Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Self Fulfilling Prophecies

From the Minnesota Monitor by way of Crooks and Liars:

In an supplemental budget request, Ramsey County Sheriff Bill Fletcher is expected to ask for considerable funding to pay for security during the 2008 Republican National Convention in St. Paul.

Fletcher, who narrowly won re-election in 2006, expects to arrest between three and five thousand protesters during the GOP's presidential nominating convention in September 2008. According to a source close to the policy-making process in St. Paul, the unconfirmed amount of $4,432,804 includes more than $80,000 for chain link fence to build outdoor holding areas for protesters. According Dave Verhasselt, spokesman for Ramsey County Manager David Twa, the Saint Paul Police generally have jurisdiction over arrests, and the Sheriff over jailing once arrests are made.

Granted, with how gigantic a realignment has taken place in the American electorate, particularly in voters under thirty, he's probably right about how many protesters will be there. Protesters against the President, his war and his party.

However the civic fathers of St Paul should carefully consider the kind of approach they want to take. Particularly in the light of the expensive consequences the City of Seattle now faces for it's acts of over-reaction and repression in 1999.

Protest is a right and there was a time in America when the whole country was a free speech zone.

The whole world really will be watching.

No comments:

Popular Posts