New York Times / By TIMOTHY EGAN
SEATTLE, Nov. 30 - For the people in sea turtle costumes, for the masked anarchists, for the protesters on stilts who took a rubber bullet with pride, the Battle of Seattle one year ago today has become the Alamo in their fight against corporate globalization.
But as they gathered today on the anniversary of the ruckus that led to more than 600 arrests, and nearly shut down the World Trade Organization's ministerial meetings in Seattle, protesters could do little more than recall the near-legendary days of tear gas and smashed windows, and shout at Christmas shoppers to holster their credit cards.
A small group of pickets who were trying, abstractly, to poke fun at global consumerism, chanted: "What do we want? Jelly doughnuts. When do we want them? Now."
They were among several hundred demonstrators who paraded through downtown Seattle today and gathered at a heavily guarded holiday carousel in Westlake Park to raise concerns about the negative effects of world trade.
But all around the demonstrators, shoppers scurried in an out of the very stores that were vandalized in last year's mayhem - the busy Gap, the crowded McDonald's, the packed Old Navy outlet.
Nostalgia was in the air, and so was a sense of diminishment among some, one year after nearly 50,000 people marched through the city to protest the regular meeting of 139 nations that try to set the rules of global commerce.
While most of the demonstrators last year were peaceful, organized by major labor and environmental organizations, a handful of self-described anarchists and others went on a looting and window-smashing spree that became some of the lasting images of the world trade conference.
And while the police and demonstrators seemed to go to great lengths to keep things peaceful today, several arrests had been made by early evening and the police had brought in a handful of officers in riot gear.
For the police, who lobbed tear gas, fired rubber bullets and wielded batons in several nights of skirmishes with protesters last year, this year's anniversary is a chance to try to do things differently. Norm Stamper, the Seattle police chief in 1999, took early retirement after he faced a volley of criticisms for being both too strong-armed and too weak.
The Battle of Seattle has morphed into metaphor. It has been evoked by trade ministers and people who oppose their organizations at trade meetings in Prague, Washington and Thailand over the last year as a source of both horror and honor. But none of the subsequent demonstrations has come close to the mass gathering of the one here last year, in turnout or publicity.
"There is a very odd sort of affection for the events of last year," said Walt Crowley, a Seattle historian who runs a public affairs site on the Web, Historylink.org, that has had a camera on the events of last year and this year.
"A lot of people got some satisfaction out of what happened," Mr. Crowley said. "They were noticed. And you have to give them some credit for making a household issue out of something so large and abstract as the global economy."
Today - called N30, for the Nov. 30 date of last year's clashes - every protester had a war story to tell. And the police, who were in black armor resembling Ninja outfits last year, came today in their uniform blue and went out of their way to be polite, even friendly with the demonstrators.
The protesters had been told that if they took to the streets without parade permits they would face arrest. But when they took to the streets, they were greeted by a police escort.
"It was really cool, the chief gave us an escort for our giant W.T.O. birthday cake," said John Foss, a fisherman who led one of the small rallies this year, and was in the streets last year as well. "There's a fair amount of nostalgia for last year, but in many ways we accomplished our goal. N30 means something all around the world today."
Even the anarchists, clad in black hoods and scarves as usual, were polite and showed organizational discipline in staging street theater that featured recreations of window- breaking. People, playing the role of shoppers, were invited to come forward and smash windows held by anarchists on a blue tarp. When the glass shattered, it was quickly cleaned up.
"Now it cannot be said that on this anniversary there were no broken windows in downtown Seattle," said a man with bullhorn, officiating over the street stagings of the anarchists.
Afterward, several of the young men in black could be seen riding the carousel, surrounded by police.
The events of last year may still cost Mayor Paul Schell of Seattle, who is up for re-election next year, his job. He was accused of failing to protect the meetings and merchants, and for letting the police use force that was deemed excessive by many.
Mr. Schell has spent months preparing for today's anniversary. He said the city would not tolerate any violence, and his police department seemed far more prepared this year.
The police even charmed the jelly doughnut protesters. "The chief of police bought me a Danish and a cup of coffee - what more could I ask for?" said Frost Thompson, in blue hair, wearing a sandwich board that read "We Want Jelly Donuts."
Other protesters said it did not matter that only about 500 people showed up for the anniversary, despite months of Internet organizing. They had their victory of last year, which, in the minds of many, has become truly historic.
"Last year was a wake-up call for the whole world," said Dale Hodges, a tofu salesman who helped organize this year's protest. "It will go down as the single most important event in American history - more so than dropping the bomb, even."
When asked about the specific target of the demonstration, given that the World Trade Organization has long since left Seattle, Mr. Hodges said, "Please, people, just stop shopping.":
