Posted on 09/26/2002 2:21:25 PM PDT by Jean S
WASHINGTON (AP) - Many of the protesters swamping Washington for the world finance meetings have little use for the material world, but they've got a mountain of practical matters to look after before they can raise their banners high.
Locating "anti-authoritarian" child care is one priority. So is finding vegetarian eats. Housing is a headache for the anarchists. "We're all pretty maxed out on housing," said Andrew Willis, an American University student and representative of the anarchist faction.
To the protesters, the weekend meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank reek of money - ill-gotten money, they say. For that reason alone, even some demonstrators with enough cash of their own are reluctant to spend it.
Protesters squatting in an abandoned building or using a park bench for a bed might be able to afford better, but will give up a pillow for their ideals.
"Some people might be from well-off backgrounds but choose to live a life for political reasons that's not, you know, it doesn't rely on public consumption and all those other material things we're bombarded with," said Rami El Amine, an organizer with Anti-Capitalist Convergence. That anarchist group has converted a Methodist church near downtown into a welcome center.
The group hoped to shut down much of Washington on Friday by snarling traffic with a march and mass bicycle ride.
But before all that happened, there were a thousand practicalities to attend to. One was finding a place for young children to go to while their parents were on the streets. Many were steered to the Anti-Authoritarian Babysitters Club, described as "anarchists watching kids."
Activist Web sites list campgrounds, youth hostels and offers for free room and board. A row house for five turns into an overnight home for 16, and dorm rooms at local universities can look like slumber parties.
For some, how they live when not chanting slogans reflects the causes they espouse.
Local activist Kate Loewe persuaded her mother's neighbors to shelter visitors. While feeding an out-of-towner may not reduce the debt in a third-world country, "we want to model the world we want to see," she said.
Modes of transportation to Washington have been as varied as activists' hairstyles. Some younger cash-strapped protesters hopped trains to cross the country, while others flew in from Seattle. Greyhound has been getting a lot of business.
Southwest Airlines was the choice for self-proclaimed Marxist-humanist Tom Rainey from Berkeley, Calif., because "they treat their workers better."
Organizations also distribute a list of area vegetarian restaurants, though not everyone will pay for a meal out.
"They come down here on a shoestring budget and they expect us to feed them and we will," said Lou, 28, who would not give his last name. Working for Food Not Bombs, a group that started in Cambridge, Mass., he was dishing out a medley of vegetables and potatoes to anyone asking during a rally across from the World Bank on Thursday afternoon.
The support network extends to medical services. Trained medics roam the crowds with bandages and water ready to flush tear gas out of eyes. A group called the Pagan Cluster offers massages to help people unwind.
Activists teeter between practicality and correctness. They need to be properly outfitted for a long day on the streets but also want to avoid using brands, companies and products that allegedly exploit workers or are otherwise out of step with their campaigns.
David Levy, a Maryland organizer with Mobilization for Global Justice, carries a Palm Pilot and a cell phone and jokes that he packs deodorant for media interviews.
Robin Tala, 18, who drove from Bloomington, Ind., doesn't have a cell phone but concedes they have their place in a crowd of demonstrators. "Although I'm sort of against them, they can be very helpful," he said.
Between the protests, the hours don't go wasted. A couple from Sarasota, Fla., planned to go sightseeing in their downtime, while others had scheduled meetings with their members of Congress.
Many were just hanging out with like-minded people while others found a challenge in sizing up the striking diversity of the crowd.
"Some of our church people are not going to be comfortable with the green-haired vegans," said Mara Vanderslice of Washington-based Jubilee USA, a mainly religious consortium of groups that advocates debt cancelation for poor countries. "There's some differences."
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On the Net:
Mobilization for Global Justice: http://www.globalizethis.org
Anti-Capitalist Convergence: http://www.abolishthebank.org
Jubilee USA Network: www.jubileeusa.org/
AP-ES-09-26-02 1704EDT
The vehicle for the plot is one of the girls recounting the events of their summer of hell-raising in the name of Communism (the title comes from their reading of Mao's little red book).
SPOILER, but, in the last scene, the film shows these clowns ambushing and then murdering a government official.
The narrator guy then says to the perp, "Then what did you do?" The girl shrugged and her face went blank.
"Well, summer ended," she said matter-of-factly. "We went back to school."
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