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From: "John Ambrosavage"
<johnambrosavage@hotmail.com>
Subject: I am in
a Police State of mind!
Date: Tue, 30 Nov
1999
LIVE - from Seattle!
Cartoonist John Ambrosavage Tear-Gassed!
Police Unapologetic!
Mayor Paul Schell refuses comment!
Ramifications unknown!
Ambrosavage writes:
Yeow! - dang it - what a day downtown! Went downtown this am. for
some peaceful protesting activity against the WTO ( I am terribly
worried about being replaced by cheap knock-off Indonesian and Burmese
Cartoonists) (Although I dare them to do cartoons at a cheaper price
than I do for the Weekly) and I was barely there (downtown)
for 20 minutes before the police - you know - those people we used
to refer to in the old days as the pigs - for reasons that were
quickly brought back to mind today - gassed me! Well, not just me
- but several hundred others of the thousands of peaceful protesters
downtown today!
Let this be know - I don't know how the media spun it - still not
owning a TV I am out of the loop media spin wise - but the police
started out this morning by being class A state of the art agent
provocateurs! They did their god-danged best to turn a peaceful
protest violent. Protesters were all over downtown today - probably
ten thousand or so - happily singing, chanting, dressing up as giant
butterflies etc. - and lots were as close to the Convention Center
as the cops would allow - a couple of blocks. Lots of protesters
were also around the WTO-delegate heavy Sheraton Hotel on 6th and
Union....and at 11 this AM the police decided they wanted that block
back so they took it by massive use of tear-gas. I gotta tell you
there were tons of law-abiding tax-paying middle-aged middle-class
responsible and respectable Seattle Citizenry downtown today exercising
their first amendment rights and the dang cops gassed them all...apparently
the Seattle Police and Police Chief Norm Stamper care more about
the trade representatives from oppressive regimes throughout the
world than they do about the residents of Wallingford and Queen
Anne and West Seattle and Beacon Hill - because THAT is who they
were busy lobbing tear-gas canisters at today!
Well - apparently Mayor Paul Schell has called in the National Guard and three-hundred state-troopers...apparently they are not going to allow one dang protester downtown tomorrow - apparently our first amendment rights have been thrown out the window for the god-danged WTO...and apparently lemon slices slathered on the face are a good antidote to the toxic effects of tear-gas...we learned this from the helpful barkeeps at the ArtBar this evening. As the cops were on their wild tear-gassing frenzy down Pike Street this evening the friendly folk at the Artbar passed out lemon-slices and napkins while shooing us out the door before the 7 PM. curfew instituted by our folksy people-oriented Mayor Paul Schell. We walked homeward down 2nd Avenue, breathing through handkerchiefs and swabbing our faces with lemon peels as a virtual cloud-bank of tear gas billowed behind us...driving the citizens of Seattle from...well...Seattle! City Attorney Mark Sidran must be tickled pink tonight - finally downtown Seattle is in the state he has always wanted to see it in - you know....a Police one!!!! Ah yes. Ah well....from Seattle I remain....um....toxic....yes...highly toxic!!!! Best Wishes
Your Correspondent
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