Ripple Effect Concert

Event: Ripple Effect
Date: 2 September 2008
Location: Lawn of Capitol, Saint Paul MN

The RNC’s choice of Saint Paul this election offered many opportunities to participate in activist events. The Ripple Effect was a free concert sponsored by Substance. One of the first things I noticed at the concert was the words in big bold letters surrounding the stage “Beyond the Convention, Beyond Partisanship.” The message throughout this event seemed to be encouraging peace and environmental conscientiousness. Unfortunately the peaceful atmosphere was invaded by the presence of hundreds of police officers, many in riot gear, ready to jump on any chance to interrupt the event. There were many booths set up representing many organizations: from the Sierra Club to Code Pink. There were people encouraging the use of tap water instead of bottled water, and a table set up with information about EXCO the experimental college. I was asked to sign a petition about healthcare, and people were walking around with stickers saying, “Make-out, not war!”
There were many interesting artists performing such as Dead Prez and Michael Franti. There was, however only one female artist performing. The person announcing the artists was also female, but it very much seemed like they were the “token” women. The people attending the event were mostly young, many representing a “counter culture” with dyed hair and other non-mainstream ways of expressing themselves. For the most part I would guess that a majority of the audience were students, and there was not much class diversity. I also saw very little racial diversity. I did however see many young white people meditating on the grass in the middle of a huge crowd. There was also juggling and incense. There were many people smoking a variety of things while the police looked on from the fringes and the snipers watched from above.
Rosa Clemente, the VP candidate for the Green Party and manager of Dead Prez, and Dead Prez were going from the concert to a march for poor people. Students at this event were filming a documentary about the RNC and the activities surrounding it. For many of the participants this was just the second day of activism against the RNC, but for me it represented a unique opportunity to view activism in action in my own backyard.