San Francisco: Anti-FTAA protest shuts down Trading
Sunday, April 1st, 2001
***ROBIN HOOD, MAID MARIAN, & THEIR MERRY HUMANS took over the Pacific Stock Exchange, SF, Today, Demanding That the Transnational Corporations Who Do Business There, RELEASE the TEXT of the FTAA AGREEMENT (They actually possess the text of this trade policy agreement that will adversely affect billions of lives, indigenous cultures, and natural resources in the Western Hemisphere, while we the people are denied access to it)!!!!***
At 7:30 AM, ~50 PROTESTORS gathered in front of the Bank of America building on California & Kearny--which had been completely police-barricaded and was under HEAVY SFPD GUARD (this small band of social and environmental justice activists succeeded in stopping business as usual at this gigantic financial institution!). There, we injected the cold heart of BofA (Bank of America) with a GIANT HYPO of adrenaline; when that didn't work, we resorted to ELECTRIC SHOCK to give them a Heart-On. When that didn't work, we did a Spiral Dance!!!....
From there, we--our numbers steadily growing to ~100-- marched to the STOCK EXCHANGE, where we found GREEN-CLAD ROBIN HOOD and A MERRY MAN inside, standing on a thin ledge on the other side of the guard rail (!!!) above the main entrance where the double staircase meets on the mezzanine (MARIAN stood behind them), with Anti-FTAA BANNERS unfurled. (Evidently, OTHER MEMBERS of the MERRY BAND had already entered the trading area and been arrested.)
WE FLOODED the FOYER and the STAIRS, SINGING "SI SE PUEDE!" and WOVE A WONDERFUL WEB criss-crossing the chandelier, the stairs and the foyer... After an hour of high-spirits inside and heavy leafleting outside (OUTREACH WAS STUPENDOUS: 1000's of fliers informing the public about the FTAA were distributed!!!), the police locked the doors, with those not wanting to risk arrest on the outside.
WE CONTINUED the spirited demo outside within view of ROBIN, and the others risking arrest. A SKIRMISH erupted in which the SFPD threw one of us to the ground, drawing blood; Starhawk proceeded to PUPPY-PUDDLE the downed protester--throwing her body over the demonstrator's to prevent further injury... The SFPD immediately ringed them both, stopping further intervention--they were arrested, over our SHOUTS and CHANTS of PROTEST! STAR managed to roll her inredible drum to safety (I grabbed it!) and we used it to beat out more songs and chants until ROBIN and HIS COHORT WERE PHYSICALLY REMOVED FROM THE LEDGE and INCARCERATED. ELEVEN PEOPLE WERE ARRESTED (unofficial report). A LEGAL TEAM and SUPPORT GROUP followed them to Central Station (Vallejo, between Powell and Stockton in North Beach), while a few of us remained to talk with MEDIA STRAGGLERS and interested bystanders. Media was excellent, btw, and included CNN Coverage, among many other cameras. By 11:00, the doors of the PSE were re-opened. IT WAS A GREAT SHOW FOR JUSTICE!!!!!! Cheers and Onward!!!
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WHEN SPIDERS UNITE, THEY CAN TIE DOWN A LION — Ethiopian Proverb