Deep black-clad troops thick with riot gear and anonymizing helmets, no distinction between them save color-coded duct tape between the shoulders and the slightly differing gait in the thudding of their boots against the cold and hard pavement marched, god I'm not kidding you, Gestapo style up the middle of Robert Avenue in St. Paul last night around 8:45 p.m., straight up toward the Capital building, where they young girls I'd just interviewed were headed because, as they explained, the Poor People's march "was getting too rowdy."
Boy, were they likely surprised when 300 storm troopers in black black riot gear showed up to the party, that had already been shut down and quiet for hours.
It was easily the most terrifying thing I've ever seen: When I watch videos of the Khmer Rouge moving in on cities in Cambodia, a place I love second only to America, I try to access what the feeling must be like of watching your people invade their own with intent to harm in mass, faceless numbers. Before last night at 8:45 p.m., I could not for the life of me imagine it. And now I saw it, in the very city I'd been told since birth was immune from the evils of the world.
I know it's too late to lose my innocence, again, but I took a moment to meditate beside a lake this morning in Chanhassen where we're all staying, the great pink horde of us, far far away from the clamor of the streets (too far if you ask me, but some of the ladies here are content with that). As I looked out over the gently moving lake, waking up with the 8 a.m. winds, rocking against the shore, I hit sorrow in the pit of my stomach like I haven't felt before. I thought it might be the aggravation of 20-hour days spent fighting, documenting, worrying, running, sorting through the miscommunications of a group constantly on the go, and just plain old waiting for something to happen. It wasn't aggravation. It was a single image.
The image of American troops dressed in black moving in with intent to harm young American civilians.
Reports will roll in today about what exactly went down and where and when and why. Anarchists will be blamed for "bomb-making"--these reports aren't, by the way, to be believed--and stories of National Guardsmen and St. Paul Police and Sheriffs and undercover cops going rogue and lashing out at people will flood the Midwest like the Mighty Mississippi. What I know is that dump trucks were called in to blockade entire streets. Hundreds of troops suited up before the Rage Against the Machine Concert and waited for them to start. Two lines of troops surrounded all sides of a peaceful march just winding down--put on, by the way, by the Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign--and threw tear gas, released flash grenades (at least four of them), intimidated, harassed, and roiled a crowd standing up for their right to speak out against a damaging administration into a frenzy they then had to control, through further intimidation and harassment.
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Thanks so much for posting this. Wow.
... freedom and liberty, huh?
Thank you so much for your report and getting out there and doing something to protect Americas rights! People like you are the true patriots not people who think speaking truth to power should be trampled. Do you have a blog or could you direct me to other sites? I've been watching The Uptakes coverage and checking in on Democracy Now and seeing stories on Current.com but I'd love to get more sources and see other points of view on what is going on. Do you people have legal representation? I hope you have access to someone who can represent you against this unjust crackdown on free speech!! I couldn't believe the videos of these "peace" officers in their full war gear with absolutely NO identification on them what so ever. Police should not have complete anonymity and impunity to intimidate the press and protesters, harass and arrest people on fake charges. People should really support organizations like CopWatch, I-Witness Video and The UpTake. Those videos not only protect cops themselves if an incident goes down but it protects the public from unlawful police actions and trumped up charges.
Thank you for this post.
I'm glad I'm not the only person who feels uncomfortable when there are a bunch of cops with guns around me. When I went to protest at Bush's second inaguration, there were three rows of armed police officers in front of the sidewalk and snipers on top of the surrounding buildings. I wonder whether they were there to protect me or shoot me if I stepped out of line (whatever that means).