It's been 100 years since it happened last, and when it finally came around again I find myself stuck in the middle. I'm a Republican and the Democratic National Convention has descended on downtown Denver. This is even more annoying than having no interest in baseball and finding myself in the midst of the World Series last fall. It does however make for an interesting walk at lunch.
Light Rail this morning was packed! (Once again proving Americans do not know how to use public transportation, but that's a rant for another day.) My building is on lockdown and I need picture ID and a keycard to get on and off my floor. On the walk in a local news crew was reporting in front of a stall called Denver-crats selling "Obama-bling".
When I snapped this shot the reporter (Chris Parente from News2, in the blue shirt) had just finished saying, "Good Morning Denver, Good Morning delegates, and Good Morning Oprah!" (apparently she's in town), and was throwing the shot over to the vendor.
At lunch Kitty, Thana and I headed out to catch some action. Not that I've been here that long, but I have never seen this many people in Denver. It was almost like being in Chicago or New York, except for the SWAT teams.
The Police are everywhere, and in huge numbers. They're not messing around.
The crowds don't seem to mind though. The atmosphere is charged, and it's a little surreal to see it all. The usual buskers are out.
I see this guy everyday, usually singing "Hotel California", but he's been joined by a slew of new street performers.
The number of vendors has also doubled. In addition to knock-off designer bags (a Denver staple), you can now get a bit of entertainment with your over-priced t-shirts.
I wonder, if you buy two shirts, will you get the third joke free?
There are more protestors out than there are delegates or tourists. PETA pigs, anti-war activists and vans with awful photos of aborted fetuses plastered across them are making their way through the streets. (Making me very happy I'm staunchly pro life.) I also ran into some McCain supporters who gave me my "nobama" sticker. I was so happy to see them I wanted to give them a hug.
I just saw on the news that shortly after I left work the police had to tear-gas a protest group across the street from my building. Tomorrow I'll see if I can get pictures of a riot.
6 comments:
Whoa! That actually sounds like fun. Nothing interesting ever happens 'round Logan. It would be fun to mix the atmosphere up a bit.
Anyway, I'm excited for you to come home- think of something fun to do when you're here.
How many times did I say 'fun' in this comment?
That's crazy! I wish we were still there to experience that. I like seeing the convention through your more conservative eyes (probably very similar to mine).
-Oh this is Annie by the way. Im at school, obviously not working.....
It has been fun. Annie, you left too soon. There are so many crazy things to photograph - like elephants and donkeys riding segways down the street!
If Shannon thinks nothing happens in Logan, she should come to Monroe. However, what you hear makes up for it! Don't despair with all those Democrats, just try to steal a carrot stick from Harry Reid's salad plate. At least he is "of the faith." You might get him to speak at a fireside. Who knows, maybe when the Constitution hangs by a thread, it may be Harry who saves us all!
is it just me or does the woman in that one photo look like susan sarandon?
I was a Democrat who lived AND worked within a few blocks of the RNC. So I had a similar experience. But there were plenty of good liberals there, so it wasn't so bad. In fact, the Republicans pretty much all hid inside. The people milling around were almost exclusively protesters, which were mostly, but not exclusively, left-of-center. We had the Bird-porn ones, too. Oh, and the police went WAY overboard here...
Post a Comment