Working at the jail, there was tons of hype about how many arrests they were expecting.. with some estimates well above 1,000 or 2. They released a bunch of inmates with non-violent crimes and had extra beds put into the gymnasiums, thinking they would have to clear out the pods for new arrestees. Some people were talking about them renting out airplane hangers from the local county airport. No lie. And in the end, there were less than 200 arrests. haha.
We were prepped for heightened security around the jail. We had CERT and SRT guards posted every 50 feet or so around the building... and they had guns. Razor wire was put up around the fences, and the National Guard parked their hummers on the street corners, . I have to admit that having the National Guard protecting us is a pretty romantic idea. haha. But it didn't quite turn out the way I was imagining. The guards were just standing on street corners with guns, which made it feel more like Iraq than anything else. I could not imagine living somewhere where armed military personnel constantly stood on the street corners-- that's definitely not a romantic idea.
We were told that we would need to provide extra identification to get into the parking lot/building, and that the National Guard had a list of who was to be permitted to enter. But the first morning went something like this:
I pull up to the parking lot, and roll down my window.
I look at the parking attendant, and he looks at me, both of us waiting for the other to say something.
I hold up my badge and say, "I'm going to the garage?"
He makes a huge, cheesy smile, and says, "OK!"
The gate is lifted, I drive along, and nobody checks my ID. I walk past the guards, and into the building as if nothing is out of the ordinary. And pretty much, nothing was. Except that there was absolutely no traffic on my way into town, and I didn't have to pay for parking!
I think that the funniest part of this whole ordeal is that Pittsburghers just weren't putting up with anything. You're going to close down every road into downtown? Ok then, we won't go to work. The city administrators were sending such mixed messages about the whole thing. For so long they were talking about how difficult it would be to get around town, so everybody planned to avoid the city like the plague for two days. Then when people starting boarding up their windows downtown, and planning to be gone, the city got worried and started telling people that they should come into town. haha, Sorry, but bringing in an insane amount of police officers in riot gear doesn't really send a welcoming message. Luke Ravenstahl, the mayor, went on the radio Thursday morning to encourage people to come into town, assuring them that it would be safe. But in the end, Pittsburgh was just a ghost town for two days.
Despite everybody's complaints, saying that this summit was going to destroy our city, and that we would take an economic hit for it, I don't think it was such a bad thing. I'm definitely proud of my city, and I think it's awesome that Obama chose it as a "model city".. whatever that means. Yeah, it's true that 12 other cities turned down the offer to host this thing, which I assume makes Pittsburgh the 13th place model city. But whatever. I still think it's kind of a huge deal that all of the world leaders came here. Even Zapatero was here... the Prime Minister of Spain!
Oh, and, just an example of what happens when protests break out in Pittsburgh... they all eventually end in supportive chants of the Steelers or Penguins.
Man, do I love this city.
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