a cop checks me out during a protest
the journal of Michael Werneburg
twenty-eight years and a million words
Today I went down to the demonstration against Gulf War II that was being held in synch with other demonstrations in the rest of the world.
I went down with my camera gear, all bundled up, but the -25oC still got to me after a couple of hours. I don't know how I used to cope with hours and hours in that kind of weather while cross-country skiing out west, but I guess it's the time I spent in Australia and BC that did it.
While I was camped in front of the marchers, waiting for them to start, a cop came over and chatted with me for a while about my camera, the film I was shooting, and - eventually - the politics of the march. The cop seemed more left wing than I did, in that conversation. Later, when the cop had cycled off to join his fellows manning the front of the march, Charlie came over and informed me that the police like to single out likely characters in circumstances like this, and get a feel for their intentions. Sigh.