U.S. Political news and discussion. International news and politics also welcome.
Minneapolis Takes to the Streets to Resist Trump ... on Bicycles
Yes, the entire street is lined with bicyles.
The cold weather didn't stop hundreds of protesters from hitting the streets to protest the election of Donald Trump in Minneapolis this evening in a critical mass [14 mile] bicycle ride to the governor's mansion in St. Paul.
Although the atomosphere was fairly jovial, the worry was very still very clear. Protesters affixed signs of love and peace to their backpacks, but organizers were handing out "RESIST" sheets to everyone that needed one.
There was 750 people scheduled to attend the event, so police presence was heavy. The Twin Cities is of course no stranger to protests or other critical masses. When the Republican National Convention descended onto the city in 2008, a few protesters were pre-emptively arrested without probable cause. National security .. blah blah blah.
Despite those black marks, Minneapolis still has a good track record with protests. The police here were outwardly friendly.
Minneapolis is a very diverse city and has one of the largest Somalian immigrant populations in the country. In case you were wondering, that's because Hennepin County has extremely good health and human service programs.
This woman noticed me photographing the police coordinating with the organizer and asked if I was a journalist. It's impossible to explain what exactly I'm doing at the protest (observation-only). I still tried, but ended up telling them that I was freelance. They were extremely worried and needed to express it to someone that would tell their story. They asked if Trump really meant what he said about immigrants. They are scared. They wanted to make sure I would post their picture on Facebook so that others could see they protested.
As much as I wanted to offer reassurance, I couldn't. There is no way for us to parse his words to figure intent. "There's no way for us to know right now how much he meant."







These were not the biker gangs I was expecting, but this works.
Minneapolis is much like Portlandia, except these people take their bikes out in much more extreme weather. lol
... and with that, I need another drink.
2008 was a disaster for citizen journalism. MSNBC.com suppressed my team's reports about the pre-emptive arrests. They were supposed to be partners. Those stories ahead of the convention were supposed to be on the front page. They made it there two days late. No one cares about stories that are two days late. Those were the most important stories, not the stuff that happened during the convention.
Grr.