> Protesters' spoof? What a capital idea!
>
> By Caitlin Cleary
> Seattle Times staff reporter
>
> In yesterday's WalkForCapitalism, it was left to the true believers and
> pro-capitalist watchdogs to weed out the real capitalists from the fake,
> dressed as they were to the nearest thrift-store approximation of
capitalist
> chic: suit jackets, ties, argyle sweater vests, their hair evenly parted
and
> smoothed, holding signs that read "Capitalism is Better than Democracy."
>
> It was Capitalism Day, or D2 — the first Sunday of December, set aside by
a
> global pro-capitalist campaign to celebrate and promote capitalism,
> globalism, technology, free trade, individual rights and private
property —
> and lo and behold, the anti-capitalist, anti-globalization, anti-WTO
> protesters were crashing their party.
>
> Seattle was one of 100 cities around the world that hosted
> WalkForCapitalism. Its participants spoke admiringly of capitalists such
as
> Bill Gates and Thomas Edison, and held signs that read, "Make Money Not
> Class War."
>
> Tom Szalay of Everett, a retired firefighter, said the protesters might
want
> to think about getting jobs and joining capitalism.
>
> The crowd of about 100 people seemed evenly split between the earnest
> capitalists and the World Trade Organization protesters in capitalist
drag.
>
> "We knew they had something in the works," said Tym Parsons, the Seattle
> coordinator of WalkForCapitalism. "Their aim was to infiltrate our
> organization and discredit it by way of parody."
>
> The downtown event was like performance art: Faux capitalists, dressed in
> suits, carried signs that read, "Child Labor Is Best For America: Smaller
> Hands Mean Tighter Stitches" and distributed fake business cards from
> "Globex Industries" with the company motto, "We Own You." They remained
> poker-faced as they spoke about their support of child labor and love of
> capitalism.
>
> Relentlessly serious throughout the march, they never got out of
character.
>
> If the anti-capitalist interlopers did not completely overshadow the
> original intent of WalkForCapitalism, their parody did make the event more
> of a spectacle.
>
> Anti-capitalist protester Scott Thompson was explaining the goings-on to
> passer-by Kerry Pflugh of Washington, N.J., in town for a conference.
>
> "I find it all very amusing," said Pflugh. "I don't think I've ever seen a
> protest for capitalism before. Don't these people already have what
they're
> fighting for?"
>
> Because the WalkForCapitalism organizers did not get a parade permit,
police
> escorted both groups together from Benaroya Hall to Westlake Park, while
> Parsons shouted at the WTO protesters to leave. Parsons' group had
obtained
> a permit for the rally at the park, and once everyone had arrived there,
> police began to remove the anti-capitalist protesters.
>
> "But I'm for capitalism," said a protester who called himself D.S.
> Rosenthorpe. "How much does it cost to get in?" he asked, offering up one
> dollar.
>
> He did receive a park-exclusion notice barring him from all downtown parks
> for seven days. There were no arrests.
>
> "We have the authority to enforce park rules," said Seattle police Lt.
> Daniel Whelan. "Our mission here is for life, safety and the protection of
> property."
>
> A few of the fake capitalists were convincing enough to be left alone in
the
> rally crowd. When asked if they were capitalists, they responded with a
firm
> nod and a barely perceptible wink. Sometimes they smiled and yelled
> "Hippies!" back at the group of protesters from whence they came.
>
> The obviously fake capitalists were sent across Fourth Avenue, where they
> lined the sidewalk in front of Borders bookstore and sang and shouted,
> "Shop! Shop! Shop!"
>
> And shop the people did. Even before the rally ended, the streets were
> crowded with shoppers, burdened with bags from Old Navy and Nordstrom.
>
> Caitlin Cleary can be reached at 206-464-8214 or at
> ccleary at seattletimes.com.
>
>
>
>
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