Protecting the people from themselves

Yesterday, in Bush's campaign tour of the southwest, he made a stop in El Paso after departing Tucson. It was a brief "photo op" stop before continuing on to Denver.

Bush's El Paso itinerary was undisclosed prior to his stopover. As a result, those opposed to his war were left guessing where to take a stand to demonstrate their displeasure with his policies.

I suppose that's why there were a number of mini-protests around the city, each trying to anticipate exactly where Bush might appear. As a result, there was a small group of folks just over the Mexican border holding up a large anti-U.S. banner.

Some folks gathered at the airport by the NASA facility where Air Force One docked. Others, including Cindy Sheehan's sister stood outside the Border Patrol facility a few blocks away.

Members of the "Border Peace Presence" were there demonstrating. My wife, while not a member, has been a supporter and demonstrator with this group on numerous occasions. On Fridays she is often with them in front of the Federal Courthouse in an ongoing vigil against the war. The demonstrations are always peaceful and uncontested by authorities.

But I was struck by the different attitude of the police during Bush's visit. We know how protected he must be kept from dissent of his policies. Perhaps that explains the police's more uptight, tense reaction to the protestors yesterday. Maybe the presence of our nation's fascist leadership encourages a fascist response by authorities against dissenters. A kind of preventive measure, perhaps, to keep the president from soiling himself should he encounter real people in a real setting.

That probably explains why some protesters complained that police officers approached them to question their right to be there.

"One of them told me we were breaking the law, but we know what the city code says," Merlyn Heyman said. "We are not breaking any law."*

Or maybe a strong police presence just results when there's an event receiving much media attention. Like this past summer when Dada had opportunity to experience some of the police bravado during the Luis Posada Carriles asylum hearing outside the El Paso Border Patrol Detention Center.

Finding none of the peaceful protestors in violation of any laws, a police officer stepped forward to warn one to not step off the curb into the street, giving me the impression that sometimes, when there's no reason to use your mace or stun gun, you must try to create one, if only to see if they work.

(* El Paso Times, Nov. 30, 2005)