Seattle - the highwater mark of our resistance

Shutting Down the WTO and Opening Up a World of Possibilities
-an open letter to my comrades

"The people, quite simply, spoke. A wide fusion of radical environmentalists, labor activists, human rights advocates, and social justice workers made the WTO listen when for five years it had adamantly refused. The terms of the free trade debate have forever been changed; no amount of tear gas or police harassment of demonstrators after the fact changed the bottom line. For one day, a ragtag army of nonviolent global citizens spoke - and the world listened." - Seattle Weekly 12.02.99.

I had been standing, arms linked, with members of my affinity group by my side in a street blockade for several hours on Tuesday afternoon, when word was passed along that all WTO meetings for the day had been cancelled.

The day had started early - 5:30am - my affinity group joined hundreds of people at the park to begin actions that truly felt historic. We were part of the Cowborg cluster - clusters of affinity groups had been formed to take specific actions to use non-violent direct action to shut down the WTO. The city had been divided up into 13 wedges - pieces of pie A-M and ours was Key lime. The Cowborg cluster was one of several clusters in our wedge alone. There were hundreds of affinity groups and dozens of clusters, organizing on such a scale that I had never before participated in, the excitment was intoxicating.

The cowborg cluster had a large cow puppet with BGH written on its side representing the grotesque use of hormones and chemicals in factory farming. We were to take an intersection and a dozen people would lock-down while 30-40 of us would protect them with our bodies and hold the intersection as long as we could to help tie up downtown and prevent any movement into the convention center where the WTO ceremonies were to begin. We marched with thousands into the downtown and then moved to our location. We took our intersection and within minutes we could see other intersections occupied as well. Communications people on bicycles zoomed by announcing which intersections had been taken - the hotels are surrounded, clusters are taking there sections everywhere, the police are disoriented and can't keep up with us - we were told.

We danced, we chanted, we sang, we celebrated. A street party had begun several blocks up from us. I went to check it out and soon found myself helping blockade the delegates from China. An organizer began speaking to the delegates in Chinese and there in the street, international talks were taking place between activists and representatives from 135 nations around the world about human rights, social and environmental justice.

The cowborg cluster - recognizing our utter (no pun intended) success left our intersection and marched triumpantly around downtown joining other blockades and street parties. Downtown was ours - everywhere you looked, the beautiful faces of activists realizing their dreams shined brightly.

The first announcement came - the morning cessions had been cancelled, the opening ceremonies were off.

I could hardly believe it - we shut down the WTO! We hugged each other, we shouted, we cheered. One of the most powerful organizations on the planet had been brought to a stand-still.

We rested and then returned to the blockades for the afternoon. Groups of activists were everywhere holding intersections. We joined a blockade a stood in solidarity with thousands of other activists working to keep the WTO shut down and then again the messages came that the entire day had been cancelled - shortly thereafter we hear the concussion grenades and saw the tear gas.

A group of hundreds several blocks down from us was being fired upon with rubber bullets and tear gas. What I saw would continue and get worse. The police were relentless. The defenders of power and privilege had to punish us for what we had accomplished. The next few days were consumed in marches, blockades and military action by the police. A state of emergency was declared by the Mayor, the national guard was called in and the tear gas was flying everywhere, the pepper spray was indiscriminate, the sound of the concussion grenades and helicopters flying above was a constant - echoing in my mind long after they stopped.

We marched on Wednesday with the Steelworkers and thousands of unionists - alongside grassroots activists from all over the world, organizing around multiply causes. We were fired upon by the police and my affinity group was consumed in tear gas. As we tried to get out of there, I looked back and saw a comrade from our affinity group buckled over on the street completely surrounded by tear gas. We carried each other, each in a different state of trama and pain. We regrouped and made decisions - as we had been throughout all of the actions - as an affinity group using concensus process.

