Brandon Turbeville

Activist Post

Fresh on the heels of the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida, the Democratic wing of the one-party bird is set to begin their own three-day circus party in the city of Charlotte, North Carolina. As is the case every year, both parties either have or will be accompanied with the symbols of freedom that every American has come to know and love – militarized police, random checkpoints, warrantless searches, and a virtual lockdown of the entire area surrounding the convention.

Of course, while the average person who lives, works, and produces in the general area is subjected to, at best, a major inconvenience of their daily routine and, at worst, a gross violation of their Constitutional rights under a police state crackdown, many of the more upscale attendees of the DNC will enjoy what amounts to royal immunity as they skirt about town and partake of some of the finest women (or men) and drugs that money can buy.

The difference between the 2012 DNC and all the others, however, is the openness in which both the revelry and police state will take place. For instance, even the local Charlotte media is openly publishing articles about the annual powder party known as the DNC.

A local publication, Creative Loafing, actually published an article by Christina Wilkie and Ryan Pitkin, entitled “Dirty Politics: Charlotte’s underground hungrily awaits the DNC,” where the authors interviewed individuals ranging from small time drug dealers to police and club owners. What they reported was that virtually all of the Charlotte “underworld” was eagerly awaiting the coming convention in hopes that bulk sales and wealthy partiers will provide easy and plentiful money during the three days of the event.

In a telling passage in the article, Wilkie and Pitkin write,

Thomas is a local nightclub promoter who knows well the habits of his clientele. Because of the risk – and grave consequences – that come with transporting drugs across state lines, Thomas says many visitors will be on the hunt during the convention. The DNC is expected to bring 35,000 people to Charlotte, including some 5,000 delegates and VIPs, 15,000 journalists, and another 15,000 staffers, volunteers, security personnel, tourists, protesters, and vendors.

The article continues by saying,

Thomas – whose name has been changed – says the fancy suits of powerful politicians and executives can be deceiving when it comes to partaking in drugs and other vice. ‘There are so many people you wouldn’t expect,’ Thomas says. ‘Lawyers, doctors, bankers. For me, it’s actually more rare to find someone who doesn’t do any of it.’

Yet, as the Wilkie and Pitkin article states, “For some conventioneers, it isn’t what they’ll be bringing back to their private parties – it’s who.”

According to Charity Magnuson, the operator of the nonprofit organization NC Stop Human Trafficking, “There will be women for sale and most of them will have been trafficked one way or another.”

However, with all the incoming money set aside for purchasing illegal drugs, the article claims that the word on the street is that drugs entering the Charlotte area have “dried up” in recent weeks.

Of course, one should keep in mind that the drugs referred to in this article are those being distributed by small or, at best, mid-level dealers. One should not assume that because the average Charlotte junkie is having a harder time finding the drug of his choice, that high-level Democrats, bankers, and other government officials will encounter such trouble. Nor will the worker bees of the political system have any difficulty in locating the highest quality prostitutes and an abundance of their favorite substances. They never had such trouble before, and they are not likely to do so now.

The real issue regarding this information, however, is not drug use. Nor is it even the fact that the drug use by the DNC participants has become so open that local publications no longer have fear of retribution for publishing it. The issue is that the individuals enjoying the finest drugs and prostitutes that Charlotte (and other areas of the world) has to offer are some of the biggest proponents of arresting and jailing any and everyone else in the city for engaging in the same behavior.

In other words, the Charlotte DNC is one more example of how some people are more free than others.

Ironically, one is still labeled as a conspiracy theorist for saying that there is such a thing as a ruling class.

Interestingly enough, although the Charlotte underground expects an uptick next week, parts of the “underclass” will be receiving a bit of a renovation.

Sources on the ground in Charlotte, who are in contact with this writer, have reported that the homeless of Charlotte are themselves experiencing a crackdown. From police tape surrounding most of the bus stop benches where the homeless usually sleep to general police harassment, the homeless are being systematically removed from the view of the DNC participants. Even the homeless shelters themselves are being emptied. Sources have reported to this writer that individuals currently residing in the Charlotte homeless shelters are being bussed all the way to Statesville, North Carolina for the duration of the DNC.

