Yippies stage quiet riot near DNC site with 'peace bats'
By John C. Ensslin, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Published August 11, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.
Photo by Tim Hussin © The Rocky
Denver police officer David Granbery holds a 'peace bat' that protesters tried to give him after he responded to a complaint about a protest near the Pepsi Center. Protesters were clubbing each other with inflatable red, white and blue baseball bats.
A quiet "riot" broke out Sunday in front of a convenience store near the Pepsi Center, site of the Democratic National Convention, when protesters, police and counter-protesters clubbed one another mercilessly.
The incident was over in a matter of minutes. But when a group of reporters and photographers arrived, the fight broke out all over again.
This particular battle was waged with "peace bats," inflatable 42-inch red, white and blue baseball bats plastered with bumper stickers that read, "Make Fun, Not War!"
As the combatants went at one other, a turntable played a vinyl record called Your Living Bill of Rights - As interpreted by the U.S. Supreme Court.
And while the record spun, a slight breeze animated the wooden figures on a whirligig that featured two stick-figure cops alternating between clubbing and kicking a protester.
One of the plastic bat-wielding "cops" was Greg Seaman, a Boulder man wearing a scuffed but authentic Chicago Police uniform.
The protesters were self-described Yippies - aiming to poke a little fun with some political street theater. The skit was convincing enough that someone in the store called the real police.
When Denver patrolman David Granbery arrived, organizer Laura Kriho explained that they were Colorado Yippies.
"Ever heard of Yippies?" she asked.
"No. I've heard of hippies," he replied.
Kriho added that they were all done. The group started breaking up but not before one of them offered Granbery a "Peace Bat."
No thanks, he replied. "We're not allowed to accept gifts."
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August 11, 2008
7:13 a.m.
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LingLingfor_prez writes:
Hugh? Still hippies to me with nothing to do.
August 11, 2008
7:19 a.m.
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Billy writes:
What a wonderful display of fun. There is no better way to bring out the ugliness of war than with this type of entertainment. I guess Milehigh guy would rather see another Chicago 1968 because intelligent people are fed up with George W's war. Wow.
August 11, 2008
7:54 a.m.
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yippie writes:
Check out video and more photos:
http://www.yippies.org
http://www.peacebats.com
August 11, 2008
8:14 a.m.
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sheepherder writes:
Now thats what I call good legal protesting..and funny too! Glenn, take note..you can learn alot from these people!
August 11, 2008
8:19 a.m.
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wow writes:
Wonder if these "yippies" are the Jerry Ruben type. His book, "Do It" details that movement.
This sounds pretty harmless, and light hearted.
Better than pee slingers any day.
August 11, 2008
9:48 a.m.
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PaleoConservative writes:
WWCD?
(What would Cartman do?)
August 11, 2008
9:51 a.m.
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lwirbel writes:
Tbone, take a look at the folks who chide the guy who protests about Tibet in China, who chide the folks who protest the war in any venue, the folks who knock those circulating petitions, anything - it's always "Get a job!" or "Get a life!" They don't like to own up to the fact that having a life is having the courage to poke fun at the society as it exists, whether in Beijing or here at home. As you said, most activists do have jobs, but these online complainers don't like to confront the fact that lives spent watching TV, going to a job, never complaining, are the empty lives that are truly in need of someone saying "Get a life!"
August 11, 2008
10:20 a.m.
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Denverboy1 writes:
Haaa.......
Indeed they have jobs.... Yet they want to poke some harmless fun and get a point across as well....For all of you na sayers perhaps you should go back to your blood filled video games and dream of being beaten by real batons....or shot at by REAL guns .
You fear peace for you are so filled with the rage of our age..Peace represents and end to images of hate and destruction that so fill every nook of of our society....You have found the easy chair of chaos and long for the endless blood bath of mankind....
I hope you come down on the side of evolution because the beast is in your hart and you cower before knowledge and understanding....you hate the flower and long for the gun.....
Perhaps this demonstration JOB was to show just how people react to PEACE..... You fear what you don't understand then try and bring low the idea because it's beyond your ability to grasp...
How sad....for you..because in the end and you must know this already.....ONLY PEACE AND UNDERSTANDING is a workable solution....War and destructions wake is just that....Think about it...But take some motrin first.........
August 11, 2008
12:53 p.m.
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imPatrickBateman writes:
LOL, the yippies must have felt like they were five years old all over again!
August 11, 2008
1:40 p.m.
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sheepherder writes:
Uh, Ducan...just in case you didnt read the story...those thug Denver coppers didnt club or shoot anyone...they had a sense of humor about it. Take the tin foil off brother...
August 11, 2008
1:50 p.m.
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sheepherder writes:
I love the cop watch forum too! "So I was drunk as a monkey and got pulled over after killing a nun. When I punched the cop he beat me with his stick! Rogue cops!" Always good for a laugh!
