L.A. City Hall Protest - Day 7 Videoblogging Week 2010

Phew! I did it! Seven days, seven videos. I did not expect to end with this kind of recording. I was heading to Little Tokyo to check out the sights via the Gold Line extension. There are a lot of interesting things to see but you had to pay to get into the museums and restaurants.

You don't want to know how hard it is to record video in museums and restaurants on the QT. You can't. So I'm walking around and I keep seeing helicopters at City Hall. Nobody hangs out at L.A. City Hall on a Saturday unless there is a protest or something.

I first thought that it was an immigration rights protest but they know that to get TV air time they have to block traffic during the week.

I mosey on over and sure enough there is a bunch of people and police officers at City Hall. I scope out the action for a bit because (a) I do not like being anywhere near a potential police event and (b) I needed to know who was against what. There is no sense in wandering into a group of people who are primed to deliver a beat down.



Since this is Los Angeles you never know from where the beat down will come from. I still remember MacArthur Park and the police whacking on journalists, TV journalists with cameras rolling.

Yes, caution is advised.

I am not a journalist. I never claimed to be one and they wouldn't have me anyway. The fact that I bear witness to an event and record what I see make some of them queasy. I understand but I gotta do what I gotta do which is to walk into the crowd and try to figure out what is going on.

I saw all kinds of signs. There were supporters of the group wanting to take their country back. Not implying Tea Party affiliation just saying what I saw like one or two Obama caricatures of a negative nature.

There were others that wanted to reclaim the land for Mexico or Spain; not sure about that one. Actual Socialists were present trying to promote their point of view.

Anarchists and related supporters were there to encourage the downfall of everything so that it could be rebuild in their image. Everybody was talking so loud you couldn't hear what anyone said. I do know there were cameras and camcorders everywhere.

Seeing how I was height impaired I started to leave. All I was seeing was signs and the back of people's necks. I look over across the street and saw a sign. I go on over and talk to the gentleman for a bit. He smiles at me and I smile right back.

I asked him why is he the only one that has a sign about love. He said people keep coming up to him and asking him the same question. I point over yonder to the cacophony and said it might be a hard sell over there.

He knew that which is why he was across the street at the police station. Wasn't necessarily safer but easier to extract himself if necessary.

We both agreed that observing the hands of the officers was a good way to decide when it was time to go. If they are somewhat relaxed things are ok. When they as a group start to stoke something, a flashlight or baton, it is time to make that move.

I said goodbye and headed for the train station. Inside of the station it was like there wasn't anything happening out of the ordinary. All I had to do was cross the street and walk two blocks north to be in a different place.

Life is like that around here.