Watching the last few days of unrest in the Twin Cities surrounding the Republican National Convention unfold, a few things have made themselves evident to me in a way that I’d heard of and thought a little about but never personally witnessed before.
Law enforcement may be hurting more than they are helping.
Our local independent media’s coverage has been a good complement to the traditional media’s coverage.
I made it back to the liberal stronghold that is Minneapolis, although it took me longer than normal. Definitely longer than it took me to get to St. Paul this morning. Granted, when I boarded the 94 eastbound bus, it was during rush hour, and coming home, I stopped at Innuendo for Happy Hour first. The 7:46 schedule 94 bus never came, so I caught the 16 instead, at 8pm. It got me to Minneapolis at about 8:45. I probably should’ve waited for the 94 at 8:16, but I figured I’d still get home around the same time.
My overall impression of the day, though, was…meh. In a phrase that would’ve made Yogi Berra happy, “if you didn’t know it was happening, you wouldn’t know it was happening.” Now, that’s not to say that there weren’t events, that there weren’t rallies, that there wasn’t stuff that was newsworthy. What I mean is, if you didn’t live in the restricted area, if you didn’t work near the zone, all you would see is a lot of people, and a lot of cops. In other words, it would look like you were living or working in a city. Now, for St. Paul, that’s a bit of a change. In fact, I’d say that St. Paul seemed a lot more like Minneapolis today, in terms of general activity.
There was lots of conversation. As you walked through the skyway, or rode the bus, you’d hear people say things like, “Did you see that guy with the bullhorn?” or “Man, there were loads of cops in riot gear at the park!” But unless you went looking for it, or by misfortune, lived or worked in the specific areas, it didn’t really affect you.
And there were lots of cops, both in St. Paul and in Minneapolis. At every street corner, there is a police presence. I don’t know that I necessarily felt safer. I mean, no one is going to mug me with a cop right there, but if someone did mug me, I don’t know that the cop would’ve done anything. If I had a placard denouncing the government, I think the cops would’ve done something. Not necessarily violently, but there would’ve been a reaction. I just didn’t feel like they were there to police “normal crime”. You could probably blow a stoplight without too much worry of getting a ticket, unless your car was decorated to protest something.
Related to Jason’s question, MnIndy and The Uptake both have longer-form pieces up today addressing yesterday’s events. (Note that most of yesterday’s coverage was live, on-the-spot type stuff.) David Brauer’s got them all in today’s RNC-themed Daily Glean. Follow all of his links.
Interestingly, all of the standard journalists asked very police-sympathetic questions (”how much property damage was done? were all the criminals part of this same RNC Welcoming Group? How many police officers were injured (answer: none)), while all of the independent journalists — such as those from the superb, intrepid site, The Uptake — asked challenging and skeptical (i.e., real) questions.
Somewhere approaching 10,000 people showed up in Saint Paul today to say with their signs, their voices, and their presence that they disagreed with something our government is doing. They got their message out with causing any harm to anyone or anything.
A few hundred dillweeds showed up, threw bricks through windows and dumped garbage bins into the street, and generally caused a ruckus for the sake of causing a ruckus, essentially fucking it up for everyone. I’m not against protesting or demonstrating. I am against being a jackass.
And, you know, if you really mean it, show your face instead of hiding behind a bandana. If you have a message that you stand by, attaching your real identity to it gives it more meaning.
At the same time, the presence of various local and federal law enforcement agencies in full riot gear somewhat escalates the situation. If you’re gonna go full out like that, you’re going to spur people on. If you’re ensconced inside your protective bubble, it encourages people to try to break it.
(Okay, I know that’s not actually news, or at least it’s the most meta take on the story, but look at him! Work it, Chuck.)
My #2 favorite: Corinne McDermid is one of The Uptake’s CJs who has been broadcasting from downtown Saint Paul all day. This is video she took while detained by police in a massive roundup of protestors.
Oh yeah, and the RNC did actually start and Hurricane Gustav did actually hit the ground. Most of the country was watching hurricane coverage or the US Open.
The Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office conducted four raids late last night and early this morning, three of which were in Minneapolis. Remember: St Paul, home of the 2008 Republican National Convention, is in Ramsey County. Minneapolis is in Hennepin County. Jason Barnett of The Uptake notes: “Why the Ramsey Co Sheriff is important - he’s the only GOP elected official in Saint Paul, and wanted to set up holding camps.”
