Protest, part I: Setup


The setup was pretty simple: A flatbed truck on the Stockton bridge, against the back of the Ritz-Carlton, served as a sound stage. Streets closed on either side of the block, and barricades up to keep the protesters away from the hotel.

For those of you who are familiar with San Francisco, you'll realize that the Stockton bridge is fairly isolated from the rest of the area. As little as a block away, it wasn't really possible to see the protesters, much less hear us. Some guests of the hotel certainly would have heard us and been able to see us from their windows.

People were on pretty good behavior, which is good, because there were a lot of fairly frail elderly people there, as well as a decent number of small children. It was definitely, definitely not a situation where the people "owned the streets."

Police presence was not particularly prominent, and what interactions I saw between demonstrators and SFPD were quite friendly.

The take-home-message: This was a spatially constrained, well-mannered, peaceful event.

From the press:
Union Demonstrators Turn Out for Schwarzenegger's Fundraiser
Cheers, Jeers for Arnold During Anaheim Stop (just to show this isn't specific to SF)

Posted: Wed - April 6, 2005 at 08:51 AM   | Category:     |   |   | |


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