The mainstream media’s coverage of the DC protests has been dismal. They say that nothing big happened: there were isolated incidents of pepper spraying, some people got billy clubbed, and there were times when there was a definite potential for violence. Overall, they assure, things were calm and there was not much going on (especially if you are using Seattle as your point of reference). There were only 10,000 (so they claimed) people, and the protestors were unable to stop the meetings from taking place. The media contends that the protestors (with their "piercings and multi-colored hair") had a very limited understanding of why they were there or even what they were fighting. So they say. I was there.

Granted, I did not speak to all 40,000 (so I claim) of the protesters. But, the ones who I did speak to impressed me – and more than that – touched me. The protesters moved me because they were tens of thousands of intelligent, articulate, artistic, creative, spiritual, and conscientious people coming together to let the "experts" who make the decisions in this world know that there are different ways of viewing life. We came together to voice our distaste over a society that pits us against each other, ourselves, and the rest of the planet. We came together to challenge the inequalities that our society is founded on, to challenge the notion that it is human nature to hoard resources, to step on the backs of our fellow human beings, and to destroy the life around us. We took part in direct action in order to create a new paradigm: an ideology rooted in consensus decision making, participatory democracy, creativity, community, compassion, and harmonious living. We were redifining the word "progress." We were there to say that we don’t want to live off of each other and off of the land; We want to live with each other and with the land. Tens of thousands brought this message, and it was like nothing I have ever witnessed before.

The IMF and World Bank are international money lending institutions whose policies epitomize the current inequalities of the power structures of our society: power rests in the hands of a few people, major decisions that affect the lives of many are made to benefit few, a culture of growing corporate control. There is little accountability and an overall disempowerment of the people.

In DC there were forums, teach-ins, seminars, lectures, trainings, and panel discussions on how the IMF and World Bank’s policies have often hurt the very people they claim to be helping. I learned of the disastrous effects of the IMF structural adjustment policies on the children of Nicaragua, the water supply of Bolivia, the forests of Liberia, the unemployment levels of Zimbabwe, the sweatshops of Honduras. . . The "ignorant" protesters were incredibly aware of what is going on. The problem is that these issues are not easy to understand. There are no simple catch phrases such as "stop the nukes," or "save the whales." These issues are all related to a much bigger, systemic problem that the media easily and readily distorts.

The protestors included an assortment of environmentalists, indigenous rights activists, labor, animal rights activists, students, and human rights advocates. All these issues have one thing in common: a common enemy is exploiting them and ignoring their grievances in order to rake in large profits. What this does is raise consciousness: autoworkers start to see the connection between their battles, the battles of Liberian environmentalists (I talked to one in DC), Taiwanese garment workers, and French farmers start to view them as one in the same. Last week’s protests goals were not solely to shut down the meetings, but also to heighten the awareness of the link between all of these grievances. This is what the movement is about. This is also the reason the police and authorities have had so much trouble with us: we have no central leadership, no headquarters, no infrastructure to co-opt. Rather, this is a grass roots movement that is surging upwards as a loaf of baking bread. It is a movement that focuses first on self and will ultimately lead to a revolution of consciousness.

The protests included people from all walks of life (although a majority of students and young people) who were excited to be alive. There was street theater, puppetry, fire dancing, singing, dancing, chanting, drumming–the vibe was electric. It was the most intense and powerful energy I have ever been a part of. Of course, if you are a reporter for the mainstream media, you don’t have a story. You represent and are paid by corporate power; that is why the revolution will not be televised.