RNC in MSP, a locals view

So the RNC is all up and swinging, 5th Ave exit downtown St. Paul is blocked off (affects me zero, but still, the orange cones on the highway are never pleasant to drive past).

This weekend I noticed cops at all the lights along 55 / Hiawatha while driving to the airport to pick someone up (unrelated to the RNC). Then I noticed those explorer cop people all over Dale on the way to the Simpson’s house.

Finally, this morning I read about the cops spraying crowds with gas and pepper spray.

All this crap is making me think WTF?!?!?

Isn’t this an uber-liberal city, in a blue state? Why the hell are we pandering to a big obviously non-Minnesotan convention, to the point of even being violent to protesters.

To be honest, I don’t know the events surrounding that whole protester thing, but my personal opinion is very much for non-violent protesting. (i.e. not a full-on riot / mob that is blocking roadways and public areas so much so that regular joes walking to the job can’t get around / through them).

There have certainly been cops doing weird stuff like any other city. We have the racisim within the force, and the over-reactions / violence that seems excessive, and a whole host of other screw-ups. Mostly the stuff that comes up time-to-time because cops are human just like us and they make mistakes. (bad stuff, but we make bad mistakes too)

But this is a bit much. Between this, and the noticeable increase in pulled over cars the last couple of weeks, it is starting to fee like we are living in a police state.

I wish this awesome city, that is usually super-caring, protester friendly, and one of the more progressive places I’ve had the pleasure of living, would put on a better show for the rest of the country.


Things I like about this week:

Generally speaking, buses are annoying. But something has amused me about watching all of them from all over carting people around.
Sarah Palin – So far she interests me much like Obama has. Obama to me, is a re-spin of traditional Democrats. Sorta the next version. He better represents the younger population, and seems to be a little more in-tune with his constituents. I can’t say for sure about Palin, but so far she seems fresher, and very much in the spirit of things I like about McCain (i.e. the stuff from before his PR people started scripting everything he said, like about how torture is bad). Plus, no matter what, some under-represented people group will take a major roll in government now. Makes me feel like as a country we are getting our stuff together a little better.
Traffic is actually better – don’t know why, but outside of the fair-grounds I’ve had an easier time since Friday getting around town. It is almost like people are afraid of what might be, so they stay home, or go to work later. Or maybe it was just because it was the first day of school.
Ron Paul had a convention here too – I like Ron Paul. Can’t get off work to go, but in general I dig people who are pro-civil liberties.
Cool concerts – So far I haven’t won Rage tickets, but the possibility exists that I could still win them. I like Rage Against the Machine, so I like that they are in town.
Alternative things going on in opposition, or just as something else to do – The Un-Convention sounds kinda cool. I may yet check it out.
The last few months I’ve heard less beat-downs from secular America against evangelicals (deserved or otherwise) – Don’t know if that is directly related to the RNC, but I think it is because of a shift in the evangelical base ideology. No longer is the vast majority of Evangelical Americans automatically associated with Republican, and in some cases are starting to be seen as a positive influence in politics on both sides of the asile. Rick Warren Civil Forum comes to mind (which I thought was an excellent idea that was well executed).

And that ends my very hasty and ill-informed summary of the RNC in MSP.