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: Police Presents

August 28th, 2008 Tony Robinson

Denver’s convention might be the most militarized convention in suppressing dissent of any in American history. And what’s worse is, so few seem to care.
How many cops are in Denver? They won’t even tell us. 52 different jurisdictions have send officers to Denver—Wyoming has even sent a cavalry unit. In Boston for the 2004 convention, they mobilized 5,000 officers. That’s a ratio of about 10 cops per protester at most of the demonstrations we seen in Denver.

I counted the officers on my journey from Colfax and Kalamath to the Pepsi Center. Without seeing a single protester, I counted 77 cops, including three vans bristling with riot police cruising around without seeming purpose or urgency. On every downtown corner and back alley we see packs of heavily armed police. During the anti-war march, the Denver Post concluded that there were more officers than protesters. Long lines of riot police formed near the Pepsi Center and they shut the whole place down when a few hundred protesters moved near the Center and wouldn’t quickly retreat to the freedom cage, a stark concrete desert surrounded by concrete barriers and fences—and completely hidden from view of any delegate.

I saw the cavalry in action myself, rushing across Civic Center Park to the puppet march—giant puppets of all things, constructed by the usual demonstrators, but also young children and seniors, gathered to march their colorful puppets. And of course the police swarmed the scene. It was here that I saw a young woman, without a weapon or provocation, beat to the ground with a baton for insulting an officer, who shouted out (as reported by the Denver Post) “Back it Up”—and swore at the women with a derogatory term rhyming with hitch.

They say they are just keeping order. Sure, the Nazi’s made the trains run on time, didn’t they? So you got order, now just be quiet and enjoy it. Or go speak in your freedom cage, where no one can even see or hear you. It’s obscene.

And what’s worse—we can’t even pretend the whole world is watching, because its not.

I asked one superdelegate about the protests and the police, and he replied “Haven’t heard a thing about it.”

During a lunch with another delegate, he reminisced about the 1960s days of protest. What about the protests in Denver, I asked. “Haven’t heard anything,” he said.
I talked with Denver’s outgoing President of City Council, Michael Hancock, about his thoughts on the forlorn freedom cage—“I’ve never even seen the cage,” Hancock admitted.
It’s the banality of evil. The commonness of authoritarianism.  The whimperered acceptance of omnipresent police force on every corner.

When this convention is over, we shouldn’t measure success by the number of dollars raised, the business success fostered. We shouldn’t measure it by whether Obama wins. Success should be measured by the extent to which a convention truly become a celebration of democracy, a moment when people can gather to speak out, celebrate their freedoms, water Jefferson’s tree of liberty with the water of dissent. How can we have a democratic success like that when we have wrapped this convention in a blanket of armored guards, mounted police, and baton clubs at the slightest provocation? “This is what a police state looks like” one protestor chanted while arrested.  I have a hard time disagreeing.

It should make us sick to our stomachs and what our city has become during this convention.

KGNU’s national politics analyst, Tony Robinson, is an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Colorado Denver. You can find more at http://mypoliticscampaignblog.wordpress.com/

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Commentary: Progressive Women Rising in Power

August 27th, 2008 Tony Robinson

Tuesday was the 88th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, granting women the right to vote—and here in Denver it was quite a celebration.

At the Convention Center, Emily’s List shared the news that 55% of the electorate will be women this year—the highest ever. The DNC Women’s Caucus met in a sprawling ballroom filled with a thousand energized delegates, celebrating the fact that about 60% of the overall Democratic vote every year is women.

At that very same moment, that same sentiment was sweeping down Denver’s Colfax Avenue. Just as thousands of Convention women celebrated their power and role in the Democratic Party, hundreds more women gathered to march down Colfax. Out in the streets passionate Hillary Clinton supporters had travelled to Denver from across the country to celebrate the woman who nearly claimed the presidency. They filled Colfax sidewalk to sidewalk, banged drums, chanted Hillary’s name, and promised to put a woman in the Oval Office within ten years.

And to cap it all off, on Tuesday night, Hillary Clinton addressed an adoring crowd of thousands in the Pepsi Center, in a moment that will be remembered through history in the same breath as suffragette Elizabeth Cady Stanton herself.

The growing power of women in American politics is big news for politics and great news for progressives.

Progressives should take heart in the growing political power of women, because women vote Democrat. Obama enjoys a 12% pre-convention lead among all women voters—while younger Millennial women voters give Obama an incredible 30-point lead. And here’s more good news for progressives. Younger women are now 57% of all college students. And as college graduates are increasingly female—they are likely to grow their civic participation even more. And the future female powerhouses of the country are even more liberal than senior women. 46% of young women believe that America’s growing racial diversity is entirely a good thing—only 30% of senior women think that. 36% of young women believe that it is good that the Christian tradition is declining in strength—since there are traditional notions of patriarchy embedded within it. Only 26% of senior women shared this idea. And 53% of young women believe in full acceptance and inclusion of Gays, Lesbians, Bisexuals and Transgendered in the community—while only 26% of senior women agree. As Hillary addressed the American people Tuesday night, she represented a real and fundamental transformation in American society. Like never before, the future of American politics is in the hands of women, and especially young women— progressives can take heart in the future these women will build.

