Amendment I: Congress shall make no law…
prohibiting or abridging the freedom…
or the right of the people peaceably to assemble…
and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
The word was circulating around campus – there was going to be a huge protest in Seattle, a multi-front demonstration against the WTO. I was studying political economy at UCSC and was encouraged to attend by friends and my mentor/professor.
I was undecided at first – on one hand it was far and expensive to fly and travel. But the idea of a united progressive action was compelling – there would be members of unions, students and activists from many sectors, including the global justice and ecology movements.
“Organized labor played a vital role in the Seattle protests. They provided a degree of legitimacy that would have been lacking without them, because labor represented a different segment of society from other protest groups” (Lessons from Seattle: Voices of Protest and the State’s Response)
A counter-demonstration taking the debate to those who would meet and make decisions about how our world should be structured and organized. I decided I would join my comrades to demand a more open process that included public participation.
Though only vaguely at the time, I knew Iwanted to go… to lend my voice and body to jointly call for alternative forms of development. Forms that respect and secure human rights and emphasize sustainability. We would raise a new banner to express ourethic of global citizenship. Amidst their pomp and conceit, in the stark face of human suffering and in the looming shadow of ecological catastrophe, these issues had not made it on to the agenda.
Nonviolent Protest – contemporarytactics and logistics = Direct Action Network (Ruckus Society + Rainforest Action Network training and affinity groups)
the 420 Denny warehouse was the operational headquarters, functioning as temporary living quarters (sleeping, food) and the central hub for communication and coordination.
situational leadership: risk and commitment: degree of involvement = hardcore
I checked in at the warehouse for a meal and to attend trainings and nightly meetings. There was a notice for people who wanted to demonstrate but were still unaffiliated. At this meeting around 75 people showed up and we were assigned one of the 13 sections of the pie – the back door of the convention center. This was anticipated (and would end up to be) a focal point in the action – as security forces were overwhelmed with the primary blockade, this secondary entrance became of significant tactical importance.
the moment of truth/new day dawns: November 30th,1999
3 hours of sleep – practicing all night long…marching out at dawn…gear check and gird yourself/fix your mind…push through the fog…there are others now…gathering mass and momentum the groups converge
spilling out and it is our footsteps echoing/voices raised…to greet the day….caricatured figures tower and sway – politician and businessman re-presented/puppet strings/their hands dripping blood/eyes transfixed by dollar signs/deaf and dumb/oblivious to the time
we reach our intersection unchallenged and execute our respective lock down procedures. Forming the core (octopus) we are in position in less than a minute. Surrounding us is much larger group (30 to 50) comprising a human perimeter, arms linked in PVC pipes rolled in nails and wrapped in chicken wire. And then, soon after, kids in black were bringing back dumpsters and benches/whole sections of fences/reconnaissance/urban harvest – within a matter of minutes we are set up, taking our positions before anyone else has arrived.
Hours passed – flat on my back I was dimly aware of a growing crowd. Bicycle U-lock around my neck was linked with two others and these linked to others to form a hexagon. The cold concrete wicked away my body heat through layers cotton and wool (flannel, hoodie and hat). But people were around who took care of us. A lead negotiator interfaced with the police. There were media and medical teams. Someone brought a solar blanket, a cup of tea. I could raise my head a bit to see the cops in riot gear aligned in formations. They were barking orders through megaphones.
The media arrived. 3 or 4 hours passed and we were getting live reports of how the cops were attacking the groups with pepper spray, batons and (less frequently) rubber bullets. We negotiated and held our position throughout the morning – a team of secret service men pushed through at the edge of our cordon…retractable slim jims swinging to usher in a late delegate.
Finally the cops would have no more public exercise of democratic rights. Their masks came down, batons in hand – 5 minutes notice was given of impending head cracking. We were leveraging – and had been striving to communicate through our coordinator – the fact of our dramatic vulnerability – and the potential for extreme liability in the event of a head/neck injury resulting from an attempt on the part of the police to disburse us. Up to this point we had been totally safe within our group of nonviolent demonstrators. But if the police attacked theymight cause a stampede. Or, more likely, through the misuse of pepper spay, they would create a situation in which we would be unable to prevent ourselves from hurting each other — as we would inevitably have to move to cough and choke, and thereby throttle each other.
We decided to reposition ourselves. A bit numb from the last 5 or 6 hours, I sat with arms linked at the elbows on each side and legs wrapped around the person in front of me. Then the great boot of our criminal injustice system came kicking it’s way into the seated and peaceful crowd.
