| ||||
|
Arts & Entertainment Books Comics Health & Body Media Mothers Who Think  NewsPeople Politics2000 Technology - Free Software Travel & Food  Columnists
Current Click here to read the latest stories from the wires. - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - Also Today For a full list of today's Salon News stories, go to the
News home page. - - - - - - - - - - - - Search Salon - - - - - - - - - - - - Recently in Salon News
Everything you need to know about the WTO
The vice president's stiff comedy
Republicans lost in space
Smog alert
Desperately seeking a legacy - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - |
The whole world is watching | page 1, 2
The overwhelming majority of the protesters will be nonviolent in the strictest sense of the term, having agreed to DAN action guidelines that disavow property damage and even "verbal violence," as well as physical violence toward people. Guidelines of this sort have been integral to every major direct action campaign in the United States since the mid-1970s, adopted in reaction to the "wild in the streets" chaos of late 1960s protests, and have been fairly uncontroversial among activists. Suddenly, though, a significant minority of protesters have tired of this ethos, decrying what they term "tactical stagnation." These militant anarchists say they're seeking a revolution based on "liberty, mutual aid and wildness" and bitterly criticize DAN for "nonviolent dogmatism." "We want no partnership at all with the discredited institutions -- unions, government, the Left -- now being rehabilitated due to the 'new menace' of globalization," reads an article authored by the visiting Anarchist Action Collective of Eugene, Ore., in the current issue of the Seattle Weekly. "They are part of the glue holding a rotting order together, an order that must be totally dismantled." The militants take inspiration from two Reclaim the Streets actions this past June that turned into riots, a small-scale one in Eugene and a much larger protest in London that caused an estimated $3 million in property damage. Leaflets have been circulating here with hardcore slogans such as "Bomb the Mall," "We're Doomed" and "Civilization Is Collapsing ... Let's Give It a Push." It's hard to know how influential this point of view is. But even some people at the nonviolence trainings I've attended are saying they don't view property destruction, for instance, as "violent." This is unprecedented: While there certainly has been debate in radical circles in recent years over whether, say, tree-spiking is a legitimate and nonviolent tactic, on balance most activists have emphatically embraced peaceful styles of protest. The rioting will certainly be the most sensational of Tuesday's events. But the attempts to more peacefully "shut down" Seattle are worth watching. Only once in the last 70 years has any movement sought to shut down an entire city: during the huge and almost-forgotten May Day 1971 antiwar protests in Washington D.C., in which over 13,000 people were arrested. But where the May Day organizers detailed their targets in a widely distributed tactical manual, the DAN activists have been more prudent, with affinity groups keeping any sneaky plans to themselves. ____________________________________ As might be expected in the wired Northwest, activist groups are using the Internet to organize. Locally produced sites bemoan "the WTO's bias against the public interest" and aim for "Mobilization Against Corporate Globalization," with schedules of events and tips for getting last-minute accommodations. The Seattle Indy Media Center's site promises real-time coverage of protest events. The Global Trade Watch site, maintained by Public Citizen, features "A Citizen's Guide to the WTO." Additional reporting was provided by Fiona Morgan.
- - - - - - - - - - - - Sound off Related Salon stories Everything you need to know about the WTO While thousands of protesters gather outside, there's plenty of disagreement inside, too.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Search Salon | |||
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
