NewsHour Links:

A look at preparations for and protests against the WTO conference in Seattle (11/24/00)

A discussion about the troubled Seattle summit, the role of diplomacy in commerce and the future of international trade. (01/20/99)

Forgiving The Debts? (04/11/00)

New Activism Era?
Elaine Helm, 17
Mountain View High School, Washington

People shielded their eyes from tear gas while police in flak jackets and gas masks formed barricades to keep the crowd contained.

Nearby, protesters waved signs and shouted. Others smashed windows in the downtown shopping area.

These scenes from the World Trade Organization (WTO) protests that took place in Seattle in late November and early December 1999 could have come straight out of the Vietnam era. But this was Seattle, home of Microsoft's Bill Gates, the Space Needle, and java guzzling yuppies, where it rains 364 days a year (or so it seems).

Why did it get so out of hand?

Those of us in Washington State and across the nation were shocked to see these images on our television screens. Why did some protesters get so out of hand? Did the police react too harshly? Certainly they were unprepared for the tens of thousands of people who filled the streets of downtown Seattle.

In another large city, like New York or the nation's capital, the scene might have been very different. Law enforcement officers and city officials there see civil disobedience regularly.

A vital part of civic activism

Although all sides could have handled the situation better, I believe the WTO protests may have ushered in a new era of citizen activism. A new generation of college age students appeared prepared to shed their apathetic image and let their voices be heard in conjunction with a diverse group of labor unionists, environmental and human rights activists.

Protests are a vital part of civic activism in local, national, and international affairs. It is a sign of changing political times when such protests become more frequent.

From April 11-17, the International Monetary Fund and World Bank plan to hold their annual Spring meetings in Washington D.C., and many of the same groups who protested the WTO in Seattle have organized to be there. The scene promises to be calmer, perhaps, than last November if only because the law enforcement there has seen large-scale protests before.

The people of Washington D.C., however, should look to the effects of the WTO protests in Seattle and be on their guard. Protesters in Seattle were pushed from downtown into residential areas when they refused to obey a 10:00 p.m. curfew set by the mayor. Those living just east of downtown had to deal with conflict between police and protesters right outside their doors in the night as well as the din caused by news helicopters circling overhead to cover the action.

Letting the concerns be heard

If something may be learned from the WTO protests in Seattle, it must be that police and protesters have a responsibility to conduct themselves in a manner conducive to free speech but not civil disobedience.

The news media also, must give a fair report of not only the sensational actions of a small percentage of protesters inciting mayhem but those who simply want their concerns about the regulation and globalization of trade to be heard.

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