Yesterday, in Denver, Tent State sponsored a music festival featuring artists like Jello Biafra and Rage Against the Machine. Co-sponsored by Amnesty International and Iraq Veterans Against the War, over 9,000 people attended the event. Long considered the leftist fringe and " violent radicals" of our country, protesters participating in events like these have been marginalized and ignored, feeding their anger at the belief that they have no voice. That changed yesterday. Follow me below the jump.
After the concert ended, 3,000 protesters - led by Rage Against the Machine and members of Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) - marched from the Denver Coliseum toward the Pepsi Center. As this report from the Denver Post describes, the protest was beginning to get tense. A standoff between the police line and the front line of the protesters was forming. Here is another take from the 9news.com website.
We've all seen this before. "They" throw a rock, "they" start tear gassing, more things are thrown, the escalation happens, and Fox news has its coverage to confirm that all leftists are violent radicals.
But something else happened yesterday. 2 Obama staffers emerged and intervened. They promised the group an audience with Phil Carter, Obama's veteran affairs liason. Their voices were heard. And they turned to the protesters shouting "Yes, we can!" and "Si, se puede!". Unkind things were said about John McCain.
Maggie Martin, an Army sergeant who left the service in 2006, wandered slowly, looking both stunned and relieved — and near tears. "This means it's possible," she said, "for the citizens to take back their country."
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Instead of a confrontation and violence, they were given a voice.
So tonight, as you watch Barack Obama in front of those 75,000 people explain why he will be the next President of the United States, you will have one more reason to believe. Yes, We Can.