Inside was page after page of stupid and vulgar attacks on those who were going to demonstrate. In other words, they are scared before the people have even taken to the streets. The ruling class has a great fear that the people have a rising consciousness about their deeds. The night before the actual demonstrations were to begin, I arrived fairly late at Laval University where I set up a sleeping bag on a gymnasium floor where it was to be my home for the next while. The people going in and out the building were beaming with delight.
Popular power is a very infectious phenomenon.
Well, the room this conference was to be held accommodated some 2000 people, but the room ran out of space and people were still pouring in long after the conference finally got under way. This many people, overwhelmingly attentive and focused, attending anything like that was new to me. It had a very powerful impact on my feelings about the event. It was, for the first time in that room, clear that we were making some form of history. They are now a huge part of the new anti-globalisation movement.