The police state issues in Denver continue to be extremely troubling. All I hear from folks following the convention is that dissent should be allowed/embraced there... it's preposterous to us that such exaggerated "security" measures are in place. I understand the need to secure and protect the convention/nominee, but what we're really showing is that we have no idea how to balance the line between protection and freedom. It's really sad.
Maybe I'm dissenting form the dissenters, but I haven't seen too much of this. And I've been walking around a lot.
I think it is a little bit exaggerated; the pedicab dude who pedaled me around Downtown said he hadn't seen anything.
Maybe it's all by the convention, but while there are a lot of police around, I haven't been hassled; and you'd think a young brown guy would be hassled by police if anyone would be.
It could be that there isn't much dissent planned...in the first place. This is Obama after all. But there seems to be a police state nonetheless. When an army of police in riot gear (that is, all in black with plastic shields and batons at hand) are massed on the streets, and are backed up by a huge cage in which a person can be expected to be thrown if arrested, its any wonder there is dissent at all. Their presence presupposes dissent that warrants arrest. In fact, it says to anyone who looks that there will be mass arrests. Unfortunately, this m.o. has a very long history in the united states, and is very much alive in metropolitan cities today. I can't tell you how many times I've seen a massive police presence to counteract quite small and non-threatening protests in Albuquerque. It's completely ridiculous, and I believe the intention is to intimidate.
My understanding was that the real concern as far as protesters getting out of control was going to be the pro-life crowd, not the anti-war people.
I've never seen that kind of preparation for the anti-abortion crowd. No, this type of mobilization is for the left, as it always has been.
Mary Ellen and I have run into scenes similar to this one all over central Denver. Maybe it's because we're driving around instead of walking and are seeing more areas in any given day or something. I can't tell you how many times we've gotten stuck in traffic because streets are suddenly closed down because a handful of protestors or sometimes even 1 is present and surrounded by cops on horses, soldier-cops, cops hanging off trucks, cops holding rifles, etc.
Generally they don't seem to be hassling anyone except those with signs or wearing certain message teeshirts or those who start to group together.
Remind me, however, to tell you about my experience with a secret service agent tonight while attempting to leave the security perimeter around the Pepsi Center. The guy was positively a psycho who got angry at us because my battery operated scooter ran out of juice. He wanted us to carry it for about a block for starters.
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