Posted by Neil at 205.163.142.226 on December 02, 1999 at 19:12:50:
In Reply to: Here is a detailed description of what happened posted by netweasel on December 02, 1999 at 18:31:33:
: I then went inside the small family-owned grocery store on the corner of Harrison & Broadway. The owners were overwhelmed and were trying to prevent shoplifting. This was happening because for about 30 minutes I was chasing tackling and shoplifters, and dragging them back inside with there stolen goods. I did find this hypocritical and ironic because these ANTI-CAPITALIST / ANTI-CORPORATE protestors were buying (and trying to steal) a ton of Budweiser beer and cigarettes.
Now, from what I've gathered only a very small fraction of the protesters on Broadway last night had any relationship to the WTO protests. Most were protesting the situation with police on Tuesday night when they pushed the WTO protesters up Pine past the freeway.
Besides that, there has been plenty of legitimate calling various protesters hypocritical for protesting free trade and/or working conditions in other countries while wearing clothes (etc.) that support the very corporations who profit so greatly from these things.
However, Tuesday afternoon 20,000 union members marched from Memorial Stadium to the Convention Center. To characterize these people, or even a substantial percent of the other protesters as either anti-corporate or anti-capitalist is patently unreasonable. It certainly doesn't have any relationship to the things being protested.
The city was enormously stupid in the extremity of its lack of preparation for demonstrations of these proportions or their by-products (vandals, taking advantage of vast crowds). Now, they have reacted with a level of extremity that can only be described as obscene.
And, for the record, I'm sorry that you got plugged by a rubber bullet. I have to go face the troops myself in a little while.