Minneapolis, MN - Twenty protesters picketed outside the Twins game on July 18 to protest the proposal for Minneapolis hosting the 2012 Democratic National Convention (DNC). The DNC site selection committee was rumored to be inside and thousands of Minnesotans saw signs like “We say NO WAR Party” as they went into the stadium. Minneapolis is one of four cities in running to host the convention. The protest was organized by No DNC, a local coalition.
Two years ago St. Paul, Minnesota hosted the Republican National Convention. There were large anti-war protests every day of the convention. The police conduct during the convention was outrageous and the city is still in litigation for mass arrests and police brutality. The Twin Cities activist community will organize massive portests if Minneapolis hosts the DNC.
Dave Bicking explained to the crowd, “There are special reasons why we oppose this convention, because of the very policies that will be celebrated as they celebrate they reselect Obama for president. These are policies of war, of bank failures, I don’t need to go on…They [the Minneapolis city council]will be actively helping the security needed to repress freedom of speech in this city while hosting some of the worst war criminals in this country – people who are responsible for making the plans that are killing people around this world. We need to let the site selection committee know that there will be resistance, that there is resistance which is forming already and there will be continued resistance if they want to come and bring all their war policies to Minneapolis.”
Bicking is an anti-war and environmental activist and father to Monica Bicking, one of the RNC 8. She is still facing felony charges for “conspiracy” from 2008. Bicking is concerned there will be more police repression and trumped up charges if Minneapolis hosts the DNC.
Meredith Aby, an activist with the Anti-War Committee who helped organize protest on days one and four of the RNC in 2008 explained what will happen if Minneapolis hosts the convention, “The Afghanistan war is the Democrat’s war. They chose to escalate it. They chose to put the lives of millions of Afghans and tens of thousands of Americans at risk. They chose to stand by as video after video was released of massacre after massacre of civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan. They have blood on their hands and they can’t expect to come to our town, an anti-war town like Minneapolis, and get to party for four days without us telling them that this is criminal and immoral.”
Email this Article
it's right to protest war & occupation
I disagree with Maija's comment.
The Democratic administration and Democratic Party-controlled Congress has taken charge of the U.S. occupation in Afghanistan, and has increased the money and troop presence occupying that country, apparently indefinitely and with no expense too high.
The Democratic administration and the Democratic Party-controlled Congress has maintained the U.S. occupation of Iraq, again with no amount of money too high to spend apparently. This despite the fact that Obama campaigned on a promise to end the U.S. occupation of Iraq.
Under a Democratic administration, hundreds of thousands of workers in the U.S. are being cut off of unemployment during the biggest economic crisis since the Great Depression, because of a supposed lack of money, yet miraculously staggering sums of money continue to flow unimpeded to the Pentagon to carry out unending occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan, against the will of the people of those countries.
When the party responsible for those wars holds it's national convention, and all the people responsible for the ongoing wars and occupations are attending that convention, it is a perfectly appropriate and excellent place to protest to demand an end to the imperialist wars & occupations that those politicians are carrying out.
It is not the protesters who only care about themselves, like Maija claims. On the contrary. Anti-war protesters are the ones who care about the millions of people of Afghanistan and Iraq who have been harmed or killed by the occupations, as well as caring about the working and poor people of the U.S. who are harmed by the ongoing cutting of social programs to fund endless war. I'd ask, who are the ones who only care about themselves or their buddies -- those like Maija who seem to care more about businesses in Minneapolis making a few more bucks by hosting a convention, or those that protest at that convention to bring and end to the suffering of millions of people from war & occupation?
These protesters are protesting because they protest
If you want to make a change in this world, here's a tip--do something constructive to help the world and stop protesting a stupid political convention just because you want to protest at it but don't want to be pepper sprayed. It will bring lots of money and business to our community, and if these people actually cared about anyone but themselves and their anarchist buddies, they would think that was a good thing.
Add your comment