I got to Tampa around noon and there was nothing going on at the convention site--the convention wasn't scheduled to start until 2. So I decided to just wander around and check out the off-Broadway show. Not surprisingly, what I found at the fringe was . . . well . . . the fringe. The first thing I saw were the "god trucks". The pro-lifers had a big panel truck with a graphic message on the side, and another truck with lots of god stuff on it was also driving around all day. Then by golly who did I come across but the Westboro Baptists, who were standing on the sidewalk with a bullhorn haranguing people about how God hates fags and women shouldn't be allowed to vote and blah blah blah. I entertained myself for a while by asking them how old the earth was and whether God loved Mormons. The next thing I saw were little groups of Ron Paulites all over town. I entertained myself for a while by asking them if they thought child labor laws should be repealed and Social Security should be abolished.
Mostly what I saw, though, was pure American hucksterism. There were people selling buttons, people selling "It's Time for a Change" playing cards, a gift shop selling anti-Obama shirts, hats and bumper stickers, and one bar had a sign outside welcoming "Protesters, police, press and politicians". I suspect that if it had been the Democratic Convention in town instead, everybody would have been selling a different message.
All afternoon there was a steady stream of limos taking the pooh-bahs into the convention site, with police checkpoints to keep out the riff-raff. For lesser luminaries there was the "Believe in America" shuttle--and the for the underlings there were buses. I did also catch the Fox News truck driving around--"America's Only Fair and Balanced Election Coverage!". Too funny.
The oddest part of the day was having lunch with a couple of cops. I was in a little bar and grill having a Philly cheesesteak when two cops walked in for lunch and, because the place was pretty full, the only seats open were at the bar, next to me. When I saw them looking at my "Occupy St Pete" t-shirt, I told them "Don't worry, I don't bite. Sit down and fraternize with the enemy." We ended up chatting for half an hour. They were from North Carolina, and told me all about how they came down on Saturday to hotels that the city was putting them up in, and they all worked alternate days while they were here. I told them Busch Gardens was a good place to spend the day, and the best beach around was in Clearwater. Naturally we talked about the convention and about Occupy, and I told them the cops weren't our target--our target is the 1% who own everything. I also told them that they must realize all public-employee unions are the Gopper's number one target, and that when the city and states try to cut the cop's pay and benefits and bust their union, they can count on the Occupy movement to defend them. But in return, we'd really appreciate it if you'd stop pepper-spraying and clubbing us over the head.
The afternoon rally was quite a bit smaller than yesterday--I would guess around 450 people. Apparently all the dabblers have gone home, and the only ones remaining are the hardcore heavy-hitters. Today's march had a large contingent of anarchists and commies, and also a large contingent of gay-rights activists. And an ENORMOUS contingent of cops, at least two for every protester--including a big column of Tactical guys with body armor, visors, riot shotguns and the whole works. Wow. I guess they didn't have anything better to do today. So we marched to the designated "free speech zone" (which we refer to as "the cage")--only to be met by the Westboro Baptists, a different contingent of them this time. Well, given the nature of the marchers today, I'm sure the fundies immediately regretted being there. Instantly, a group of gay-rights activists jumped atop the cement barrier between us to confront them--the cops swarmed in, the press swarmed in, and within five minutes the Tactical guys were there to form a line so the fundies wouldn't get the snot beat out of them. (NOTE: Occupy is nonviolent as a basic tenet, and does not condone or approve beating the snot out of anybody, even if they deserve it.) After about ten minutes the fundies decided they wanted to be, uh, somewhere else, so they skulked off meekly, surrounded and escorted by the Tac guys. The Tac guys finished by putting on a big show with drill lines and military formations before marching off. I guess we protesters were supposed to be impressed or something. I'm surprised they didn't bring the armored car too.
Photos below the fold: