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Pastimes : No to WTO! Seattle 1999 -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?


To: Mosko who wrote (144)12/5/1999 4:16:00 PM
From: PMS Witch  Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 187
 
I have more faith in the accuracy of your account of things than of anything I saw through the media.

This situation is an example of what happens during extraordinary circumstances. As a society, we're pretty well prepared to handle most every-day situations, but we flounder when something unusual happens. The truth is, the unthinkable does happen.

We, as a society, have collectively given up many of our responsibilities and handed them over to others who we trust will act appropriately on our behalf. We trust the appropriate civil authorities to enforce those laws we all agree, as citizens, to follow. At times, individuals find themselves in disagreement over how those transferred responsibilities are carried out. This is the basis of much friction between the public and police, educators, politicians, ...

What you witnessed in Seattle stems from a fundamental misunderstanding: There's no consequences resulting from participation in a riot. This simple idea explains why those seeking excitement join in a looting and destroying mob. If apprehension, trial, conviction, and above all, severe punishment was a certainty, the protest you witnessed would be been quite different as any rational person would not wish such a fate upon themselves.

Unfortunately, when a net is cast, both those who are sought and those who aren't get caught. We can only hope that once those who had the misfortune of being in the wrong place at the wrong time will be dealt with fairly, and released expediently. We can also hope that those who broke the law, looted, and vandalized, will be dealt with severely, but I won't be holding my breath waiting on this.

Cheers, PW.



To: Mosko who wrote (144)12/5/1999 5:32:00 PM
From: JBTFD  Respond to of 187
 
Mosko,

Thanks for the report. It aligns exactly with what I saw on channel 7's non stop coverage.

Unfortunately the capsulized news reports of the event were misleading, especially in the national media, it appears. But hey, when the media is owned by trans-national corporations, what should we expect?



To: Mosko who wrote (144)12/5/1999 9:46:00 PM
From: Tom Clarke  Respond to of 187
 
Thank you for that riveting and vivid report. You should forward it to ZNet or a similar news site.

What you experienced is a foretaste of things to come if federalized paramilitary police are allowed to proceed unchecked.



To: Mosko who wrote (144)12/6/1999 1:26:00 AM
From: S. maltophilia  Respond to of 187
 
Message 12194606