August 11, 2008
1:54 p.m.
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7_ogNiOj writes:
I bet officer Granbery was sorely disappointed he didn't get to bash anyone's skull in.
August 11, 2008
2:19 p.m.
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sheepherder writes:
Yea 7, it sure looked that way....what world do you live in?
August 11, 2008
3:27 p.m.
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DemsAreDumb writes:
I sure wish they had clubbed the crap out of them. It would have been fun to watch!!
August 11, 2008
5:20 p.m.
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sheepherder writes:
The officers were PROFESSIONAL, respecting the groups right to FREE SPEECH which police will protect. The police will start using the fun toys when morons (unlike this group) start committing crimes. 7 and duncan have got to be the most ignorant people posting here!
August 11, 2008
5:45 p.m.
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jcn7vc writes:
It was a Sunday. Why do they have to be working or volunteering? Can't they hit each other with inflatable bats on a day of rest?
August 11, 2008
6:39 p.m.
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h8r writes:
sheepherder- Nope, the protestors didn't have a right to be at the Conoco. That's probably why the cops showed up, to disperse the illegal gathering.
By your logic, also, the cops in the south had the right to beat civil rights protesters. The protesters there didn't have a legal right to do what they did, so they had it coming by your thinking. Guess what-the police have no right to use violence in 2008 against any protesters, legal or illegal, just like they had no right to do so in 1968. What public good is served by beating anyone that is just trying to get their voice heard?
I would say that you are the most ignorant person here by far. You justify the use of weapons against unarmed protesters because you don't agree with their point of view, and you think that the only good protest is a legal one. Where do you get your information from? Do you have any kind of perspective other than your own?
Of course, from your perspective, nothing needs to change in this country, and from your perspective, you don't see how futile any action other than some sort of civil disobedience is. Look at the news-recreate '68 wouldn't even be in the news if they didn't announce they were not going to play by the city's rules. You probably think the two party system of government works for you and that your interests are being looked out for in washington dc.
When you are dealing with an overwhelming force, or the overwhelming power of the state, even at the city level, you have to break the rules. What is accomplished by showing up at the Pepsi Center, going into a freedom cage, and protesting where no one can see you or hear you?
August 11, 2008
9 p.m.
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teacherone writes:
The Denver police responded perfectly. Everyone won. The Yippies got their message across, the news got their story, and the police ensured everyone's safety (and despite the insult, didn't take it personally! can some of you say the same?) The police will have an exceptionally difficult job during the upcoming DNC. They will have to make very difficult decisions about who is dangerous and who is just excercising a right to free speech. Officer Granbery displayed excellent judgment and a sense of humor. We will rely on officers like him to protect us from the real criminals who will descend on Denver to prey on the convention goers--and us.
August 12, 2008
9:12 a.m.
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sheepherder writes:
h8r...you clearly have the reading comprehension of a third grader. Police have every right to use force when the criminal element of protestors start throwing rocks, bottles, breaking windows, starting fires, shooting slings shots and worse. When have I ever said that legal protestors should be beaten? In fact, if you learn to read, you will see that I support groups like this and tent state that have agreed to abide by our laws. Their voices are being heard loud and clear using lawful means. And they had every right to be at the Conoco as long as they were on a public street. And please dont even get me started on R68, they are just acting like spoiled children, making morons out of themselves.
August 13, 2008
5:54 p.m.
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h8r writes:
sheep-
Yeah, the DPD isn't going to do anything illegal at the DNC. They aren't going to beat nonviolent protesters just like they don't break into people's houses and shoot them in the middle of the night. The DNC isn't there to protect anyone's freedom of speech or rights, they are there to protect corporate interests and the establishment's right to act with impunity, regardless of the will of the people.
The media is doing a good job, by the way, of portraying this whole DNC protest as some kind of fringe event. Nearly everyone on this board has a belief that "they" are coming to denver, and "they" are different than "us." Guess what-the only difference between those who will show up and those who don't is apathy.
I'm not a hippie, a yippie, a commie, an anarchist, or some kind of freak. I'm a regular person that works 40 hours a week, and I don't believe that the Democratic Party is going to do anything for me after they get their power back. I don't deserve to be beaten, arrested, or imprisoned for protesting.
You didn't say that "legal" protesters deserve to be beaten, but there won't be much "legal" protesting just like there wasn't much legal protesting in 1968. You saying that "legal" protesters don't deserve to be beaten is like saying that all of the people from Antarctica who will be at the DNC don't deserve to be beaten. Legal protest is not civil disobedience, and thus it is completely ineffective.
Also, when the people who run the city of denver get to decide what is legal and what is not at the DNC by decree, the issue of legality seems like a moot point.