PHENOMENAL Concert, Disappointing Demonstration, and a Nadir of faith in US democracy
AUGUST 27:
Before entering the Denver Coliseum at around 1pm in order to see the free Rage Against the Machine concert, we have to place our bags across the street for "security reasons" and, at the coliseum entrance, we are frisked for weapons. I can see the point of this, considering all the die-hard fans of Rage who are anxious to disrupt their once-in-a-lifetime chance to see their favourite band play for free at a historic DNC (sarcasm). Upon entering, people are given either a blue bracelet for spectator seating or an orange bracelet for access to the moshpit. We receive orange bracelets and blue-bracelet Rage fans are offering to buy our orange bracelets from us. The concert is beyond awesome...a highlight of the DNC. I can’t even put it into words, and I'm pretty sure that not even the greatest of writers or story-tellers could aptly convey the sheer awesomeness of this moment which many would certainly give their kidneys in order to experience, so I won’t even bother trying to explain. Just watch it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2PfpLH3mhU; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0r3GtNNCfA&feature=related.
Pumped-up by the powerful music of Rage Against the Machine, a hodgepodge of anarchists, liberals, Communists, environmentalists, immigrant-rights activists and Civil Rights activists have taken to the streets in support of the Iraq Veterans Against the War. There are far fewer demonstrators than was initially forcasted --- as usual, the amount of protesters has been exaggerated in order to justify an over-the-top police presence. Indeed, the protest is humorous at first, with one side of the street lined with camera-wielding journalists while the other side is flanked by baton-wielding riot police. Together, there are perhaps as many journalists and police as there are protesters! However, the gravely serious human cost of the war is powerfully evident. Everywhere, demonstrators are carrying tombstone-shaped signs with the names and ages of US soldiers killed in the conflict. The occasional appearance of teary-eyed wheelchair-ridden Vietnam and Iraq War veterans, who appear as sad islands within a sea of anger, are powerful enough to turn the most hardened hawk, for at least one second, against this morally unjust war.
You call this a protest?
As an avid antiwar activist, I thought I would connect with these people. However, I am almost as annoyed as Yusuf and Alex. European demonstrations, not to mention protests of sixties America, put this protest to shame. The march seems sadly unorganized and largely ineffectual as it is noticeably disunited in its goals, with some marching to end the war and occupation of Iraq (the official reason for this march), others to legalize cannabis use, others to end wiretapping, others to grant amnesty to illegal immigrants and many for the sake of blindly lashing out at the Establishment. How can anything be accomplished when everyone is marching for something different? Compared to Canadian protesters, there is a greater sense of desperation and anger in people’s eyes. There is also a greater tendency for intimidation and violence as many try to provoke the police into attacking them (although it must be noted that the VAST majority of demonstrators are peaceful in every way, making the draconian police presence rather ludicrous). Many protesters tell me how, unlike Canadians, they are terrified of their government and frustrated by the inability to express themselves due to the decrepit state of US democratic institutions. I therefore cannot blame the protesters for their lack of unity and the preference of some American demonstrators for violence. This is precisely what fear and desperation does to people.
Nader, Penn, Morello, Sheehan, Biafra -- now, that's what I call a "Super Rally"!
With the convention closed off to the masses in a representation of elitist democracy and the protest demonstrating the dire state of grassroots democracy in the US with its lack of organization and disunity, the closest thing to a real sense of hope occurred at the University of Colorado, where Ralph Nader blasted both the Republicans and Democrats for their similar allegiance to Big Business and called for a greater role for 3rd parties at the "Open the Debates" super rally. The Nader movement truly epitomizes grassroots, bottom-up democracy, at its best. Nader is opened by Tom Morello who does an awesome performance of the original version of Woodie Guthrie's "This Land is Your Land," which is most often censored in order to remove the socialistic verses: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGfbfFWl7oI. However, even this event depresses me to some extent, as celebrity speaker Sean Penn attracts more media attention and audience excitement than the impressive line-up of political speakers, his celebrity aura threatening to drain and rob the event of its substance. Then again, considering how people worship celebrities, I suppose one could consider him a powerful asset to an important movement.
An angry old man sitting behind us constantly reminds me how bitterly divided this nation truly is, as he constantly shouts at Cindy Sheehan as she addresses the audience, flinging both his arms in the air, his middle fingers extended. His heckling ranges from the straight-forward "go back home bitch," to the sexist remark "go home and bake cookies," to the oft repeated "she's an embarassment to every vet in this country" and "veterans don't wanna hear this." Everyone here is perplexed: Why did this pay to come here if he hates it so much?
--- Johnathan Buck
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