RSS
Home
City Park: Tent State or Police State?
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
Tent State is facing an uphill battle with the city of Denver over a city-issued ordinance that does not allow overnight camping in public parks. Denver city officials should realize this is one battle they shouldn’t be wasting their resources on fighting. Let them camp!
Despite the legal setbacks Tent State has still managed to organize a signature event for the DNC. It’s called “Funk the War. Street Dance Party for Peace.” This event is scheduled for Sunday, August 24, the day before the doors open at the Pepsi Center. Think of it as a gritty, cool, anti-corporate, anti-opening ceremony to the most anticipated political event of the 21st century.
This city-sponsored red tape prohibits overnight camping in City Park. The sprawling park, located off 17th St. and Colorado Blvd., is the sought after location for thousands of people wishing to travel to Denver for the DNC. So far, the city has not authorized overnight camping and has actually imposed a police-state-like curfew for people to leave the public park at night.
A note to Mayor Hickenlooper: Sprinklers aren’t going to do the trick, pal. If anything, they’ll only add to the ant-government vibes circulating through the park. Do you really want to send hundreds of riot gear-clad police officers to a park to break up a peaceful gathering of college kids? Ask yourself, John, how could these officers be used in a more responsible peace-keeping manner?
Led by a college student named Adam Jung, Tent State is focused on showing the Democrats that letting this war drag out, despite popular opposition - ala Vietnam, is not acceptable. The group has done all the right things publicly to ensure non-violent protests, and engage local community members.
As protest movements go, the Democratic National Convention is a great opportunity to be seen on a national level. Since exposure is the key to protests, the more support for the cause the better, the DNC is the perfect storm, I mean stage, for Americans to let their voices be heard on a national level.
Not since the U.S. preemptively invaded Iraq has such a stage presented itself. And, just like the millions of people around the globe who marched against the initial invasion, there is still a passionate opposition to the occupation of Iraq. A war that is estimated to have claimed over 1 million lives.
The early leadership role of the protest movement belonged to a group aptly named Recreate 68! But organizational flaws and violent rhetoric marred the leaders of this group’s attempts to unite the various protest groups into one large umbrella group.
Since this time many organizations have severed ties with Recreate 68! Among them is Tent State.
Related Articles:
Comments
