Welcome to the Denver Street

I attended my first street protests in 1984 in France. That year I saw I saw right wing students, left wing students and organized squatters tangle with the CRS - France's dedicated anti-protest police force. Honestly, I was certainly taken by the drama of the situation where determined protesters stand up to government security forces. Since then I've been to and reported on street battles and civil conflict zones in Guatemala, El Salvador, Yemen, Croatia and Bosnia. In May 2020, when the most recent protest movement started, I began to attend, pledging again, to witness and report what's really going down.

I've been to many marches and protests since them. I've lost track of how many but let's says it's getting close to 25 or 30 days and nights. I've thought long and hard about whether or not to publish my reporting. I'm not seeking social clout and I'm not an activist, though I am sympathetic to many of the causes. But most of all, I'm interested in people understanding what the street is really looking like as it all happens, from an objective point of view. And a view it is. I rarely interview people, though I do talk to them, its typically to get their perspective on what we are both witnessing. I report what I see happening for the most part. That's the goal of the Denver Street - to share the street level view. All the rest can be found in the multitude of media sites in the Internets.

So what is it we're talking about in this publication? The focus will be on anything that is related to:

Street protests of any kind in Colorado (including counter protests and shadows)
Social justice protest movements
Militarization of the police
Armed militias or protest groups (of all political flavors)
Normalization of extremist ideas in the mainstream - this includes ideas from all sides

Mostly the dark and scary stuff. But I will always put a bit of humor and hope into the reporting.

Geographically, the focus of this publication will be Colorado. Other content has been archived and we'll keep true to our Colorado focus going forward.

My hope is to follow my interests and to see how all these things (and many others...) manifest in the wild - that is, on the streets of Denver and across the State of Colorado. I'm gonna focus on protests because that's what I find interesting. If you need overly thoughtful politically correct analysis, you may want to look elsewhere. There's plenty of good stuff out there. I'll share what I see and probably make a few jokes as well, so check yer sensibilities at the door.

And finally, on a more serious note, if truth is indeed the first casualty of war - a quick survey of the current political landscape in America, and you might find yourself wondering if indeed the first casualties have already been taken and the war has already begun. It does make me wonder. While disinformation is nothing new, the amount of it currently being fed to the American public is disturbing. More voices from more places reporting on clearly observable truths are necessary.

And regardless, the rise of civil conflict between highly polarized social groups is a reality that needs more focus and more understanding. And while I hate to sound like Facebook, I need to say, "it's complicated."

So are we at the brink of civil war? I don't think we're there just yet, and I don't think it's even likely or even probable, but there most definitely is a path to land there if we're not careful as a broader society. Wherever we all head, I hope to be watching at the front.

John D