DNC protests devolve into farce: I couldn't find a single protester outside the convention, much less a Chicago 7

[iemanja]

Dana Milbank, WaPo

CHICAGO — They said tens of thousands of protesters would be here. They claimed they would “shut down the DNC for Gaza.” Like the Chicago riots during the 1968 Democratic convention, their demonstrations would snarl the city, shake the party and doom the candidacy of “Genocide Joe.”

Then came Kamala Harris — and the protest fizzled.

Organizers anticipated there would be 30,000 to 40,000 protesters on hand for Monday’s kickoff. But only a few thousand showed up; police estimated 3,500. . . .

A few hours later, we knew. Only 100 people attended a protest march on the DNC by the “Poor People’s Army,” and that was after they delayed the start by 90 minutes. With Green Party candidate Jill Stein in attendance, their announced intention was to make “citizen’s arrests” of Democrats attending the convention and to charge them with “crimes against humanity.”

”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/08/21/dnc-gaza-protests-small-ineffective-kamala-harris/

Turns out the alarm over the protestors was much exaggerated.

[Think. Again.]

1. yeah, the rightwingers (and divisionists)...

....REALLLY wanted some big hoopla so they pretended the small crowd was it.

It wasn't.

[getagrip_already]

2. The aggressive arrests and convictions after 1/6 helped..

None of the meal teamers wants to get arrested because they know they will end up in jail.

They dont trust each other. They are afraid of their own shadows.

Good.

We still have lone asshats to worry about though.

[ExciteBike66]

3. Plenty of scrap wood from those left over signs!

[lees1975]

4. What's to protest?

Inside the convention hall, where speaker after speaker, completely underlining the theme of being the party that includes everyone and works to help everyone, and where the key speakers have emphasized the need to stop the conflict with a cease fire, get the hostages released and resolve the problems. Anyone who supports this, including the thousands of Palestinian-Americans who are directly connected to what's happening, knows their hope for resolution is inside the United Center. The protesters have a different agenda and they're just seeking attention for themselves. And I'm guessing that, with so much of the money contributed to Trump's election campaign actually going to pay his legal bills, they didn't have the money to put 30,000 people up in hotels in Chicago for a week.

The fact that something Stein showed up to support only drew 100 protesters in Chicago says a lot about just how much of a hypocrite she is. Any far-left candidate will not get much in the way of mainstream support, but she has managed to divide the far left, and lose the support of more than half of those who have the potential to get their voice heard and their issues included and seriously considered. She's done such a good job of fragmenting and alienating most of those who otherwise might be her allies that they won't even march with her. She's Putin's good friend and i don't see how you can be that, and be an advocate for the poor, disadvantaged and the issues supported by the Green Party at the same time.

I live in Chicago and my commute takes me through the Near West Side neighborhood where United Center is located. "Snarling" the traffic in the city isn't hard. An overheated car pulled into the right lane can create a 20 minute backup almost instantly. This is a place where construction and closed streets can cause piled up traffic miles away from the actual blockage, so, because of the blocked streets, I have been taking the L to work this week. Coworkers who have been driving have said they encountered delays because of the closed streets, but that protest routes and the parks where they were supposed to gather have been almost empty.

It's not that easy to gather support for a protest against the nation's most inclusive, open-minded, diverse and JOYFUL party which emphasizes helping their neighbor, meaning everyone.