A quick and slightly jaded view of Seattle's protests:
Crowd characteristics: as one observer put it, a surprising number of dogs in sweaters and people with corporate logos on their umbrellas--I saw an old boss who doesn't quite fit that stereotype but close; lots and lots of people holding up signs saying the names of their neighborhoods; Big SEIU delegation. A decent number of Asian and Pacific Islanders, due to a big philipino community here, pretty good broad spectrum immigrant rights organizing, and some Japanese Americans here feel really strongly about immigrant rights because of the WWII history of relocation.
The speakers: I think the speakers KIND OF ducked some of the serious Middle East Peace issues. Hey, it's one way to avoid controversy. THe speakers focussed a lot on immigrant rights and empowerment for the poor. Plus the only things I really paid much attention to were local writer Sherman Alexie and the Total Experience Gospel Choir
Crowd estimates: 30,000 - 75,000. The 75,000 is a lowball figure from someone who thought 125,000 would be a good rumor to start.The 75,000 number is the top end of 2-3 times Gay Pride. A local TV news chopper pilot called it "the largest event (he has seen) in Seattle since WTO." The march took over two hours to pass key points.
The weather: crappy interspersed with sun. Seattleites don't melt and if it didn't rain it probably wouldn't be a party. It rained off and on but there was a lovely patch of sun toward the end of the march.
The cops and the ambiance: the cops on the route were VERY sparse. Actually that was a bit of a problem because they were not on scene for their usual help closing streets as the march passed by. The local news reported that hundreds were lurking somewhere in their riot gear, but I do not know whether I will go to rally post mortems to discuss the point. The same local news reported the crowd size and "thousands" and the proceeded to show old tear gas and property destruction footage from WTO INSTEAD of today's rally.
Also, the cops made a big deal about zero tolerance for property destruction. Hah hah. One person got arrested, I think for graffittiing. The route took people by some other splendid venues for graffiti and the crowd obliged. The organizers were pleased that at least everyone seemed to have gotten dispersed successfully and all march streets got successfully reopened at the end of the march.
Now I'm tired. I was a peacekeeper all day and peacekeeper postmortems don't belong here. As for content analysis, stay tuned....
DoreneC