The D.C. police threw up a several-block cordon sanitaire around the IMF and World Bank buildings. And despite the media's positive spin on how police handled the demonstrations, law enforcement agencies engaged in widespread violations of protesters' constitutional rights. But for the first time ever, the two institutions were thrown very publicly on the defensive. They were forced to justify themselves on terms set by the protesters. They announced they would devote much more money to AIDS prevention in the Third World, for instance, and made noise about more debt relief.
Organizers insist that for a movement that is prepared for the long haul, that counts as a success.
Despite the media depiction of them as a bunch of scruffy, isolationist know-nothings, most of the participants are much more educated about what's happening in the world than the average American. Hardly isolationists, they feel part of a grassroots international movement against corporate power. The donated warehouse space is where protesters from around the country go to get meals, build giant puppets for street theater and attend workshops on the theory and practice of nonviolence, legal strategy, issue forums and more. In the back of the first floor is the room for making the giant street theater puppets. A giant banner showing butterflies wearing gas masks adorns the welcome area.