LETTERS: EDITORIAL CARTOON TRIVIALIZED THE ISSUES

To the editor:

The Dec. 8 editorial cartoon is a perfect example of how the actions of people are trivialized for the sake of cold consumer drone materialism. The cartoon showed Seattle protesters holding signs against the World Trade Organization and free trade. Two of the protesters were buying Starbucks coffee and were offered "Costa Rican, Guatemalan or Sumatran?" coffees. Obviously, Ed Stein was trying to say that the protesters where against free trade even while they were enjoying its benefits. Life is not cut and dried, and neither were these protests.

Over 30,000 people from around the world and our nation gathered in Seattle to make sure we knew what the WTO is attempting. The WTO is mainly composed of billion-dollar, multinational corporations that are attempting to elevate profit as a value that supersedes our environmental life support and our God-given rights. They do this by not allowing countries to participate unless they weaken labor and environmental laws. The United States has already compromised labor and environmental legislation so we could become members.

The media is also spinning this monumental event into a mob action. In reality, hundreds of personal accounts show that there were thousand and thousands of peaceful protesters in Seattle and a tiny handful of people who broke windows. The police did not arrest the window breakers. They were simply run off. The police seemed to condone it, and they or the WTO possibly instigated the vandalism that occurred in order to direct attention away from the protest's true meaning.

It almost worked, but what was more shocking was the immense violence of the police, who used tear gas on peaceful protesters, pepper sprayed handcuffed women in their cells, shot nuns with rubber bullets, beat seated blockades with billy clubs, ran amok and terrorized whole neighborhoods.

The Seattle police chief has submitted his resignation claiming responsibility for excessive force. However, he will remain in office for several more months because he wants to diminish corporate influence within the police force. This is the type of justice we should expect from a world that cares only about money and is ran by those corporations that are impersonal.

There were more than just tree huggers or new-age loonies present, as many would say so they could further dismiss the issue. Nuns, ministers, labor unions, mothers, fathers, students, people from every walk of life participated. Such drastic measures were needed. Congress doesn't listen.

We have received too many form letters from Emerson, Bond, and Ashcroft thanking us for our support on issues we disagreed with. It is a fact that the only people Congress listens to are the lobbyists and soft-money campaign investors.

We applaud the protesters in Seattle for speaking out against any force that would undermine the power of the American people to determine what our laws will be. This was a victory for the American people. We stood up and told corporations that there is nothing wrong with prosperity, but it is wrong to compromise our world for money. We are watching. As responsible citizens, we need to hold local and national companies responsible, be conscious of what they buy, stay informed and vote.

MICHAEL and TARA MILLER

Cape Girardeau