KGNU’s national politics analyst, Tony Robinson, is an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Colorado Denver. You can find more at http://mypoliticscampaignblog.wordpress.com/

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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: New, Diverse Democratic Party Emerging

August 26th, 2008 Tony Robinson

Jesse Jackson Jr. electrified the Democratic Convention Monday night claiming that there are moments when history and fate meet at a single time and place to change the destiny of a nation. To understand the forces of history and fate that are coming together in Denver, we have to look where the real news is being made.

The real news today was not in the street, and not in the Denver Convention Center, where a new Democratic party, reflective of a diversifying America, revealed itself for the upcoming 2008 election.
The delegates to this convention are the most diverse in history, in terms of race, ethnicity, gender and sexual orientation. This diversity was in full display at the packed caucuses inside the convention hall.

At the Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgendered caucus, a ballroom was energized and full to overflowing. In 1972, five delegates at the DNC were openly Gay. Today, 275 are open, and LGBT is an officially recognized caucus of the Democratic Party. Every state but two has openly gay members as part of their delegation.

It wasn’t always this way. Back in 1982, the Democratic Party designed LGBT as an official caucus, but by 1984 the party decertified the LGBT caucus and other race/ethnic groups, calling them “special interests” that didn’t deserve unique status. The party back then was worried about their increasing loss of the vast American white vote to Reagan’s heartland coalition.

But today, the country has become more diverse, and it is the Democratic Party that is celebrating its diversity. The Democratic Party has certified a Native American caucus, Asian caucus, black, Latino, youth, and LGBT caucus, among others.

At the Hispanic caucus on Monday, a packed crowd filled a massive ballroom to overflowing and celebrated the rising political power of Latinos—jumping to their feet with claims that a Latino would soon be President.

It is suiting that a mixed race, cosmopolitan candidate like Obama has been elevated at this historic moment to lead the most diverse party and diverse nation in American history. But will he be able to unite these disparate groups, and ethnicities, into a single party to govern America’s future?

For a long time now, we haven’t even known if he could unite the Democrats. White, elderly Democrats especially—the heart of the Clinton vote—have seemed a bit unwilling to face the new forces rising in their party and nation. And it’s not just the elderly whites. A majority of Latino voters during this primary season also did not support Barack Obama.

And so it was portentous this Monday as the Hispanic caucus met to celebrate Latino power when Hillary Clinton herself strode into the room, to thunderous applause. In front of that audience of thrilled Hispanics, Hillary Clinton made it clear—this party was behind Obama and Clinton was calling on all her delegates, and all Latinos to put aside their differences and unite behind Obama. The audience responded with thunderous applause—and right there in that room you could see a party coming together, and an undeniable Democratic power on the rise.

There is real news unfolding in Denver—a national party has embraced the rising force of Latinos, gays, and youth—and they are all coming together around the nation’s first serious black candidate for president. The forces of profound demographic transformation are uniting behind a candidacy destined to change America’s understanding of itself—and that is real news.

KGNU’s national politics analyst, Tony Robinson, is an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Colorado Denver. You can find more at http://mypoliticscampaignblog.wordpress.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: Anti-War March, But Where Were the People?

August 25th, 2008 Tony Robinson

For the anti-war demonstrators, it was a bad portent. On Saturday, I asked a superdelegate from Wisconsin, chairman of the DNC youth council, about his thoughts on demonstrations by groups such as Recreate 68, and he answered bluntly: “never heard of them.”

Here in Denver we’ve heard plenty about such groups, and their plans to disrupt the convention. Some of the demonstration leaders estimated 50,000 people would show up for Sunday’s anti-war march. The local dailies predicted 10,000 would show.

But come Sunday morning of the march, the anti-war crowd simply didn’t show. Only about 1000 showed—at least 10 times smaller than predicted. I wandered through the crowd, and everyone reflected on the dismal turnout, with a sad resignation. The anti-war demonstrators called for the voice of the people, but only found the voice of a few friends.

What can account for such a result? Where were the people?

Throughout the crowd of demonstrators, the answer was almost always the same—it was the paranoid fear-mongering of Denver city officials, and overblown police presence; the officials made people scared to come downtown. Others suggested that the low turnout reflected the fact that the Iraq War has lost its urgency. Both parties now talk about timelines for withdrawal, fatalities are down, and domestic economic crisis has trumped other concerns. People just aren’t paying attention to the war.

