Commentary: Just Because We’re in a Cage Doesn’t Mean We’re Not Free

August 31st, 2008 CoyoteJ

Coyote is a
sometimes playful,
sometimes foolish,
sometimes wise,
archetypal figure
who often
gets into trouble.

I recently read with interest a story in the Rocky Mountain News that said that Denver law enforcement had done such a good job of policing the Democratic National Convention, that their approach would now be a guide and model for all future conventions. Before we light our cigars and pat ourselves on the back, however, I think it is important that we hear the other side of the story. This is my take on the new Denver model.

As I was covering police and protesters for KGNU last week, five questions kept coming to my mind. By Tuesday night my answers to these questions led me to believe that Denver had developed a new model for policing large political conventions, gatherings and protests, and that this new model was indeed very successful. Unfortunately, completely and totally successful. Here are my five questions:

First, why did police keep such a large presence in Denver when it became clear by Sunday night that the number of protesters was vastly smaller than predicted? The answer is that Denver’s strategy was never proportional response, but shock and awe. From the first day of the convention, Denver presented an overwhelming force of riot police, police on horseback, bike, and foot, as well as an awesome array of police cars, buses for mass arrests, swat tanks, and large SUV’s to transport officers. The clear intention was to show all weapons and forces in overwhelming numbers, sending the message to protester and populace that if anybody gets out of line, they will be crushed. De-escalating forces to match the number of protesters would have short-circuited this plan of shock and awe. All forces and weapons would be shown from beginning to end, no matter the number of protesters. Shock and awe is the first pillar of the new Denver model.

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Commentary: How Low Can it Go?

August 26th, 2008 CoyoteJ

Coyote is a
sometimes playful,
sometimes foolish,
sometimes wise,
archetypal figure
who often
gets into trouble.

It looked like a Civil War battlefield. Coyote could see wounded everywhere, as the protesters were routed, demoralized, and driven from Civic Center Park. Coyote will call this the battle of Civic Hope.

What happened? As a few wounded protesters wandered into Civic Center this morning, injured last night in the battle of 15th and Court, spirits were clearly low. But there was some music playing, a few speeches were given, and a Procession for the Future street puppet march was planned. There were things to look forward to. But at ten o’clock the battle of Civil Hope began. Three or four angry fundamentalist preachers began shouting awful things about God, women, homosexuals, and America. A crowd began to form around them. The hateful preachers eventually moved to another part of the park, but the crowds with them got bigger and bigger, draining almost all the energy from the protester’s plans. Police on foot and horse surrounded the crowds. When pathological fundamentalists can conquer your energy and steal your agenda, and when the police are focusing on them and not you, the rout is on.

But it got worse. Recreate 68 pleaded with the police to remove the preachers because R68 had an exclusive permit for the park at that time. The police no would do. And then, at the height of crowd tension, the police rushed in, knocked several to the ground, and arrested Carlo of R68 and a woman from Code Pink. Complete defeat. The protesters were spiritually broken. The battle of Civic Hope was over. Yes, the parade went on with many beautiful puppets, but half the people in Civic Center were still watching the preachers when the parade left. After last night’s defeat at 15th and Court, it looks like lights out.

Wars are funny things. The energy and momentum can change in an instant. Maybe the protesters will rally, and finish the week with optimism and passion. But as of one hour ago, their cause looks grim indeed.

CoyoteJ is a Jungian oriented psychotherapist in private practice in Denver, who is very interested in the psycho dynamics of how groups work, and how groups like the police and protesters will function in the passionate environment of the Democratic national Convention. To see more Coyote’s thoughts, check out his blog at CoyoteJ.blogspot.com.

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Commentary: Provocation

August 26th, 2008 CoyoteJ

Coyote is a
sometimes playful,
sometimes foolish,
sometimes wise,
archetypal figure
who often
gets into trouble.

Coyote has so much to say. He will try to make it brief.

I knew things had changed when I saw a very disproportionate police response to the protester attempt to symbolically levitate the mint. Then ten minutes later a lot more police than yesterday in Civic Center Park. Then it all fell apart. Coyote wonders, why?

