“The streets are very quiet.”

The text from my photographer friend came in at 10:30 AM.

Neither of us had heard any word or could find any information about anything going on during Day 2 of the RNC. But surely there was something, right?

Before I got here, I had assume I would take public transportation to the convention area, thinking having a car would be a serious hinderance. But since I found an empty parking lot that cost $10 for the day, I figured I could park there again.

I got to downtown at about noon. And dang. My parking lot now had a sign out front: $30 event parking. I didn’t want to do that. I drove around the block to find a place to pull over to look on my phone for parkiing, but lucky me! I found a 10 hour parking meter that would cost $5. Bingo!

The area was completely deserted.

As I made my way back to Red Arrow Park, since that was the designated protest spot, no cars were driving around. No people were on the streets. And understand, I was about three blocks from the convention restricted area. In fact, one sound dominated: seagulls. It reminded me of being at a deserted beach when the only sounds are the water lapping at the beach and seagulls squawk as they hover over you looking for an opportunity to grab your sandwich. It was eerie. And unsettling.

When I arrived at the park, a group of eight men held  banners with Bible verses, and the man with a megaphone explained in a stern, frightening tone that we are all going to hell. No one else was in the park except for a few cops hanging around.

Lining the street were LED trucks. These are about the size of a U-Haul truck and has large, high resolution LED screens on both sides and the back displaying messages and videos. In fact, these trucks were driving around and parked all over the place. After the assassination attempt on Trump, Biden’s campaign announced it would “pull down television ads and pause all outbound communications.” I thought I had read that this include cancelling 58 LED trucks that were to be driving around the RNC, but I cannot seem to find that info now. 

But clearly, plenty of others (such as the Lincoln Project) were willing to utilize them. They were everywhere. 

Given the dearth of protesters at the RNC, it seems like the LED trucks are a primary tool for protest. It is certainly easier. But I’m not sure that is a good thing. As a person, I can easily go out on the streets to protest. The LED trucks require lots of money. They do not necessarily represent a particular number of people passionate about the message. It also seems that for people that I am going to assume are alarmed by climate change this would be alarming. Dozens and dozens of trucks either driving in circles or idling at a curb. Ok. I think it also looks dystopian when no cars or people are out and about. Instead, these trucks go around and around. Oh, and some play videos with sound as they make their way down the street. 

Now I needed to figure out what to do with my day. I have a friend who lives here and planned on meeting her at 4:40 PM for an early dinner. I made the decision to explore the Third Ward.

I left the park and headed south. I only got a half block away when four people dressed in pink on the other side of the street caught my attention. They were carrying signs and a folded up banner. Perfect. I was off to see where they were headed. They stopped on a bridge over the Milwaukee River and unfurled their banner, holding over the side of bridge facing the water.

My first thought was that this seemed silly. The river was closed to all but the police and the Coast Guard who were patrolling the river between two bridges, large gun mounted to the front of their boats. Then I noticed that on each side of the river were video cameras pointed at the banner, two or three on each side. Reporters rushed to the four protesters, and soon the cameramen from the river were at their side. I took a few photos of my own and then got closer. 

The protesters were from Code Pink, “a feminist grassroots organization working to end U.S. warfare and imperialism, support peace and human rights initiatives, and redirect resources into healthcare, education, green jobs and other life-affirming programs.” One sign said, Free Palestine. Another said, War Criminals Not Welcome Here. And they were surrounded by reporters, some of who I recognized from the protest yesterday.

Interesting. I, of course, realize that these protests are all performative, but this was so blatantly performative. No one, except me and the Coast Guard monitoring that portion of the river, would ever see their display. But someone clearly had connections with media, who were waiting patiently for the four to show up and who agreed to interview them. 

How was this actually news? Why do these four particular people get their voice so amplified?

After taking some photos of Code Pink, I continued down the River Walk, periodically distracted by something I wanted to take a photo of. At a building a block off the river, I noticed more reporters interviewing someone. So I headed down there. And I found out climate change protesters.

In the storefront windows of a building, artist Annie Saunders created multiple dioramas depicting destruction caused by climate change. Here is an article about that display. I couldn’t get any decent photos because it was so sunny that all I could capture was a reflection on the window of me taking a photo!

A man working with the artist, who was being interviewed around the corner, asked me what I thought of the display. I said I thought that no one would see it, and I waved my hand past the intersection where tumbleweeds might as well have blown by. He replied that it didn’t matter. The goal was to get media attention, which, he said, they had been very successful in obtaining. They would be dismantling the exhibit in a few hours. 

Interesting.

I finished the River Walk and then made my way to the Third War. But not before stopping in at Downtown Books, a used book store. I always stop in used bookstores when I’m on the road because I am always looking to add to  my collection of classic literature published under the heading The World’s Best Reading.