Both of these reasons play a part in accounting for Sunday’s surprisingly low turnout—but the most important reason why demonstrators did not “Recreate 68”— is simply because it is NOT any longer 1968.

In 1968, the Democratic nomination was entirely decided by superdelegates—the popular vote in the primary was meaningless—and when the anti-war votes of millions in the primary were ignored by insider Democrats committed to the Humphrey, the war candidate—you can bet it catalyzed a street anger that can’t be matched today, when the popular vote is decisive in choosing the Democratic nominee.

In 1968, 18 to 20-year-olds couldn’t even vote, though they were being drafted to fight and die in Vietnam. A lot of those young people showed up in Chicago—and registered their discontent in the streets, as the ballot-box was off limits.

In 2008, 18-year-olds can vote, and they turned out in record numbers during the primaries—voting for Obama 4-to-1 over Clinton. Now that he’s the nominee, on the strength of the youth vote, it’s no surprise that young energy has been diverted from the streets, into the party.

And speaking of the draft. In 1968 they had one; in 2008 we don’t.

In 1968, King and Bobby Kennedy were assassinated and the party fell apart while the street exploded. In 2008, the Kennedy of our day is leading the party, while the street seeks direction.

In fact, 2008 looks more like the hopeful 1960 than like the angry 1968. In 1960 as in 2008, the progressive hopes and youthful energy of a nation centered on the Democratic Party and its charismatic leader, and the party had not yet proved bankrupt.

Barack will likely win this election as Kennedy did, as the hopes of the left wrap themselves into the Democratic party rather than into the passion of the street. If Obama wins, he and his party will have their chance to respond to the national call for change. Will Obama fail? Will the party that captured the hopes of a record number of primary voters prove bankrupt? Will the hopeful “yes we can” of 2008 become the disastrous Democratic disintegration of 1968? Obama will likely win this election–And then we, and the street, will see.

KGNU’s national politics analyst, Tony Robinson, is an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Colorado Denver. You can find more at http://mypoliticscampaignblog.wordpress.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: The Age of Anxiety and Rebirth of Wonder

August 20th, 2008 Tony Robinson

We are living in low and cynical days. Polls show that 70% of Americans feel the country is on the wrong track, only 1/3 believe their children will have a better quality of life than they do, the majority of people say that government doesn’t care about them. In the midst of these dark and cynical days, Denver kicks off its festivals of Democracy in less than a week.

It’s not really about Obama. “People don’t come to Obama for what he’s done,” says Bruce Reed, president of the Democratic Leadership Council. “They come because of what they hope he could be.”

What they hope he can be is a deeply longed for break from the tyranny of the past. So many pasts to break from –the past where neither a woman nor a man of color could ever dream of becoming president. The past where young people and their ideals lay dormant, ignored, ineffective. The eternal past of American cowboy diplomacy and arrogant empire. The devastating past of 2004.

Yes, 2004. For much of the left, some of the darkest storm clouds do not date to 2000, when Bush was elected in a fluke and when (after all) Gore had actually beaten Bush by over a 1 million votes—but to 2004, when voters knew who George W. Bush truly was—and still re-elected him.

I can recall shocked and depressed days after the 2004 election, when I wandered as a ghost in my own country—stunned by en electorate that cited anxiety over family values and gay marriage among their top reasons for voting for Bush. Who were these voters so filled with cultural anxiety? I know that I felt lonely among them, a bit like a foreigner in a nation of strangers.

But in less than a week, something audacious will unfold in Denver, as the left of all stripes gathers to say goodbye to all that. In very real ways, the Denver convention will represent a rebirth of hope, a celebration of possibilities, both in the street and in the convention. Street-demonstrations like the Festival of Democracy and its public art and giant puppets will mix with an immigrant rights march and an anti-war march—and all will propose a transformational new politics while repudiating the dark days of the last eight years. Green demonstrations, anti-war demonstrations, feminist forums and a march of the Hillary Clinton delegates—all will thrive only if there is a spirit of possibility and hope that tomorrow’s American can look fundamentally different than yesterday’s.

It just that spirit of possibility and transformation that is reflected in a slate of Democratic delegates that will be the youngest in history (16% under 29) the most diverse in history (with a rapidly growing Latino population), and have the most openly gay members. It is that spirit of possibility that will shake the community of Denver as the left of all stripes take to the streets in hope and demand for fundamental change. As these voters turn out in Denver and turn American politics upside down, we should all take a deep breath with poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti, and wonder if the election this year will somehow be an answer to his perpetual wait. “I am waiting for the age of anxiety to drop dead”, Ferlinghetti said, “and I am perpetually awaiting a rebirth of wonder…”

On August 25, 2008, we all take a great inhale and wait with Ferlinghetti. On November 4, 2008, we learn if our national exhale is a deeply longed for break from the tyranny of the past or yet another comfortable, and all-too familiar, cynical whimper.