Here is a theory. In studying police and protesters this summer, Coyote learned that a new police approach was being formed, an approach designed to be less provocative than usual. In this new police model, the first level of police presence was regular police being visible, no dogs, horses, bikes, or riot gear. Away from this first level of presence would be a second level of bikes, batons, and dogs, but they would be kept back, and mostly out of view. The third level would be police in riot gear, strategically placed throughout a city, ready to go in an instant, but out of sight until, and if, needed. The whole idea would be for the police to be as laid back, and as minimally provocative, as possible. Coyote saw much wisdom in that approach.

But the Denver police approach at this convention seems to be exactly the opposite. The Denver model is show everything you have right from the start, make a strong show of force, make sure everyone sees the batons, dogs, bikes, and riot gear on day one, and, apparently, hope this show of force prevents any problems. The problem with this model is that it is provocative. This approach seems to be subtly, and not so subtly, saying, “if you F with us, we will respond quickly and with overwhelming strength”. This doesn’t lower tension. It increases it.

What you fear comes upon you. If you are worried, and you provocatively say don’t F with us, then you are setting up a situation where people will F with you. And you will F with them. This is not deep psychology folks. This is psych 101 stuff.

Coyote wonders, why?

CoyoteJ is a Jungian oriented psychotherapist in private practice in Denver, who is very interested in the psycho dynamics of how groups work, and how groups like the police and protesters will function in the passionate environment of the Democratic national Convention. To see more Coyote’s thoughts, check out his blog at CoyoteJ.blogspot.com.
CoyoteJ

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Commentary: Less Than Zero

August 25th, 2008 CoyoteJ

Coyote is a
sometimes playful,
sometimes foolish,
sometimes wise,
archetypal figure
who often
gets into trouble.

Ladies and gentlemen, Coyote proudly gives you your Denver Convention protest area. The police there are like Maytag repairmen, the loneliest people in town. I thought it was bad before, but this is, well, nothing. Absolutely nothing. It isn’t awful, or brutal, or humiliating. It is simply nothing.

Imagine poor old Coyote walking a half-mile from downtown in ninety-degree heat, slithering sweatily through the Auraria campus, excited to finally see the free speech zone. Finally he makes a right turn, and there it is: the giant white tent. All you can see is the tent. The walkway where the delegates come in is a good three hundred yards away. The “freedom cage” is small, isolated, and NOBODY IS THERE! And Coyote doesn’t blame them. Any good protester worth their salt would never go there. Honestly, it is a joke. Nothing but a joke.

But this joke isn’t funny. Coyote could hear music playing as he approached, and it was coming from a Chinese band that was just finishing up. They were playing and protesting about persecution in their homeland, and nobody was there to hear them. How sad. They went there, I’m sure, because that is where the protests are. They did as they were told.

So Coyote is standing there, all by himself, and all at once he gets this crazy urge to drop his pack and make a sudden, insane lunge at the fence. Maybe, just maybe, I could get over the first fence. Maybe, just maybe, I could start climbing the second fence before I got tazered or shot with rubber bullets. Maybe, just maybe, with a final rush of courage I could fall over the second fence and crawl to the media tent. If I could just touch the media tent. But who would see? Who would know about my last act of profound courage? Who would tell my story? What an absolute joke.

But Coyote is more wise than he looks. He knows this was done on purpose. This joke was no accident. In the end, however, the joke is on the city. This cage at the end of the earth will only force protesters back into the streets, where the city would much rather not have them go. If this cage almost made a protester out of Coyote, think what it will do to those already fired up and ready to go.

CoyoteJ, growling with canine anger.

Coyote’s first P.S. Every citizen should go down and see this place, and then think long and hard about what it means.

CoyoteJ is a Jungian oriented psychotherapist in private practice in Denver, who is very interested in the psycho dynamics of how groups work, and how groups like the police and protesters will function in the passionate environment of the Democratic national Convention. To see more Coyote’s thoughts, check out his blog at CoyoteJ.blogspot.com.

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Commentary: In the Beginning

August 24th, 2008 CoyoteJ

Coyote is a
sometimes playful,
sometimes foolish,
sometimes wise,
archetypal figure
who often
gets into trouble.

Short Coyote thoughts from day one:

It is sometimes hard to tell if there are more protesters or more media. What does this mean? It can’t be good.

