I have to admit, I watched the television last week as WTO protestors and police clashed in the streets of Seattle. My biggest worry at the time was whether we would be able to get our paper to the printer’s on Third Avenue. I wasn’t too concerned for the shops that couldn’t open, or

the smashed windows, or the guy who ended up with the sore groin after

being kicked by a police officer. Nope, I was only worried about how it would

impact me.

The more I thought about it, the more I realized how petty I had

become and, likewise, how petty many people were as they called in to complain

about how they were impacted. Oh no, I can’t hit Nordy’s for Christmas shopping,

or I’ll have to go another block to find a latte stand whose windows aren’t

broken. Or how about the infamous caller who complained about the traffic

headaches that the protests were causing? That one really cracked me up, since

traffic around here just plain sucks all the time and, actually, was better in

downtown Seattle during the siege due to concerns of wary motorists.

Did the media help the situation at all? Heck no! Every Tom, Dick

and Harry that owned a camera was busy flashing pictures of angry

protestors mocking the police. And there I was, sitting in my living room in North

Bend, amazed that any journalist would stand in the direct path of a tear gas

canister, just to provide a few comments – albeit coughing comments – on the

movements of a crowd. But remember, it is a free country, and the right to write

or broadcast the news is one protected by the right to free speech.

Hmmm, come to think of it, that’s what the protestors were saying as

they spoke of sweat shops in third world countries, producing goods for

American consumption.

So are the WTO and subsequent demonstrations in our little corner of

the world really significant? Most of the folks I heard complaining, calling

on their cell phones on the way home from the big B or that small software

company in Redmond, were forgetting one very important aspect of this area.

Washington state is the largest exporter in the United States, period. We play a

key role in the international trade arena, so from my my way of thinking the

pack of demonstration enthusiasts did their homework when they decided to

invade the Puget Sound region.

From my little old perch in North Bend, I only have a couple comments

on the whole thing. To the idiots who taunt police for hours, flipping

fingers, kicking back tear gas canisters and smashing windows, the next WTO

conference is in Sarajevo (It’ll take them a while for them to figure out it ain’t.).

To the police who were a little over zealous in their actions … I’m sure you’ll

be attending another class in crowd control soon, at taxpayers’ expense.

And to the boneheads that thought Seattle would be a great place to hold

a WTO conference … hmmm, I wonder if they have a good lawyer?

Jim McKiernan