KGNU’s national politics analyst, Tony Robinson, is an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Colorado Denver. You can find more at http://mypoliticscampaignblog.wordpress.com/

Posted in Barack Obama, Commentary | 1 Comment »

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: Terminate 68

August 14th, 2008 Tony Robinson

It’s 2008 and we may finally be ready to put 1968 behind us. We are the survivors of the absolutist zealotry of the Bush years and the psychodrama excesses of the Clinton-era culture wars, and all of it has been a long hangover from the turbulent 1960s. Red and Blue America have battled for decades to today’s political draw, an ideological deadlock. The nation remains bitterly divided over what side you took on Vietnam, where you stand on feminism and abortion, whether you believe in public prayer or Darwin’s evolution, and where you stand on the 1960s. Or at least the older generation remains bitterly divided by that era, as the Bush-Kerry election revealed, with its replay of Vietnam’s Swift Boat battles.

But the younger voters—those under 29 who are surging to the polls in droves—they seem to be yearning for a new politics beyond those old debates—and they have their candidate. Obama is tapping into a generational fault line in American politics. 18- to 29-year-olds tripled and quadrupled their voting rates during this primary season, and Barack beat Hillary 4-1 in this demographic. “There’s no doubt that we represent the kind of [generational] change Senator Clinton can’t deliver on,” Obama said during the primaries. “Senator Clinton and others have been fighting some of the same fights since the ’60s. It makes it very difficult for them to bring the country together to get things done.”

Obama has a point. For sixteen years, America has been governed by Baby Boomer presidents (Clinton and Bush). For longer than that, America has fought over the bitter divisions that fractured the nation as the Baby Boomers came to age amid 1960s turmoil. The older generation continues to obsess over these old battles, and a Clinton-McCain match-up would have offered yet one more chance to fight over the legacy of Vietnam, over doves versus hawks, hippies vs. hardhats, protesters versus soldiers, abortion versus choice, over drugs and the counter-culture, over feminism vs the virtue of stay-at-home moms.

Every four years, the older generation trots out its Bushes and Clintons, to once more fight over Vietnam, feminism, and cultural decay, just as they did back in the 1960s.

In this continuing battle, every night, the older generation trots out their predictable culture warriors on television news, where Bill O’Reilly and Ann Coulter battle Keith Olbermann and Michael Moore in histrionic and destructive smackdowns that bitterly divide the nation against itself.

Perhaps Obama is the candidate to put an end to what he calls “the psychodrama of the Baby Boom Generation.” Perhaps that is part of Obama’s appeal to younger voters. Clinton, Giuliani, or McCain could never rise beyond the political divisions of their generation. But Obama is running as a black man with hardly a mention of the racial struggles of the past . Obama is running against the war in Iraq without the Kerry’s Vietnam baggage as a 1960s Vietnam protester. Obama is even a candidate who openly admits his past marijuana use without conjuring visions of some counter-cultural hippie.

With Obama, and with election 2008, young millenials and their fresh political voice may finally dethrone the Baby Boomers—terminate 68.

KGNU’s national politics analyst, Tony Robinson, is an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Colorado Denver. You can find more at http://mypoliticscampaignblog.wordpress.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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ACLU’s Suit To Allow Demonstrations Within Sight of the Delegates

August 9th, 2008 Joel Edelstein

On August 4, Mark Silverstein, Colorado ACLU Legal Director, gave a report to members of citizen groups seeking to demonstrate within sight and sound of the delegates attending the Democratic National Convention about the suit brought by the Colorado ACLU on behalf of First Amendment rights. Two days later, U.S. District Court Judge Marsha Krieger dismissed the suit, instead ruling in favor of security needs asserted by the City of Denver and the U.S. Secret Service.

Posted in Audio, Commentary, Demonstrations, News | No Comments »

Commentary: Substance vs. Ratings in Media’s Coverage of Demonstrations

August 9th, 2008 Ira B Chemus

Posted in Commentary, Demonstrations, Media | No Comments »

Tickets for Obama Speech at Invesco Field

August 9th, 2008 Joel Edelstein

On August 6th, the Democratic National Convention Committee said Coloradans and other westerners will get the majority of tickets for Senator Barack Obama’s presidential nomination acceptance speech in Denver the final night of the convention. The 60,000 tickets were gone in less than a day. Bente Birkeland reports for Rocky Mountain Community Radio.

Invesco Field from the radio level on August 3rd. Senator Obama will deliver his acceptance speech at mid-field at the location indicated by the orange cone. (photo by Joel Edelstein)

Posted in Audio, Barack Obama, Commentary, Hillary Clinton, John McCain | 4 Comments »