Speaking of not good, the only real altercations were with Fox News (Coyote is always suspicious of foxes). Who knows who started it, but people almost started punching a Fox News reporter at the Capitol, and during the anti-war march. When the media becomes the story, too many media.

I think the police did a good job. Coyote could tell they were going out of their way to give space, not react, be present, and yet not be too present. I hope this continues.

Only Colorado people have heard of Recreate 68, or Tent State. Anyone not from Colorado has no idea what you are talking about.

Most shocking was the disappearance of Tent State. Coyote was told, as were we all, that twenty thousand or more Tent Staters would gather first in City Park, then it was Cuernavaca Park, and that at curfew they would march to the Pepsi Center protester area. Very, very wrong. At most thirty people went to the Pepsi Center. Coyote wants to know, is there a Tent State, and if so, what exactly is it?

Most touching were dozens of pairs of boots at Cuernavaca Park, each with the name of a Colorado soldier who had died in the war. Those boots brought tears to Coyote’s eyes.

What does it all mean? The union of opposites. All life is a union of opposites, and more pairs of opposites will manifest themselves this week. We can’t know the light without the dark.

CoyoteJ, who is always opposite to himself.

CoyoteJ is a Jungian oriented psychotherapist in private practice in Denver, who is very interested in the psycho dynamics of how groups work, and how groups like the police and protesters will function in the passionate environment of the Democratic national Convention. To see more Coyote’s thoughts, check out his blog at CoyoteJ.blogspot.com.

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Commentary: Morality Play

August 23rd, 2008 CoyoteJ

Coyote is a
sometimes playful,
sometimes foolish,
sometimes wise,
archetypal figure
who often
gets into trouble.

Time to howl…

The stage for the play is set. We have a chorus (the press), we have numerous plot lines, we have heroes and villains, we have Denver as the setting, and we have a very large audience. Now the curtain goes up, and Coyote wonders, what exactly will we see? What is the title of this play? Is it a tragedy or a comedy? Who is the author? What moral are we supposed to learn? Why do we put on shows like this every four years?

Here is the most important thing to remember as we watch the play: it isn’t personal. It feels awfully personal. It will feel extremely personal if we get arrested. For some it felt very personal that Hillary didn’t win. Many will feel betrayed if Obama keeps moving to the right. Lots of people will feel thrilled at the spectacle, the pomp, and the excitement of the convention. Some will feel personally vindicated. Others will feel abandoned.

But Coyote asks us to keep clearly before our minds this one fact: it is a play, and it isn’t personal. It will be such a good play that we will, at times, be totally caught up in it. It will be such a good play that, at times, we the audience will feel as if we are part of the the scenes and acts. That is what a great play does: it draws us in so well that it makes us forget, for a time, that it is theater. We get absorbed in the drama. We become part of the drama. As we should.

But it isn’t personal. We don’t hunt down an actor who played Hamlet and ask him why he was so mean to Ophelia. He was playing a role. It isn’t personal. We don’t put the chief Puritan inquisitor in “The Crucible” on trial for murder. He was playing a role. It isn’t personal. The key Coyote fact to remember is that all life is a stage, and we are but actors on it. All life. And especially these every four year extravaganzas. If we take it personally, we miss the play. If we take it personally, we lose perspective. If we take it personally, then we lose the lessons the author is trying to get us to learn. Focus on the themes. Focus on the symbols. Focus on the plot twists. Focus on the comedy and the tragedy. Keep our eyes on the play.

If we can do that, then maybe, just maybe, we will learn a bit about who we are. The drama of the convention is a mirror in which we see our reflection. Will we see the mirror, or ourselves?

CoyoteJ, reflecting only on his next nap.

CoyoteJ is a Jungian oriented psychotherapist in private practice in Denver, who is very interested in the psycho dynamics of how groups work, and how groups like the police and protesters will function in the passionate environment of the Democratic national Convention. To see more Coyote’s thoughts, check out his blog at CoyoteJ.blogspot.com.

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Commentary: Playing the Odds

August 21st, 2008 CoyoteJ

Coyote is a
sometimes playful,
sometimes foolish,
sometimes wise,
archetypal figure
who often
gets into trouble.

