The Pittsburgh G20 Protests: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 4

I returned to my seat at the bar to watch the madness with a purpose – which may never succeed – unfold on TV.  Protesters and Police standing off a good distance away from each other, both slowly advancing.  In the crowd a large white banner could be seen with spray-painted blue letters that said, “Let’s Go Pens.”  Just below the sign was a kid in a Penguins jersey carrying a replica of the Stanley Cup.

The station had been muting the sounds emanating from the crowd, concern about the language that they were using, but suddenly they allowed it to be played live.  Maybe they thought that this was news for posterity and decided to let the chaos through… but then I heard it.  A familiar 3/4 metered chant repeated in perfect sync that was getting louder and louder through the television speakers, “Let’s go Pens! Let’s go Pens! Let’s Go Pens!”  I cannot say I was surprised by this turn of events. Only in Pittsburgh, would a supposedly Anarchist riot, suddenly turn sports-related and have John Oliver of The Daily Show cover it.  I asked Asia if she had ever seen an anti-government protest turn into a sports rally, “Not to my knowledge.”  I told her that I wasn’t surprised and that the only thing that surprised me was the lack of Terrible Towels, but perhaps the Steelers’ loss to the Bears last week culled some of the excitement for football.

I can’t say for certain what the police standing in lines 3-deep thought about that moment, when for 10 minutes a near constant chant occurred for the Pittsburgh Penguins.  Local officers would probably have been a bit bemused had they not been facing a crowd that was part ominous and had rolled garbage dumpsters down Liberty Avenue toward them.

The surreal spectacle on the television was interrupted by Monster-man, who entered boisterously with pride and exclaimed, “I got a trophy for the bar!  I grabbed this off of some asshole’s head outside!”  Toward the bar he walked with a feeling of triumph as he showcased his prize: a blue plastic helmet with a “resist g20″ sticker on the side.  I took his picture with my phone – having forgot my camera being the main reason I decided not to leave sooner – and could see it in print or posted on the web somewhere with the caption: “Area man claims trophy from G20 Protester.” It was with a relief that he had not, in fact, decapitated the man to claim his prize.

After a few pictures were taken, he handed it, with near-satiated pride to Asia who put it on the shelf near a few other collectibles, some of which may have also been claimed by this monster of a Harley rider.  My attention was diverted, however, when I noticed a black-clad group of protesters congregating just outside the bar.  I walked toward the door and could hear the heckles from the local population who were clearly unhappy with what was happening to their rustic neighborhood.

I walked out to see this frail-thin african-american woman, who would have been blown over by a light breeze yelling directly at the masked-protesters in front of the bar.  The protesters tried to ignore her and plot their next move.  Were they planning a retreat, a flank or were they waiting for reinforcements before heading toward the Strip District again? I wasn’t sure and apparently neither were they as they couldn’t possibly block out, “Get out of my neighborhood! You know what you remind me of? You crackers remind me of the Ku Klux Klan storming up my lawn when I was kid!  All hooded and masked and shit, you’re cowards just like they were! Get out of here! Leave us alone.”

At these words, the protesters actually paused and stared at her. Realizing that they could be facing hate-crime charges, they began to walk up Penn Avenue, only to quickly change course and scatter into the side streets as an armored vehicle came rolling slowly down the street.  On top was an LRAD device, this was like a car alarm on steroids and at 140 decibels.  Monster-man and others quickly cheered for its arrival, only to have the cop operating the device give him a thumbs up before targeting a group of protesters / people on the road. Jesus fuck this thing was loud!  And the police showed indifference to anyone who got in its path, even poor dogs that went completely crazy, one falling over in terror.

Everyone scattered some toward the bar as people continued to maneuver throughout the side streets only to have the LRAD follow them. Monster-man said to some of the others standing outside with him, “I’ll be right back guys, time to go get my anti-protester stick.  Hey, Asia, I’ll be right back.”  Asia rolled her eyes as I sat back down at the bar and said to her, “Bet you my next drink it’s a baseball bat.”