A Sort of Apology
Seattle and WTO will forever be the definitive lesson on the differences between demonstrating and rioting - a thin line at times. But eight years after those gassy, bloody and occasionally futile protests (what was the point of putting Super Glue in the window locks of Nike Town?), City Hall has agreed to finally set things right for its illegal arrests of some WTO protesters.
This settlement brings to a close an important chapter in the history of this City," said Michael Withey, attorney for the Seattle 175, after City Hall agreed Monday to a landmark settlement in the WTO class-action case.
Officials agreed to seal and expunge records of those who were arrested mostly in Mayor Paul Schell's so-called "No Protest Zone." The city will provide more police training and give protesters $1 million to divvy up. That will come to $3,000 up to $10,000 per protester, depending on the number of class members who file claims.
Says Withey:
The lesson to draw is that the full constitutional rights of citizens can be guaranteed at the same time public safety is secured...We are proud to hold the city accountable and to contribute to this important victory."
Still to be decided: Is Super Glue a peaceful protest? That's what I watched a kid named Brad apply to Nike's windows because, he said, "Nike sucks." An older man told him, "OK, Nike sucks. But you can get there with nonviolence. Study the history of non-violence...March without breaking something." Retorts Brad: "Hey, man. Violence works!"
Other SWeekly WTO memories - including those from Berger, Dawdy, Parrish, Howland, Barnett, Bush, Scigliano, Gunn and others since departed - here.
5 comment(s)
Someguy says:
Just Pathetic...
Please tell me the downtown business owners association is filing charges against teh 175 recipients?
Seriously, what is wrong with Seattle?
The rest of Seattle lives came to a complete standstill while this city was taken hostage by these IDIOTS and now we are paying them?
Posted On: Tuesday, Apr. 3 2007 @ 2:06PM
RiotAct says:
It\'s too bad they got arrested if they weren\'t truly misbehaving but how in the hell were cops supposed to sort it all out, good from bad, when the city looked like one big English soccer riot?
Posted On: Tuesday, Apr. 3 2007 @ 2:39PM
Birddog says:
Anderson\'s post and the comments are bizarrely clueless. Seattle hasn\'t set anything right. The city\'s insurance company forced the settlement to prevent more financial losses. The city hasn\'t admitted a goddamned thing, save for a need to better document their illegal, idiotic arrests.
As for the commenters, wow. Let me write that one more time: wow. You could easily find out the truth about these particular arrests if you cared to. You\'d find, as did a jury in federal court, that they were clearly illegal as defined by the, ummm, now what\'s the name of that document again? Aw, I guess it\'s a quaint relic, anyway...
Posted On: Wednesday, Apr. 4 2007 @ 6:00PM
Dumbdown says:
Right, the arrests were almost as idiotic as the protests. What did they accomplish? The WTO has gone merrily along its way. Next time try arguing some logic.
Posted On: Thursday, Apr. 5 2007 @ 8:08AM
not quite says:
Actually, the WTO has been pretty much stalled since Seattle, though mostly because of the rift between developed and underdeveloped members (which was only a minor subplot in the protests.) But the protests were the turning point. They also mark the beginning of the tide turning against the economic liberalism that had reigned almost unquestioned since the rise of Thatcher and Reagan.
One of the WTO slogans was \"fix it or nix it.\" The nixers haven\'t done so well, but there are signs of positive change on the \"fix it\" front that were unimaginable on November 29, 1999.
Posted On: Thursday, Apr. 5 2007 @ 5:40PM