Quick Coyote thought…

Both law enforcement and protesters are telling Coyote to watch out for the one or two percent. Ninety-eight percent are fine, but it’s the one or two percent that will cause trouble. True and false.

Certainly, almost all police and protesters won’t cause any problems, and it is the few on either side that could start something unfortunate. This is true. But, it is false to think that one or two percent are bad, and everybody else is good. As Coyote is fond of reminding us, the one or two percent is me. The one or two percent are a collective manifestation of something that is true of all of us. When we count ourselves among the righteous 98, and distance ourselves from the awful two, we are really distancing ourselves from ourselves, and this is never good. We need to begin to see everyone in everyone.

CoyoteJ, fifty-seven percent wise, and fifty-four percent hungry.

CoyoteJ is a Jungian oriented psychotherapist in private practice in Denver, who is very interested in the psycho dynamics of how groups work, and how groups like the police and protesters will function in the passionate environment of the Democratic national Convention. To see more Coyote’s thoughts, check out his blog at CoyoteJ.blogspot.com.

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Commentary: Senseless Provocation

August 20th, 2008 CoyoteJ

Coyote is a
sometimes playful,
sometimes foolish,
sometimes wise,
archetypal figure
who often
gets into trouble.

Coyote news from the front……

Coyote drove by the Pepsi Center protest area (freedom cage) today, and things are not good. This Coyote believes that, given all the media, the location of the protest area is reasonable. Some may disagree. But the big problem is not the location, but the enormous tent standing between the protest area and the Pepsi Center. This is very bad news. This tent is so big that you can barely see the Pepsi Center from the protest area. Oh boy.

Coyote can clearly see what is coming. Thousands of young people will march many miles to the freedom cage, and when they get there, no Pepsi Center. No chance to be seen. Just fences and police. This will increase the protester’s sense of isolation, and greatly increase their anger. What a tremendous blunder by the city, and what a senseless provocation. Things will be tense enough anyway. This great white tent will make things much worse.

What we seek to isolate always break loose. Can nobody see this? What is the city thinking? Coyote wonders, why aren’t they thinking?

CoyoteJ is a Jungian oriented psychotherapist in private practice in Denver, who is very interested in the psycho dynamics of how groups work, and how groups like the police and protesters will function in the passionate environment of the Democratic national Convention. To see more Coyote’s thoughts, check out his blog at CoyoteJ.blogspot.com.

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Commentary: Gold Rush

August 18th, 2008 CoyoteJ

Coyote is a
sometimes playful,
sometimes foolish,
sometimes wise,
archetypal figure
who often
gets into trouble.

Coyote has his nose to the ground, and he senses on all sides that people are tired. Like a woman more than ready to give birth after a long pregnancy, people now just want to get on with the convention already. It is time to put preparations into action. In other words, time for coagulatio.

Coagulatio is a term from alchemy, which Jung studied intensively. Jung was wise enough to see that in the medieval endeavor to turn common substances into gold, the procedures that alchemists were using on substances in their lab were actually projections of psychic processes that people use all the time in their lives and relationships. By studying the symbolic nature of alchemy, we study ourselves.

Coagulatio means to incarnate something, to give it substance, give it flesh, and give it birth. It is taking potentials and making them real. It is taking essence and making it literal. So far, almost everything involved with the convention has been essence. Law enforcement has plans, delegates have plans, Obama has plans, and the protesters have plans. These plans have undergone long alchemical procedures in the labs of the groups involved, being slowly formed out the essence of who the groups are, and what they want to do at the convention. These essences and plans, though long in development, are still unborn. Next week, however, the gestation is over, and we will see how each group incarnates itself, and what each group really looks like.

And we will see where the gold is. The whole point of alchemy was to transform the common into gold, to make our human lives shiny and precious. Coyote wonders, where will we find the gold at the convention? Will we see it in the police officer who tirelessly enforces the law with restraint and respect for dissent? Will we discover gold in the protester who courageously speaks his vision for a better world, while still obeying the law? Will we find it in the platform of the Democratic Party? Will we see it in Obama’s speech at Invesco? Will we find gold deep in ourselves? Coyote suspects the amount of gold born during the convention will truly surprise us all.