As warnings to tourists and other visitors to Charlotte, advertisements have been posted all over town discouraging them from giving to the homeless or otherwise needy members of the population. According to my source on the ground, the posters read something to the effect of (but not a direct quote): “True change doesn’t come from giving money out of your pocket. Please don’t give money to panhandlers.”

Yet, while the city has taken great pains to hide certain segments of Charlotte society, the money districts where the DNC will take place are also seeing new additions like rickshaws added to the entertainment value for those who are able to afford it. In the face of all this, however, the Charlotte papers still claim that “Charlotte won’t hide the homeless during the DNC.” Indeed, this phrase has been repeated all over the Charlotte media and was even the title piece of an article written by Mark Price of the Charlotte Observer (August 21, 2012). It should be noted, however, that within the first three paragraphs, the author admits that the homeless will be displaced from their shelter during the convention.

According to individuals on the ground, the Charlotte police presence has virtually tripled in the last few days and continues to increase as the DNC approaches. Most of the police presence seems to be in the daytime, most likely as an attempt to increase visibility and set the tone of the coming days during the convention. It is well known that thousands of “security” forces will be shipped in to bust the heads of protesters and other American citizens still foolishly under the false impressions that they actually have rights.

In addition, police have been parking patrol cars all over Charlotte and leaving them empty and unattended. This is likely an attempt to further establish high visibility in the days leading up to the DNC. However, these same police have also tripled their on-foot, bicycle, and Segway patrols.

More importantly, however, police have been engaging in warrantless searches of citizens ever since the “security level increase” surrounding the DNC began. Anyone who looks “intoxicated,” “suspicious,” or who is carrying bags or backpacks is likely to be stopped, searched, and questioned illegally.

Of course, as is typical of police, the searches are usually conducted with the requisite rudeness. Also, as one might suspect, the homeless have been particularly targeted in this regard as has anyone that even remotely looks like a potential protester.

Police have apparently been given either carte blanche or, worse, a directive to make arrests wherever possible during the DNC. For instance, when one police officer was asked what would constitute grounds for arrest during the convention, he responded directly that it would be, “Any annoyance.”

This is particularly concerning since, according to a report by RT, an arrestible annoyance consists of carrying “water bottles, socks, markers, and other seemingly unthreatening items.” Indeed, the city of Charlotte has now passed a city rule for “extraordinary events” which “bans the possessions of handbags, backpacks, soda cans, drink coolers, scarves, bike helmets, baby strollers, and non-service animals.”

At this point, it seems we should expect a large number of arrests.

Of course, the number of arrests hinges largely on the number of protesters in attendance. Yet, even after four years of intensifying warfare, environmental degradation, and a worsening economy, it seems less likely that the 2012 DNC will see a record-breaking attendance of protesters.

Unfortunately, the numbers of people who are willing to protest these issues, whatever their perspective, seems to be growing smaller and smaller by the year. Whether it is a growing apathy, disillusionment, or simply fear of laws such as the NDAA, PATRIOT Act, and other fascist legislation coupled with stormtrooper goons (aka police) trucked in by the overwhelming numbers to ensure that the wealthy are able to play their perverted games in peace while American citizens are not allowed to exercise some of their most basic rights, numbers are not expected to be as high this year as they have been in the past.

Regardless, we will continue to monitor the events surrounding the DNC and will continue to report any significant developments.

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Brandon Turbeville is an author out of Mullins, South Carolina. He has a Bachelor’s Degree from Francis Marion University and is the author of three books, Codex Alimentarius — The End of Health Freedom, 7 Real Conspiracies, and Five Sense Solutions and Dispatches From a Dissident. Turbeville has published over one hundred articles dealing with a wide variety of subjects including health, economics, government corruption, and civil liberties. Brandon Turbeville is available for podcast, radio, and TV interviews. Please contact us at activistpost (at) gmail.com.