Don’t Think of an Anarchist

Unless you’re Jon Stewart, this is not the time to interject fancy into what happened at Occupy Denver on Saturday night. (There’s an even goofier version of this shot here.)

If this photo suggests some kind of parity, that’s not accurate. The robo-cops overran the Occupy Denver encampment on Saturday night using rubber bullets and pepper spray. If this photo suggests some kind of militant equivalency, that’s not true either. There’s a difference between a protective mask and the profile of the fully-equipped nihilist insurrectionist.

And yet, what this photo does do, under the guise of quirkiness — playing off the masks and fist and face-off — is begin refashioning a peaceful, citizens-driven 2012 “Occupy” into the anarchistic mold of Seattle ’99.

(photo: Craig F. Walker, The Denver Post caption: Protester wearing gas masks confront police during the Occupy Denver protest in Denver, CO, Saturday, October 29, 2011. Occupy Denver protesters and law enforcement officers faced off on the steps of the state Capitol and Civic Center this afternoon after protesters marched through downtown Denver for the fourth week in a row.)