G-20 Legal defense benefit

October 29, 12:28 PMPittsburgh Grassroots ExaminerMike Boda

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The Pittsburgh Filmmakers are hosting a 7 pm screening of the documentary film, Democracy 101, which deals with the recent G-20 protests and the police riots at the University of Pittsburgh, resulting in nearly 200 arrests, as well as "Responses to G-20," an interactive, live performance by the Pittsburgh Playback Theater. The benefit is being held at the Melwood Theater (map), located at 477 Melwood Avenue, in Pittsburgh's Oakland  neighborhood. The recommended donation is $10 at the door, with all proceeeds to benefit the G-20 Legal Defense Fund and the Pittsburgh Independent Media Center.

Largely composed of uplifting scenes of popular resistance to the G-20 and graphic footage of "less-lethal" police brutality, certain segments of Democracy 101 play out like a law enforcement blooper reel. One example: despite the nearly $20 million in public funds that were used to train and outfit thousands of "other peoples' cops" nobody thought to fill in the "heroes" on a basic doctrine of warfare:  the bottom of a steep hill is not an ideal location to deploy chemical weapons, and watching gas grenades roll back down the hill at the phalanx of "heroes" is even more amusing than the scene that proceeded it watching one particularly well-fed, law enforcement "professional" struggle with the grenade pin, even with help from his little buddy.

I do not want to spoil it for you; see for yourself.

(Those wishing to help, but are otherwise unable to attend, can contact Mel Packer, or make a tax-deductible donation by check, which should be made out to the Thomas Merton Center, with the memo-line note, "Save Our Civil Liberties/Legal Defense Fund," or "SOCL/LDF")