By Cliff Montgomery – Sept. 5th, 2012
No one study can hope to capture all that occurs over the many days of a political convention. But since TheAmerican Spark currently is based in the Charlotte metro area, we feel it’s especially important to touch on afew salient points regarding the protests being held here at the 2012 Democratic National Convention (DNC) -matters that we feel should be made known to the rest of the nation…
Anyone wanting to know just how many protesters are here during the DNC in Charlotte, NC seems to be outof luck. While various totals have been released over the past few days, most don’t appear authoritative.
In fact, city officials and protesters each appear to have released totals that strain believability.
The obvious problem with the city totals is that the numbers appear to fluctuate, sometimes wildly.
Let’s break it down more concisely: On Sept. 2nd, the first big march for left-leaning activists took place duringConvention week in Charlotte. Clearly, the protesters meant this initial march to serve as a raw show ofnumbers.
Reports soon swirled among us journalists that city officials had given an estimate of 800 protesters for themarch.
By early Sept. 3rd, that number apparently had been whittled down to 750 activists. Then as evening came on,a new total of 600 protesters appeared to have been released by officials.
But the protesters seem to be playing with the numbers as well.
“Braving extreme heat, more than 2,500 people from throughout the South and across the U.S. filled thestreets of Charlotte on Sun., Sept. 2 for the March on Wall Street South,” claimed a Sept. 3rd press releasefrom the umbrella activist organization Coalition to March on Wall Street South.
This reporter attended the Sept. 2nd march, and followed the entirety of the proceeding. Watching the activistsmarch through Charlotte at various points and at numerous locales, it soon became clear that a genuinelyimpressive number of protesters are in town to make their voices heard. However, city officials’ apparentconfusion with numbers and the protesters’ raging sea of 2,500-plus individuals seem to be little more than twoopposing examples of wishful thinking.
To this reporter’s admittedly untrained eye, the rough estimate of around 800 protesters seems most close toreality…
If one talks about protesters, one also must discuss the measures and methods used by police forces duringthe protests. So far, there appears to be an obvious plus and a clear minus to these measures.
First, what police seem to have gotten right so far. Any time there is a clear increased police presence in themidst of a protest, some tension is inevitable. Yet if that police presence wasn’t there in some form, lesspoliticized citizens – or simply those who disagree with a particular protest – may well be apt to feel confusedand harried themselves, which could lead to problems no one wants.
The police forces now in Charlotte generally have worked to defuse tensions with protesters, rather thanexacerbate them. It certainly is a welcome change from the much more forceful tactics used by police at the2012 Republican National Convention (RNC) in Florida some days ago.
As one older activist who now has protested at both 2012 major political conventions told this reporter, theRNC police forces “were dressed from head-to-toe in riot gear, and it really did feel like a police state downthere.” By contrast, he praised Charlotte’s more reasoned, understanding approach toward protesters.
Charlotte Police Chief Rodney Monroe told this reporter that a real dialogue between police and activists was“very important” to ensure a peaceful protest march, and added that Charlotte and its officials “can’t be afraidof simple protest.”
His actions, like those of other officers currently working the DNC beat, show that they understand thisessential truth.
The minus? At least two police helicopters currently fly over downtown Charlotte every minute of every day. Anarmy of extra police has come from other U.S. cities to help provide a constant, heavy patrol. Most of centralCharlotte is under lock-down throughout the day.
It seems like a lot of worry over a group of people armed with nothing more than some catchy slogans and afew crude signs.
The sheer size and scope of this police presence is beginning to feel stifling for many, even those notinterested in protest.
“If you should meet an actual Charlottean – and this is highly unlikely because we’re not allowed in theDemocracy District during the most open and accessible convention in history,” comments Mark Washburn inan opinion piece for The Charlotte Observer, “do not be alarmed when we make eye contact and say hello.”
“By now,” continued Washburn, “you’ve noticed that our hospitality includes turning the convention area into apatriotic theme park. We call it ‘Alcatraz – The Experience! ’ ”
This sentiment was echoed by Laurel Green, a member of Occupy Charlotte.Though she told the Observer that the police handling of the protests so far has been “well done” she addedthat “the ratio of police to demonstrators is visually frightening.”
“It runs the risk of instigating,” Green added.
