I went back to my old college town of Madison, Wisconsin and it was incredible. It seemed like a totally different place than what I remember. It's not just that half the windows on State Street are boarded up, or that the street feels weirdly empty even though plenty of folks still traverse it. My brother and I stopped in on our way back to his home and he had warned me it was messed up down state street and that there was interesting scenes. I was intrigued and wanted to see it for myself. I had considered staying over if it felt good. The moment I started to walk around the campus and State Street area you got the feel of a dying city. The first jolt came with the closing of the Student Union terrace overlooking the lake. It was usually full of people in the summer. Even in the heat of the day. At night it can burst at the seems. We used to have friends who worked the bar and got us cheep beer. No mas! I wasn't surprised after seeing the lockdown conditions in Madison, but I didn't anticipate it. I guess I'm still thinking like its six months ago. I have been to different cities and Madison was the worst, at least the downtown area. I observed a melee of street people with violence and no cops showed up. I've seen that before but cops were regularly patrolling the street. Now it feels unsafe and out of control. If you want to know what it's like to experience no cops than all you have to do is go to these protest zones in Portland or Seattle or Madison or wherever. Consumer capitalism is incredibly ugly with the commercial look and feel of materialism and spiritual death. This protest version of America is not only more ugly but its also a more destructive force.
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