| The
World Trade Organization meeting was intended to be an opportunity
to showcase Seattle as a major player in international affairs, to show
the city off to the world, hosting the world's major leaders in a conference
that would benefit the economies of the world. Instead, we were witnesses
to a disgrace that the city may never regain its image from again. Over
the course of the next several months and years, many people will attempt
to shift blame or justify their actions to the public at large, what this
page will do is squarely define why it happened and who is responsible
for this embarrassing disgrace of our fine city. |
| The
WTO is a yearly gathering of the nations of the world to develop trade
relations and policies and normally is conducted in a civilized manner.
This year, there was much organization by several groups that opposed the
policies and lack of democracy of the WTO. Groups had planned several marches
and meetings to discuss their differences with the WTO. When the conference
started, we began to see signs of unrest when anti WTO banners began being
hoisted as well as banners blasting the working labor practices of several
big business retailers such as The Gap and Nike. From there,
the next day brought on the worst as human barricades and vandalism littered
the city, bringing local business to its knees during what's normally their
brightest time of year in the weeks ahead of Christmas. To disperse the
unruly crowds, Seattle Mayor Paul Schell instituted a curfew in the city
and called in the National Guard. The consequences of the protests brought
tear gas and rubber bullets, even in residential neighborhoods and in areas
of which elderly people live. |
| The
consequences of the mass civil disobedience have already had an impact
on the city. Even in entering into discussions with people from outside
of the area, immediately I've personally gotten blasted just for saying
I am from Seattle. People around the nation and around the globe are embarrassed
for our actions and wonder if we from the Pacific Northwest are still stuck
in the 60's. The leaders that were verbally assaulted and barricaded from
doing their jobs will forever remember Seattle as a city that has no interest
in open trade, ironic for a port city that is heavily dependent on exports,
more so than several states within the country. Many of these delegates
and leaders will remember the events in Seattle vividly when business and
government from our state attempts to negotiate in business negotiations
or partnerships. It should be fairly obvious that Seattle will see several
decades if not longer before major business decides to hold conventions
such as APEC or any further WTO meetings. Especially sad when considering
the work done on improving the convention center. The economic impact on
this area will be difficult to quantify, but should be substantial. The
psychological impact and how the rest of the world views the citizens of
this area will also be greatly diminished. |
| The
blame falls squarely on the groups that were protesting the actions of
the WTO. In their own ignorance, they demonstrated exactly how NOT to get
the goals they profess to be fighting for initiated. Countries of the globe
are not going to succumb to heavy handed actions by what is viewed as the
wealthy American 'pigs'. They are not going to listen to environmentalists
and unions who by their very violent and obnoxious behavior, which included
blocking streets and forming human barricades. The actions of the WTO have
increase per capita income of the world exponentially. The current world
economy is like a well-oiled machine, and stock markets around the world
as well as the world's citizens have enjoyed the windfall. Part of the
effect of the economic boom as well as the technological boom is a higher
quality of living amongst the world's inhabitants. While some third world
nations to have working conditions that are disgraceful and governments
that have no regard for either their people or their own countries environments,
the effect of technology and increased global wealth are the tonic which
if given time will slowly create a more civilized and environmentally conscious
society.
This
is an exciting time we live in which information can be quickly accessed
by anyone in the world, perhaps the greatest opportunity for democracy
the world has ever seen. Free trade creates this wealth effect for all
countries of the world. Free trade has kept inflation at bay and has led
to the greatest economic expansion of history. The ignorant members of
the various anti WTO organizations are trying to prevent what ultimately
will give them what they are asking. The problem, it won't happen overnight.
Foreign culture doesn't change with the flick of a switch. The organizations
opposed to the WTO should openly condemn the environmental and social problems
of several of the member nations of the organization, but they also should
ENCOURAGE the continuation of free trade with these nations, as
the wealth effect it generates will lead to a more educated and sophisticated
society.
As
far as assigning blame for the civil disobedience, the anti WTO organizations
will of course distance themselves from the hooligans that went through
the city as if it were the reincarnation of the LA riots post Rodney King,
but the blame can be cast squarely on their shoulders. They are the ones
that organized the marches that stretched through the city and they are
the ones that decided to use their own bodies to prevent the work of the
WTO to take place. This civil unrest snowballed into what later was violence
and vandalism, where the anti WTO protesters quickly wanted to distance
themselves from blame. Sorry folks, it doesn't work that way. True the
typical snapshot of the type of violent protester was a long haired, hippie
typed loser that in all likelihood had no clue what the WTO really was
or what benefits free trade bring to the people they claim to be defending.
The comical aspect of many of these protesters is that they are most likely
the ones to shop for the cheapest items on store shelves, which are in
fact cheap because they are manufactured in the countries where the worst
labor violations take place. The protesters by all appearance are on the
lowest end of the economic and social scale, the homeless, the unemployed,
the Seattle scum, which use this as an opportunity to somehow show the
world that violence within their own neighborhoods is somehow going to
convince other countries to adopt more democratic standards of living.
What a joke, in fact it encourages those living under dictatorship to be
more content with their current, comparably peaceful condition. The world's
press gave the anti WTO an abundance of opportunities to voice their feelings,
instead they decided to show their feelings physically, which will more
than overshadow anything they try to express vocally. |
| As
a Seattle citizen I want to tell the world, I am sorry. I am sure I represent
the vast majority of the Seattle area community when I apologize for the
treatment of your nation's delegates. We are disgraced with the actions
of the few of our own as I'm sure you are disgraced with us. I only ask
that you recognize the fact that the more civil majority are proud of our
city and will do a much better job if given any future opportunity to showcase
our city to the world. The public at large is angered at its unruly uncivilized
trash that has disgraced our city. Please give the city of Seattle consideration
in future trade relations as most of us are the type that look down on
what has happened here just as you do. |
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