Posted by Dan Ewert : 1/30/2003 04:20:00 PM (Archive Link)
I was browsing TheNation.com the other day and went to a section called “The Online Beat” by John Nichols. You’ll note the sidebar where he describes his mission in part thus, “Every day in every city and town across America, progressives get up in the morning and go about the work of fighting racism and homophobia, defending the environment, organizing trade unions and tackling corporate hegemony. Sometimes they win--on the picket line, at the ballot box, in the streets and outside the WTO meetings in Seattle.” Outside the WTO meetings in Seattle? This is declared a “win?” In case you’ve forgotten, the anti-WTO protests in Seattle back in December ’99 were actually riots. They caused $2 million in damage, cost downtown businesses another $7 million, prompted the mayor to establish a curfew and the state’s governor to call in National Guard units. I find it astounding and shameful that somebody on the respectable left would be calling this sort of behavior a “win.”