least there’s a precedent in America for people hooding their faces while committing acts of terror in the name of some hateful cause. Before, though, those hoods were white.
(Photo from WCCO slideshow.)
Update:
Related News Stories:
Anatomy of anarchy: Militant protestors meet police on St. Paul streets
Anarchists damage property, block traffic, attack delegates with bleach
St. Paul protest play out on streets, online
Holy cow, machetes???
Well, Minnesota is tropical you know. Lot of jungle.
Caltrops? I use those in my video game…they disable the movements of my foe.
‘who should we return the urine too?’
i love it.
Return it to the protesters in a “topical application” right before their mommies and daddies pick them up. Throw the caltrops into their skivvies and hurry them out the door.
Yeah, I’m kinda ticked to be a taxpayer forking over a bit of the $50 million to control these idiots, and I’m even more ticked that local police departments need to send their men to Pig’s Eye instead of patrolling at home. Let the idiots suffer a bit.