Unfortunately, however, not all alchemical procedures yield gold. In the cauldron of the convention all essence will be born, but not all essence will shine. Hatred and violence will surely be incarnated from souls resistant to alchemy, souls who do not see the need for their own transformation, souls whose only goal is to prove that someone else does not have the gold. Their journey will remain common, not golden. Their journey will only provide contrast for those who truly shine.

To be gold, or not to be gold. That, Coyote reminds us, is the question.

CoyoteJ is a Jungian oriented psychotherapist in private practice in Denver, who is very interested in the psycho dynamics of how groups work, and how groups like the police and protesters will function in the passionate environment of the Democratic national Convention. To see more Coyote’s thoughts, check out his blog at CoyoteJ.blogspot.com.

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Commentary: The HeizenCoyote Contingency Principle

August 18th, 2008 CoyoteJ

Coyote is a
sometimes playful,
sometimes foolish,
sometimes wise,
archetypal figure
who often
gets into trouble.

Because Coyote recently took his car to the quantum mechanic …

What will happen during the convention next week? How will everything play out? Coyote’s answer is, who knows? It is all a matter of probabilities and contingencies based on quantum theory and Stephen J. Gould.

Interpretation #1: view the convention through the eyes of the Heizenburg uncertainty principle. If the convention is like a swarm of bees, then if you pin down the position of one bee, you can’t know what is happening to the swarm, and if you measure the velocity of the swarm, then you can’t know the position of any one bee. Got that? Therefore, you can only say that individual bees are probably located here or there, and you can only say that the swarm is probably moving here or there. All to say that nobody knows for sure what is happening in the build up to the convention, only that there are probabilities that certain things will or will not happen. Nothing can be pinned down for sure. If this makes sense, then Coyote moves you to the head of the class.

Interpretation #2: view the convention through the eyes of the late evolutionist Stephen J. Gould’s historical contingency principle. If the convention is like a large amount of dice, one dice for each individual and one dice for each group, then every time you roll all the dice, you get a different outcome. Looking back you can see how it all played out, but looking forward before the dice roll, you have no way of knowing what will happen. Nobody can tell what one dice rolling five instead of six will mean, but it will change the whole picture. Everything is contingent on everything else.

So what? People have been asking Coyote what he thinks will happen next week, and Coyote responds that there is just no way to know. There are probabilities that things will go a certain way, but everything could change because of the actions of one individual or one group. In other words, the convention hangs suspended in a quantum state of perfect freedom. Coyote likes the sound of that: very democratic, very uncertain, very contingent, and very much up to us. It doesn’t get any better than that.

CoyoteJ, quantumly entangled with himself, again.

CoyoteJ is a Jungian oriented psychotherapist in private practice in Denver, who is very interested in the psycho dynamics of how groups work, and how groups like the police and protesters will function in the passionate environment of the Democratic national Convention. To see more Coyote’s thoughts, check out his blog at CoyoteJ.blogspot.com.

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Commentary: Fighting Inflation

August 11th, 2008 CoyoteJ

Coyote is a
sometimes playful,
sometimes foolish,
sometimes wise,
archetypal figure
who often
gets into trouble.

Two weeks to the convention, so it is time for Coyote to go deep in his psychic explorations. As you may have noticed, when Coyote speaks, it can get deep indeed.

A political convention energizes everyone. Because passions and hopes are high, some are energized to speak, protest, and march, while others are energized to protect, defend, and keep public order. A convention’s energy mobilizes all kinds of human activities and behavior.

This intense psychic energy manifests itself in archetypes, which are images and roles that express this energy. For example, “the protester” is an archetype, as are “the hero,” “the enforcer of laws,” and “the martyr.” Each of us tap into many of these archetypal roles during our lives, and through tapping into these energies we learn what life is all about, and we learn, hopefully, who we are.

But there is a danger in these intense energies. When energy is high, as it is during a convention, there is a great temptation to identify ourselves with one or more of these archetypes, and to think that we are indeed one of these archetypes. We might come to believe that we are literally the martyr, the enforcer of laws, or the protester. When we identify with an archetype we feel exhilarated, powerful, and god-like. The energy of the archetype flows through us and gives us purpose, meaning, and a sense of destiny. We become the role and we know who we are. Jungians call this phenomenon inflation.

