People Power: A Firsthand Account of the Battle in Seattle

by Sarah Humpage, Macalester College student

I could not settle my stomach that Monday night in Seattle. It was a little like the night before Christmas - I went to sleep filled with anticipation.

Early the next morning we made our way to the intersection of 6th and Union. It was cold, dark, and drizzling. I was shaking with nerves and excitement. The air felt different in my lungs, the street felt different under my feet. We walked by Niketown and by billboards for McDonald's, the Gap, Pepsi, and Toyota. I looked at them, and I looked at the people in the streets, and I thought, Today, the power of the people is stronger.

We assembled our human blockade at 6th and Union, our line in front of the line of riot cops. We fought the tense atmosphere with songs, dance, and chants. A couple of hours later there were twice as many cops, then some with horses, then some with a tank. One cop announced something indecipherable over the megaphone. Someone said it was an order to disassemble, and that they would begin arrests in five minutes. Pushing my fear into the pit of my stomach, I held tight to my neighbors' arms, and we held the line.

The cops strapped on gas masks. We pulled bandanas over our faces. The line sat. With my face buried in my lap, I tried not to breathe. It was CS gas first. It made it hard to breathe, but we could stay. Shaking, I clenched my neighbors' arms.

Then there was the tear gas. It shot out with a bang and seconds later I was blinded, I couldn't breathe, my skin burned. I had no choice--like when you put your hand on a hot stove--I walked away. Remembering our training, we walked, and did not run, away. My only sense left was hearing, and I heard everyone around me coughing, spitting and screaming. When the fog cleared I saw my friends, their faces red and wet with tears, snot, and vomit.

That day the cops continued to assault people around the city, but the presence of the people was stronger. Multinationals had their windows boarded up. The WTO couldn't meet. Seattle was transformed into a city of resistance. The people won the Battle of Seattle.