They’re at it again. These crazies need no extra news analysis, interpretation, investigation or second-guessing about how the campaign might topple because of a preggie teenage daughter.
There is enough drama about anarchists in black masks rioting in the streets of St. Paul outside the Republican National Convention to fill up more than enough blank cable air time. The action-filled scene on Monday was a photojournalist’s dream: police pepper spraying and arresting a horde of people who were smashing the windows in cop cars, throwing benches around and setting fires. Much more interesting than a dry old acceptance speech.
Although more than 10,000 antiwar demonstrators peacefully marched throughout the day, small outbursts disrupted the calm and escalated to having at least 280 people arrested on charges including misdemeanors and felonies.
The media would love to portray the self-described anarchists as the dark fringe of rebellious society that got corrupted by goth music and violent video games like Grand Theft Auto. But many of the protestors, peace-loving or bench-throwing, are only kids in their 20s.
Neither the straightforward Los Angeles Times article nor the objective CNN report particularly mentioned the youth of these protestors, but perhaps the first-person perspective of the Slate story best captures the thrilling moments leading up to and during the action.
I would like to be in the same position as Slate reporter Christopher Beam one day, caught up in the chaos. Part of the reason why I declared my journalism major was so that one day I too could be part of an exciting news event, chumming with the lead anarchist, jotting down the anxious moments of being trampled by stampedes and crying from the tear gas. What a story to tell.
This is freedom of speech – stretched by court precedents to include flag-burning expressions – at its freest. Be as free as you like in protesting. I just hope I’m there at the next riot.
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