Report From The Pittsburgh G20 Summit: Day 2

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Giordano Bruno

Neithercorp Press – 9/25/2009

I walked out onto the streets of Pittsburgh today, and there, I saw people.

photos taken by Giordano for nC.us

Not puffed up riot cops in rubbermaid slip-on Kevlar overalls in the shape of muscles. Not DHS goons with conspicuously strapped sidearms. Not National Guard troops in bullet-proof vests. But REAL people, with real problems. The cops… their only problems today were the ones they created for themselves.

Yes, the Steel City was alive again… sort of.

The National Guard troops had obviously been pulled off most of their posts downtown from the day previous, and DHS was nowhere to be seen. The Thomas Merton Center had a protest march scheduled to cross the city today around noon, one of the few groups to have their protest permit “application” tentatively approved by the city, and it would seem that the G20 wanted men in military garb out of sight of the press. Such displays of martial force on America’s own streets have come under heavy fire recently from the Liberty Movement, which has grown incredibly strong in the past year. The G20 must have taken notice of the increasing public resentment, and realized it was only fueling the exponential growth of anti-globalist organizations.

However, as I walked towards the projected protest route, what I was about to see was not necessarily any less disturbing.

I stood near the center of the city, the Wood Street Station to my right. The distinct clapping ripple of marching combat boots echoed through the hollow corridors. People were beginning to gather, their faces smothered with gawk. They were visibly stunned by what was coming around the corner; the largest police presence this city has seen in decades. I myself could barely believe the sheer number of cops, let alone the fact that they seemed to be marching in military formation, which I had never witnessed before. There were literally thousands of them, like an endless chain of soldier ants sent by the hive mind to snarl and snap their mandibles about.

I looked at them closely as they thundered by, and I thought to myself; “They aren’t so frightening. Look at them, they’re just people. Just men and women who have made a terrible error in judgment. They don’t realize they are fighting on the wrong side, that’s all….”

But in the end, I can’t let them off the hook. Their ignorance of the situation is our pain and struggle. Regardless of how human they ‘could’ be, they were in the service of men, Globalists, who had endeavored to make themselves monstrous. Men who had consciously relinquished their humanity in order to more effectively achieve their goals. This is how nightmares are created.

The massive police force spread itself the entire length of the protest route, miles of it. Locals and tourists and the press swarmed around to catch a glimpse of the happenings while armored police vehicles were positioned on strategic points. The protest group finally came into view, and it was much larger than I had expected, given the ghostly state of the city the day before. I overheard one officer remind the other cops that this was supposed to be a peaceful demonstration and to be careful. The cops were taking a far less intimidating stance with this particular group than they had with the groups in Lawrenceville the night before. Perhaps because they had a permit application that was approved (not that it should matter), or perhaps because the group was supposed to be only moderately-sized and there was so much media about.

The march stopped for respite and speeches halfway through the route, and the riot cops repositioned themselves accordingly. Then, things got weird.

Several other groups; marchers for Tibet, for Sudan, for “Climate Change” (sigh…), and even the Anarchists suddenly showed up from all different directions. It appeared to be totally unplanned, and even the police shrugged at each other in confusion. I have yet to hear exactly why this occurred, but my suspicion is, since many groups had been screwed by the city council on their permits, and since the police were smashing any protest that didn’t have a permit, they decided to piggy back on the Thomas Merton Center’s permit. It was a smart move, a trick which was used by protesters of the Vietnam era, dusted off and brought back for 2009.

This was perhaps the tensest moment of the march. The cops were scrambling about trying to get new orders. The protest group had just doubled in size. Different factions of the protest were squabbling with each other; Anarchists arguing with Christians about the existence of God, patriots and libertarians frustrated by the anti-free market crowd, me laughing in disappointment at the naïve college kids who were screaming about how great Socialism is. For a good twenty minutes, it was a mess. The protesters soon re-formed the line however, and the march began anew, this time with twice its original strength.

The police had been ordered to contain themselves for the march, so even though things had just widened in scope, the billy clubs and teargas remained safely away.

Even though the “dreaded Anarchists” had just joined the march unexpectedly, and even though the group was by some estimates around five thousand strong, no property was damaged, and no one that I know of was hurt. Why? Because the cops kept their noses out of it! Because they weren’t given free reign to facilitate a violent situation, and thus, none occurred. Interesting, how peaceful demonstrations can be, when the “authorities” simply mind their own business.

While I can’t say that after today the democratic system was resurrected in this country, I can say that at least there is some fight left in us. At least the fire in our bellies still smolders. Even though half the protesters at the march didn’t have a clue what the G20 really is, or why it is such a threat, at least they know SOMETHING is wrong, and are willing to stand fast. Even in Pittsburgh, which was drenched in fear and apathy only a day before, there is fight left. And now I am confident, that though many are afraid, and many are uncertain, we are not beaten, and the real battle, has just begun.