The store window was decorated for the RNC. At first glance, I thought that was clever. Then I looked closer. A sign said, Vote for Books. Then four display cases were lined up. The first was labeled Awful. On that display were books about Reagan. The second was labeled Terrible, and the books were about Nixon. The third Bad, and the books about George H. W. Bush. The next was Worse with books about George W. Bush. The final labeled Worst, and the books are about Trump.

This wasn’t the only storefront expressing strong opinions against the RNC. One had a sign welcoming the “fake electors.” Another declared “Make America Great Again.”.

I hadn’t been to the Third Ward before, and the area is very cute. I had about an hour and a half to kill before I needed to leave to meet my friend. I walked down Broadway and found a great coffee (and wine) shop called the MARN Art + Culture Club. Two young women were in there at a table drinking wine and working on something for a class they were taking. And then there was me. They soon left, and I was the only person there the rest of the time. I pulled out my computer to work on my photos while I enjoyed my iced latte.

I only saw a few people walking out on the street. But twice, bike cops rode by. I have seen so many teams of bike cops here. They are usually in packs of about twenty, riding in two columns. Up this street. Down that street. Through another intersection. They’re everywhere.

In addition to cops on bikes, huge caravans of motorcycles and town cars escorting VIPS seem to be everywhere. One that I waited on to cross the street was pretty long, and when they were past us, I heard a woman on the other side of the street talking to someone and saying, her voice cracking with emotion, “That was Trump! That was Trump!” No. That wasn’t Trump. It was definitely someone important, but it wasn’t nearly big enough for it to have been Trump.

This is such a cliché, but a line of parked sheriffs’ bikes were parked outside a Dunkin Donuts. One sheriff stood next to them. I took a quick picture, and he said hello. We chatted for a bit while he was waiting for his fellow sheriffs to get their donuts. (We laughed about that too!). Turns out they were from Orange County, Florida. We talked about how many cities, counties,  and states sent law enforcement personnel to Milwaukee for this event. He mentioned that he had met a Chicago cop who was here trying to learn something about security at the RNC. The Chicago cop then said that no outside forces are coming to Chicago. Can that possible be true?? The only info I can find right now is that suburban Chicago police departments will be helping and that Milwaukee and Chicago have an agreement to send cops to each other’s conventions.

On Monday, Chicago police Supt. Larry Snelling indicated that 500 officers will be coming to Chicago to help. It is not clear if those are from Milwaukee and the suburbs or if they are from other states.

Sadly, Columbus, Ohio, police found themselves witnessing two men fighting in a park where they were having a briefing. One of the men had a knife in each hand. Officers ordered him to drop the knives; he refused and charged the other man. Five police opened fire, killing him. (Here is an article about the incident.)

I quickly received an email from the March on the DNC condemning the shooting. Here is that that email:

The Coalition to March on the RNC entirely condemns the Columbus Ohio Police shooting of Samuel Sharpe. For years, the Coalition has warned city officials of the dangers of bringing 4500 police officers from outside of our state. The Coalition has warned City officials about the dangers of suspending community won Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) 575, which allows for the public to see police footage of critical incidents within 15 days and for the next of kin in 48 hours. The Coalition has warned City officials of the dangers of not doing background checks on all 4500 police officers that are coming to invade our city. How many murderers are in the midst of those 4500 police officers?

It is notable that the Columbus Ohio Police Department was present at our protest, putting themselves out there as supposed peacekeepers. It feels obvious to say that killing people, carrying weapons, is not a part of peacekeeping. It is also notable that the Milwaukee Police Department said they would keep outside agencies away from the broader Milwaukee community, which they failed to do.

The incident today is something that was predicted by Black and brown communities since the RNC was announced for Milwaukee, it is painful to say that these predictions came true. At the site of the shooting, Black Milwaukee teens who witnessed the shooting said they can’t even play in the park anymore, that they feel too afraid, that they will stay at home. This is nauseating to anyone of conscience, and unfortunately business as usual for the racist and reactionary Republicans.

Ultimately, this is the kind of environment that is brought to our city by the Republicans. Racist policing, racist killings and violence. Outside agencies have no business in our Black and brown communities, and we will firmly stand against it. Members of our coalition will be attending a vigil hosted by the Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression at 8PM tonight on 17th and Vliet.

I did not go to the vigil because I didn’t see this email until it was too late. But once I looked at the address, it is at least a mile from the convention center, and not knowing the area, I’m not sure I would have felt safe going anyway. 

After I left the coffee shop, I headed back to my car and met my friend for dinner, which was lots of fun. And then I went back to the hotel.

Finally, yesterday I wrote about a young man who was carrying a bullhorn and was extremely aggressive with counter-protesters. I saw a Tweet (an X??) someone posted after confronting him and the woman he arrived with early on at the protest. She had a shirt that had the message on the back, “July 13th was a false flag.” He is the one waving the rainbow fan. The poster is accusing them of being in New York protesting during the Trump trial and of being paid agitators.

That’s it for Day 2! Looking forward to what Day 3 has in store for me.

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Read RNC Day 1, RNC Day 3, RNC Day 4