Coyote believes there are a few too many inflated people hanging around Denver these days, and inflated people can be dangerous people. Anyone who feels a god-like sense of destiny about their role during the convention is a person who might do anything. Inflated people who have an exhilarating sense of destiny are people on a mission, and people on a mission can be scary people. Especially at a convention.

So how do we fight inflation? First, we must always remember that we are small people in a big world. Each of us have small roles in a big play. We are not the roles we play, and we are not the author of the play. There is no transcendent destiny leading us to pre-determined actions. We are tiny and humble creatures, not inflated stars. We are all trying to find our way.

Second, we fight inflation by doing difficult tasks with reluctance, not pride. If we feel called to protest, or to civil disobedience, we should do it with great reluctance, not with pride that we are willing to act when nobody else will. If our role is to control crowds and protect property, we should do it with great reluctance, not with pride in our innate goodness as opposed to the depravity of the crazy rowdies. This is not easy to do, but it is so very important that we do it.

Coyote believes if everyone could be a bit less identified with their destinies and roles, and be a bit more humble, the chances of big problems at the convention would be greatly diminished. Then maybe we could all try to figure out what this strange play is about, who the author is, and what we should be doing about it. Only in humility will we find wisdom.

The exception, of course, being Coyote. His wisdom will always come through foolishness.

CoyoteJ is a Jungian oriented psychotherapist in private practice in Denver, who is very interested in the psycho dynamics of how groups work, and how groups like the police and protesters will function in the passionate environment of the Democratic national Convention. To see more Coyote’s thoughts, check out his blog at CoyoteJ.blogspot.com.

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Commentary: Royal Flush

August 6th, 2008 CoyoteJ

Coyote is a
sometimes playful,
sometimes foolish,
sometimes wise,
archetypal figure
who often
gets into trouble.

Coyote may be in Crested Butte, but he is still on the prowl.

So, the old joke goes, if you are of African nationality when you enter a bathroom, and you are of Australian nationality when you leave the bathroom, what nationality are you when you are in the bathroom? Answer: European. And Coyote believes if this your-a-peeing person doesn’t stop soon, they will quickly stockpile enough fluid to fill an entire Denver house. Wowzerz.

Okay, where have we heard this before? A ludicrous allegation, based on spurious intelligence, concerning weapons of mass urination, with the intention of rallying the citizens to support … war. This is not good at all. Coyote is worried. The propaganda machine is churning, preparing people for battle. Allegations need no factual support, for the allegations reflect not truth, but fearful minds mobilizing themselves for the unpleasant fantasies they think are coming. Not good at all.

But Coyote will not be a potty to this kind of propaganda. We will not be bowled over by fantasies. Everyone on both sides must steady their aim, and stick to reality. Reality.

Here Coyote draws a line in the stream. No appeasements for ………….. never mind. Reality puts limits even on Coyote.

CoyoteJ, who is still pondering the psychological significance of this prolonged fixation with bodily fluids.

CoyoteJ is a Jungian oriented psychotherapist in private practice in Denver, who is very interested in the psycho dynamics of how groups work, and how groups like the police and protesters will function in the passionate environment of the Democratic national Convention. To see more Coyote’s thoughts, check out his blog at CoyoteJ.blogspot.com.

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Commentary: Do You Hear The People Sing?

August 3rd, 2008 CoyoteJ

Coyote is a
sometimes playful,
sometimes foolish,
sometimes wise,
archetypal figure
who often
gets into trouble.

It has been said that wars are old men sending young men to die. Coyote wonders if political conventions are old people sending young people to protest.

Coyote has noticed that the critical mass of the protest groups are idealistic twenty-something men and women. Of course, the young leading the way in challenging social ills has always been true. Universities and coffee shops have always been the seed-beds of passionate social critique. But Coyote is wondering, where exactly are the older people? What are they doing? Are concerned adults somehow sending young people to protest in their place? If so, why, and how does this work? If not, have the chronologically mature been unthinkingly absorbed into the machine? Have they sold out? Do their aging souls still rage against injustice? More darkly, is it true that those who can’t protest, teach? Or worse, is it true that those who can’t protest become journalists, and report on protesters? (oh my!)

