Next week’s Democratic National Convention will come with a cacophony of voices raised in protest.
There will be those calling attention to the plight of the Sudanese people. Others will march against the “prison industrial complex.” Or abortion. Or the war in Iraq. Or immigration.
That’s the American way.
As the events draw near and the rhetoric rises, we hope law enforcement authorities will keep their cool, allow people to speak their minds, yet maintain public safety.
It’s an unenviable task. But it’s one that federal and local law enforcement officials have extensively prepared for.
Rap-rock band Rage Against the Machine will put on an anti-war concert next week where some of the training could be put to the test, given the band’s tradition of inciting unrest. Rage was at the epicenter of an altercation at the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles in 2000, so it’s not a stretch to worry that problems could arise here.
Some in the crowd began throwing debris and scaling a 12-foot fence across the street from the main event center in Los Angeles. Police on horseback responded by shooting rubber bullets and pepper spray balls.
We’re hoping that this time, things will be different. Rage is playing at the Denver Coliseum, which is in an industrial area more than 4 miles from Pepsi Center, where most of the political action will be taking place.
It’s not as if Rage and other bands like them have never played in Denver before, but the dynamics are much different this time.
Those attending the concert have a right to speak their minds — yell them at the tops of their lungs, even.
But it’s incumbent upon security staff and police not to allow the actions of a few hotheads — and there assuredly will be a few — to get out of control.
The same goes for the area as a whole, which will be teeming with protesters from City of Cuernavaca Park, where the Tent State University folks are going to park themselves, to Congress Park, where Minutemen Civil Defense apparently are assembling.
Anarchists plan to confront delegates. Anti-war groups will hold marches. Rallies will abound.
It will take a good bit of tolerance and patience on the parts of residents and law enforcement alike to get through the week.
We would hope that those who come to Denver with the fervent desire to exercise their rights will respect those of others who live here.
That may be an unrealistic hope. But expecting law enforcement to act responsibly and react with reasonable force to the events before them is not.