Being tear gassed in the streets with thousands of amazing activists brought so many emotions to the forefront - anger and profound sadness seeing people you love squirting lemons in their eyes to get the pain out, tears running down their face, an undeniable sense of solidarity with everyone who is struggling in the streets to resist corporate tyranny and standing up to state violence.

As a movement of people we were unstoppable. The lock-downs, the blockades, the marches, the organzing continued until finally the WTO ended is total disarray - the negotiators of corporate power and profit oriented policy were left bankrupt by a movement of people who represented a radical coalition of activists that came from around the world and mounted an unprecedented campaign of non-violent resistance.

*on organizing*

People were amazing well organized. Everynight there was a spokescouncil meeting where all of the affinity groups sent a spokesperson to discuss and agree on strategy for the next day. These meetings and others that took place regularly were excellent examples of what we can do - of how we can operate as a strong yet decentralized movement that can come together in mass and still operate as small groups. The organizing demonstrated how effective it is to operate under the principle that we are all leaders, we are all organizers, we are all participants in this struggle.

The actions were creative, the jail solidarity was brilliant, the collectives doing jail support, media, and much other important work operated well and allowed people to focus, share common work and utilize skills and recources effectively.

*on anarchist involvement*

while the media obsesses over anarchists who destroyed property - the real story was that anarchists were simply everywhere doing a hundred different things. Anarchists were doing jail support, media work, making meals for thousands, doing dishes, facilitating strategy meetings, leading workshops and discussion groups. Anarchists were doing medical support work, security at the warehouse space, communications between affinity groups and clusters, organizing marches and blockades and lock downs and tripod sits and forming human chains. Anarchists were making puppets, banners, signs, leaflets, press releases, stickers, and customes (like the lovable sea turtles). Anarchists were starting chants, designing posters and newspapers, playing music, negotiating with the police and jailers to get our comrades out of jail. Anarchists were squaters occupying an empty building and attracting national media to the issues of property, poverty and homelessness. Anarchists were held in solitary confinement for being such effective organizers of mass non-violent civil disobediance that rocked Seattle and ignited the imaginations of the world. And yes anarchists targeted corporate chainstores.

*on property and resistance*

As a movement we need to think critically about how our actions and our messages get interpreted by the rest of society. Some of the people who engaged in property destruction were very clear and left messages "anti-sweatshop" that were easily understandable - however, there were also people who genuinely looked like they were just lashing out randomly and unthoughfully (which might be justifiable, but not necessarily effective in making social change).

However - as a movement we also need to recognize the difference between property destruction and violence. I remember watching - years ago - thousands of people hammering away at the Berlin Wall that stood as such an obviously symbol of political oppression. I did not once think that those who were smashing the wall were violent. It was a jubilant and inspiring moment. Nor do I think that those who were toppling statues of Stalin in Eastern Europe are violent. Again another obvious symbol of oppression. In the United States, under corporate capitalism, the symbols of oppression are the golden arches of McDonalds and other corporate stores that are destroying the planet and amassing enormous power at our expense. While we need to think strategically about our tactics and be open to debate and dialogue, we also need to put things into perspective. While I advocate non-violent direct action, I understand where others are coming from and hope that we can discuss these issues as a movement that is diverse and vibrant.

The issue of violence is squarely upon the state as it attacked protesters and people in the neighborhoods and demonstrated an uncompromising willingness to aggressively assualt non-violent demonstrators.

*the future*

Seattle was truly amazing and it was made possible because of all of the organizing that we do day-to-day, the often unglamorous work that makes social change happen. Our ideas of what is possible have been greatly expanded. I have heard many people say that it will take them a while to process all that has happened, and I feel the same way. Hopefully we can share our ideas and think hard about what we did and what we can do so that our movement will grow.

I want to thank all of the people that did so much to make so many amazing things happen - shutting down the WTO while the whole world is watching, makes you happy to be alive and inspired to dare to dream higher.

in solidarity,
chris crass