It's Pittsburgh, We're So Tame

I just finished reading Eumie and Eric's G20 protest posts and i have a combined feeling of the two. I went to the one that Eumie went to at Schenley Plaza and just got back a little after 10 pm, so i think i went a little later. I was really excited for today and with classes being canceled and everyone warning about the dangers of G20, i was so disappointed when i stepped out of my apartment this morning. The campus was the same, only the UC felt more like prison with cops all over the place and even guarding certain stairways. I noticed that more people got their food to go rather than staying in the UC, including myself. After leaving the disappointments of campus i headed downtown but it seemed like a normal day. Despite the outspread of cops, i saw no protests or excitement. I even went to Schenley Plaza around 5 pm, but no sign of protests around there either. So i went home. Where was the excitement?

I didn't give up though. Around 8 pm i went back to Schenley Plaza, and the excitement level definitely had risen from before. There was a human barricade of police men surrounding a group of people. First getting on the site and just seeing everything gave me an intense feeling. After awhile though, it was fading. People were on cell phones or just standing around. I started asking myself what were they even here for? I wanted to feel inspired and a get a sense of excitement from the supposed G20 protests, not necessary protest anything myself. Maybe all of these people felt the same and we were gathered there just looking for inspiration. One of the first things i heard when i got to the Plaza was a guy say "It's Pittsburgh, we're so tame." I thought this summed up the whole calm atmosphere, despite the stone-faced cops staring us down. Also, people kept saying that "this is a peaceful protest" and when someone in the crowd threw a bottle towards the police, the crowd searched and scorned the person. Maybe the whole idea of a peaceful protest made things more calming and not quite what we were expecting. It also felt like the crowd was searching for a way to provoke the police. There were chants like "We have every right to be here, this is not your street" and "Who do you protect, who do you serve?" I was actually intrigued by the last chant. With the police and "peaceful" protesters, it was like them against us. People who were just standing on a street were considered the enemy. At the same time, the chanting was more towards human rights to be on a public street rather than G20 based. A lot of people i talked to said they just came to see what was going on, not necessarily to fight against G20. One guy i talked to described the scene as "one big staring contest."

The first slightly exciting thing was when the police pushed the crowd back off the streets and the crowd then reacted by sitting in the streets. Then, just as i was getting bored and about to head home, i heard this music coming from a group of people close by. I walked over and there was this pit of people dancing to this guy playing a bongo type instrument. At first it was so confusing. People were looking on and i heard some saying it was like "primal dancing" and one guy said to me that "the police don't look too worried because they probably think we are all idiots." I really didn't understand the whole primal dancing thing, but it was entertaining. It was like watching a tribe and the guy giving the beat was calling out these insane chants that people were actually repeating. I'm not sure if they even had meaning or it was random gibberish that he just came up with, someone made a joke that they want this guy's album when it comes out. Despite how insane it was, it definitely got the attention of the police and they pushed the entire group back onto the sidewalk and out of the street. The only G20 related chant that the group called out was something like "G20 soma", i'm not even sure if that was it but i'm not even sure they knew what they were saying either. As the dancing was becoming dismal, the crowd had rushed over to the left side. I rushed over along with them and when i got up to the front of the line i saw a guy was being arrested. The group had quickly began chanting "Let Him Go" and then even tried to ask the guy for his name while he was face down on the ground. While this was happening, i couldn't help notice this one policeman that had this huge grin on his face. I wonder what he was smiling about, the cameras in his face or the fact that they managed to capture one of the "enemies". I don't even know what they guy did to get arrested, but after about 5 minutes of intensity, the crowd was back to being mellow. I was there for a little over two hours and figured that was as good as it was going to get, so i left.

At first and even now, i too have feelings of disappointment in the G20 protesting events. However, i also came away feeling somewhat inspired. I got home and asked myself, what was the purpose of so many people being there if they had nothing to fight for? Was the dancing just some tactic to anger the police or was it just raw passion? I didn't get the intense feeling i wanted from the protest, but i still walked away feeling motivated. People were still there for a reason and passion still exists in some of us, maybe we just need a direction. It's sad though that people need policemen in full armor in order to gather on a street and rally. Why can't we do this whenever we feel like it? Also, is this idea of "peaceful protesting" effective? I heard so many people say how boring it was and by the time i left the crowd had gotten smaller. It felt more like going to see a band play and jumping around without a care in the world (while police looked on in what felt like disgust). I love that feeling though, it's just exciting and makes you feel good inside. However, other than that i'm not sure it has much purpose.