Is Philly Next? Summer rerun possible Repeat of unrest with GOP in Philly?
by Shaun D. Mullen Daily News Staff Writer
The tens of thousands of demonstrators marching in the streets of Seattle this week represent a formidable new protest movement likely to make itself felt at the Republican National Convention here next summer. The protesters, representing a diverse array of groups from right-wing protectionists to centrist trade unions to left-leaning environmentalists, have thrown the World Trade Organization meeting in the normally laid-back city into turmoil and forced officials to call in state troopers and the National Guard.
In tear gas-filled scenes reminiscent of the historic protests of the 1960s, police have clashed repeatedly with more militant demonstrators. But the issue that galvanized the WTO protesters is neither war nor civil rights, as was the case 30 years ago. It is the shared belief that the rules of the new global economy have been rigged against American workers, and that powerful corporate interests are eroding labor, health and environmental protections both in the United States and abroad.
"This is a reflection of a growing consciousness and sophistication of a
variety of groups across the spectrum that have seized on an issue that
crosses ethnic, class and racial lines," said Jonathan Stein, a longtime
Philadelphia social activist who is general counsel of Community Legal
Services. "I think it is a very strong portent of things to come," Stein
added. "Certainly the Republican convention will see this
> protest moving across the country to Philadelphia."
Cheri Honkala, outspoken leader of the Kensington Welfare Rights Union, agreed."It's totally different. It's a whole new thing," said Honkala, who was arrested by police after demonstrators blocked a downtown Seattle intersection on Tuesday morning."People from not just domestic groups, but internationally, are getting more organized. They are feeling the direct consequences of corporate actions," said Honkala, who said her arrest on obstruction and assault charges was perhaps the 60th in her lengthy career as a protester. Honkala spent eight hours in jail, was freed on $1,500 bail and took an overnight flight back to Philadelphia, where she participated in a demonstration yesterday morning on the steps of the Free Library, demanding better wages for people coming off of welfare.
"I don't know whether this is a reawakening of the protest movement," said Temple University law professor Eddie Ohlbaum. "I don't know whether Seattle is a foreboding of what night happen at the Republican convention. But I think the issue of world trade has become a lightning rod."
While major protests in recent years, such as the 1995 Million Man March or demonstrations rallying support for convicted cop killer Mumia Abu-Jamal, have focused on a single issue, the gripes of the WTO protesters are wide-ranging. They include human rights; protecting sea turtles from shrimp-fishing fleets; saving rain forests; the plight of workers in Third-World sweatshops; concerns over genetically modified foods, and the flood of imports that are eliminating well-paying U.S. manufacturing jobs.
"It's a marriage of convenience, but it's certainly not unique," said G. Terry Madonna, director of the Center for Politics and Public Affairs at Millersville University. Madonna noted that the Black Panthers and white anti-war groups worked together in the 1960s, and more recently black and white farm groups in the South, long adversaries, have formed alliances. "This movement is something new and it is something old," said the Rev. Mary Laney, of Philadelphia Interfaith Action, a grass-roots group that has bedeviled the city's political and corporate establishment and only last week dumped bags of allegedly contaminated soil from the Logan neighborhood in the hallway outside of Mayor Rendell's office. "People are feeling that they are not being heard on domestic bread-and-butter issues... The middle class has been forgotten. Where do you turn when you don't have access to the arenas in which important decisions are being made? "We don't have corporate headquarters inPhiladelphia anymore. If you're trying to deal with corporate leaders over economic issues in Philadelphia, they have little loyalty to the neighborhoods or Philadelphia itself. What is most painful is that we're in the midst of an economic boom, but the average person is not a part of that."
John Dodds, a longtime Philadelphia Unemployment Project activist, said Philadelphia remains a hotbed of social and political protest, but most of it isn't noticed by the news media. "If we had 50 people out there quietly petitioning people, we'd be lucky to have a story on Page 20," he said. "What happened in Seattle is a different scale."
--------------------------------------- People opposed to corporate rule should plan to be in Philly, or organize local actions on July 30, 2000. Join our email list by sending an email to: philly2000-subscribe at listbot.com
The R2K Committee 3001 Walnut St., 5th Floor Philadelphia, PA 19104 1-215-382-1390 phillyconv at aol.com