A mass public meeting to discuss the raids will be held at 11:30 am today in Powderhorn Park.
The Uptake has video forthcoming. Twin Cities Indymedia is continually updating as well with submitted reports from citizens. Keep your eye on The Uptake, Indymedia, and MnIndy for continuing updates on further developments.
The former owner of the house, Mary Lou Maxwell, was my last landlord before I bought my first house. Mary had a keen eye for restoration and as a landlord was the best I ever had. Apparently, she spent $160,000 restoring the house just seven years ago and now a great deal of her restoration has been stolen or destroyed.
It’s a shame that such a terrific house fell victim to vandals and thieves, but it gives me hope knowing that someone like Connie is on the case. ( Even though Connie isn’t even the listing agent Via@dbrauer) I have a feeling we haven’t seen the last of the Bardwell-Ferrant house. If you know anyone looking for a fixer upper or if you want to be part of history I suggest giving Connie a call.
According to the Star Tribune, “A motorist parks a vehicle in a parking lot and returns to find the window smashed and valuables missing. That’s the scenario that’s played out at least 10 times in the past two weeks in Wayzata.”
This is something I’m having a hard time feeling unsafe about, because these people were leaving purses and wallets in their cars in plain view. How much effort does it take to A) take your purse or wallet with you or B) tuck it under the seat? Seriously. Some people live in such isolation that it makes me *almost* glad this sort of thing happens. But not actually.
National Geographic Traveler’s 48-Hour Guide to Minneapolis (July/August 2008 edition) lists local blogs and podcasts to check out, followed by newspapers and magazines, maps, and books and movies. We’re a design mecca on the prairie. (I didn’t know Building Minnesota had a podcast.)
TC Daily Planet:Copper Thieves at Coldwater. Exploring the effects of neglect of the Coldwater/Bureau of Mines land.
I knew there was the Minnesota Thunder, our professional men’s soccer team in the United Soccer Leagues. I didn’t know there was a women’s team, the Minnesota Lightning. They’re clearly affiliated, judging by the look of the websites. And by the extremely confusing navigation of the Lightning website, in which all of the links and even the site name up at the top of the browser point to the Thunder, but with a light blue color scheme instead of a dark blue one and a picture of women playing at the top instead of men. Boo! [twitter: @mnthunder]
Vote Yes MN implores you to protect the Minnesota you love. Everything you need to know about the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment, a proposed amendment to the Minnesota state constitution appearing on the ballot this fall. If passed it will dedicate funding to protecting the environment “by increasing the sales and use tax rate beginning July 1, 2009, by three-eighths of one percent on taxable sales until the year 2034.” [web: yesformn.org] [twitter: @yesformn] [facebook: group]
Common Roots is celebrating its 1st year of operation with a Summer Celebration on Saturday August 9th from 2-9pm. “Featuring grilling on the patio, an heirloom tomato tasting, local beer and wine samples, family activities and live music.” [facebook: profile] [facebook: event] [twitter: @commonroots]
FringeFamous is a blog covering the Minneapolis/St.Paul independent theatre scene, written by a group of quasi-anonymous “Twin Cities theater professionals.” They do year-round coverage (as of March of this year, anyway), but you can imagine how frothy they are over the impending Fringe Festival. [twitter: @fringefamous]
Community Design Group is “an urban planning and policy consulting group” touting “a people-centered, asset-based approach to urban planning, policy and design.” (via mediation)
MPR:Ramsey County creates gas siphoning report line. To which I say, “Isn’t that what the non-emergency police line is for?” Enh, just program it into your phone, I guess. That phone number is not actually included in the MPR story and I could not find it on Ramsey County’s website, so I’m assuming it’s not actually set up yet and suggest you just call the county in the mean time (651-266-8500). There is, however a nice Gather video demonstration of gas siphoning.
Twin Cities Streets for People has the scoop on the Streetcar Feasibility Study that was presented to Minneapolis City Council in January. In case you need it laid out for you in plain English, or in case you missed it the first time around (or both). I’m sloooowly coming around to the idea that, much as I like shiny trains and still firmly believe that the metro needs a comprehensive LRT system, there is a lot of opportunity in adequately funding and fleshing out our bus system and bringing back streetcars.
