THE BLOWUP
Monday, November 29 & Tuesday, November 30
KATE JONCAS
President, Downtown Seattle Association
First thing Monday, two things happened that had I been paying attention would have told me something really big was up. McDonald’s got graffitied with “Meat is murder.” And in Victor Steinbrueck Park, I got approached twice by people who said, “Do you need legal assistance if you want to get arrested?” That should have given me a clue.
CHIEF NORM STAMPER
Seattle Police
People came up to me all the time, praising our restraint. One woman said she was really proud to be part of this city. [ P-I cartoonist] David Horsey was standing there. I was conjuring up a warm and fuzzy cartoon the next morning.
MAYOR PAUL SCHELL
City of Seattle
I remember, with President Clinton coming in Tuesday, sitting down in the middle of the emergency operations center with the Secret Service and asking, Is there any way to get him not to? They just smiled and said, “No, I wish he wouldn’t, but he’s coming.”
KATE PFLAUMER
U.S. Attorney
All these arriving trade representatives had Wackenhut guards—armed private security, unfamiliar with Seattle protest culture. I thought, What if some PETA protester throws chicken blood on a Middle Eastern delegate wearing a fur collar? How would they take it? But my big fear was that someone was going to drive a bus bomb into the middle of it all. We had reports the first day that a Metro bus had gone missing and a propane tank had disappeared just outside the city. It turned out they’d just lost track of the bus.
SHERIFF DAVE REICHERT
King County
Sometime early Monday afternoon things started to go haywire. I remember calling for the police chief. Nobody seemed to know where he was. I finally discovered there was a meeting at the command center right across the street from my office. So I walked across the street and more or less invited myself. The mayor was already there, the police chief, representatives of the State Department, Secret Service, FBI were all there, and the governor ended up arriving.
Someone from a federal agency stood up and said, “Mr. Mayor, you have the most powerful man in the world about to arrive in your city. Are you able to make this city safe? You need to make that decision now.”
The mayor turned to the chief and said, “Chief, are we able to do that?” The chief said, We’re going to have to examine this, we’re going to have to look at that. I was amazed—my reaction would have been, Yes, we can. We will. The meeting ended with the mayor and the governor drawing skirmish lines for the police, where to assign police officers.
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Published: November 2009
Lots of insight in this entertaining story. Good job Eric and team!
You captured the inside story better than most other story I’ve seen. Pretty good ten years after the fact!
Maybe readers will be moved to learn more about how corporate dominated globalism is negatively affecting all of our lives. The corporate dominated WTO is still promoting its agenda of profits over people. These policies are largely responsible for the current global economic crisis that is still unfolding.
Fortunately, a growing world-wide grassroots movement is still at work promoting sustainable economics, democracy, and justice. That movement expressed itself in Seattle ten years ago, however imperfectly. Whether we acknowledge it or not, we are all in debt to a relatively small group of people who worked together to change the trajectory of history.
Great work, thanks.
600 people were arrested and jailed during WTO; how many were convicted?
zbz
“we are all in debt to a relatively small group of people”
yes, yes you are — to the same globalist financiers who funded the protestors through foundations only so they could be hung out to dry afterwards as the globalization juggernaut became further insulated. See Soros, George: Open Society.
Good reporting!
I was in the streets that entire week, and the only violence I personally witnessed was from the police. I encourage everyone who cares about what really happened in Seattle that week to read David and Rebecca Solnit’s book which is just days from being released: “The Battle of the Story of the Battle of Seattle”. David was one of many early visionaries in making this event such a huge success.
I’m also thrilled that the ex-police-chief ended up working for the reform of marijuana laws. The existing laws are a disgrace in this so-called democratic society.
Thanks again, Eric Scigliano!
I was in the streets that entire week, and the only violence I personally witnessed was from the police. I encourage everyone who cares about what really happened in Seattle that week to read David and Rebecca Solnit’s book which is just days from being released: “The Battle of the Story of the Battle of Seattle”. David was one of many early visionaries in making this event such a huge success.
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Got some great information here. I think that if more people thought about it that way, theyd have a better time understanding the issue. Your view is definitely something Id like to see more of. Thanks for this blog. Its fantastic and so is what youve got to say.You make a great point.
More than 20 years and we are in the same point, maybe worst in term of unequality of tradings between reach & poors. The crisis haven’t changed the rules…
I’ve seen. Pretty good ten years after the fact!