Maybe conventions are old people sending young people to protest. Maybe conventions are every-four-years-ways for those who are a little older, and perhaps see a bit more of the complexities of life, to re-connect with something deeply meaningful, and a bit less complex. Maybe conventions are a stage, where older people send younger people to remind older people to keep on caring.

Coyote asks, do you hear the people sing?

CoyoteJ is a Jungian oriented psychotherapist in private practice in Denver, who is very interested in the psycho dynamics of how groups work, and how groups like the police and protesters will function in the passionate environment of the Democratic national Convention. To see more Coyote’s thoughts, check out his blog at CoyoteJ.blogspot.com.

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Commentary: I Love A Charade

July 30th, 2008 CoyoteJ

Coyote is a
sometimes playful,
sometimes foolish,
sometimes wise,
archetypal figure
who often
gets into trouble.

Sometimes Coyote just loves the spectacle, the pomp, the splendor, and the excitement of a good old fashioned parade. Or is that charade? Sometimes Coyote can’t tell.

Coyote drove the protester parade route yesterday, and even though Coyote needs new glasses, he could barely see the Pepsi center from the parade finish at Speer and Larimer. Will the parade be within sight and sound of the delegates? Hardly.

And then in court yesterday the Secret Service apparently confessed that the real reason the protesters would not be allowed to get too close to the Pepsi Center is that if a bomb went off there, the protesters might get hurt. So keeping protesters away from the Pepsi Center is for their protection. You buying that one? Neither is Coyote.

Don’t jive the Coyote. Just be honest. Honesty is our friend. If you don’t like the protesters and you don’t want them anywhere near the festivities, just say so, and let a judge decide if you are right or wrong. But don’t say the end of the parade is near the Pepsi Center, and don’t say you are keeping protesters away for their own well being. That’s a lot of Coyote droppings.

Coyote hates a charade.

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Commentary: If Billy Joel Didn’t Start the Fire, Who Will?

July 29th, 2008 CoyoteJ

Coyote is a
sometimes playful,
sometimes foolish,
sometimes wise,
archetypal figure
who often
gets into trouble.

Ethicist and moral philosopher CoyoteJ asks you to consider the following hypothetical situation:

A large apartment building is completely engulfed in a terrible fire, and a huge crowd has gathered at a safe distance to watch this spectacular inferno. Suddenly, a tall man with wild hair and a crazy look in his eyes stands in front of the crowd, and at the top of his lungs shouts, theater! People in the crowd turn to one another. What did he say? The man screams again, theater!! The crowd freezes for about two seconds, and then in a complete panic they turn and stampede away, trampling several and injuring many more. Thus Coyote is forced to ask, is it ever morally permissible to shout theater at a crowded fire?

Good question. And I think in a roughly analagous way, many protesters are asking this same question in terms of their behavior at the Democratic National Convention. Walk with Coyote as he examines this interesting and important moral issue.

Read the rest of this entry »

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Commentary: CoyoteJ is Chasing His Tail Again

July 28th, 2008 CoyoteJ

Coyote has been running the numbers, and things just don’t add up. Mayor Hickenlooper says Tent State won’t be a problem, because even though they won’t be able to camp in City park, they will have friends who have plenty of couches to sleep on. Really? Lets say only twenty thousand come. Putting two or three Tent Staters in a room requires lots of couches, and lots of rooms. And lots of friends. Would all these rooms be within a reasonable traveling time from City park? Probably not.

When the park closes at eleven p.m., where will they go?

Coyote can’t help but believe that a group with the name TENT State will probably pitch tents (duh!), which will lead to police confrontations, and lots of other problems. Do jails have couches? Coyote smells problems. But fear not, Coyote has an idea. Change the name of the group. When in doubt, the best thing to do is re-name the problem. Call them Sofa State, or Hide-a-Bed State, or Air Mattress State. Then Jake Jabs can truck thousands of couches to City Park, get all kinds of free advertising, and everyone will be happy. Tent Staters won’t be camping in City Park, they will be reclining. There is no Denver law against reclining in city parks after curfew, is there? See, Coyote can find a way out of every problem. Can American Furniture also deliver several thousand port-a-potties? Put it on lay away with CoyoteJ.

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