The 90s: The Decade that Connected Us TV - Seattle is Dying 2019 - Drugs Inc TV - Unexplained Mysteries TV - Jimi Hendrix - Jonathan Raban - Breaking the Spell 1999 - Masterminds TV - Battle in Seattle 2007 - Working and Homeless 2022 -
40,000 people gather on the streets of Seattle to protest against the WTO. The 90s: The Decade that Connected Us s1e6: The Countdown, National Geographic 2014
Let me ask you something: what if Seattle is dying and we don’t even know it? This story is about a seething simmering anger that is now boiling over into outrage. It is about people who have felt compassion yes but who no longer feel safe. No longer feel like they are heard. No longer feel protected. It is about lost souls who wander our streets untethered to home or family or reality, chasing a drug which in turn chases them. It is about the damage they inflict on themselves, to be sure, but also on the fabric of this place where we live. This story is about a beautiful jewel that has been violated, and a crisis of faith amongst a generation of Seattleites falling out of love with their home. Seattle is Dying, Komo News 2019
Nicknamed Junkie Town, Seattle’s liberal laws and high demand for drugs is attracting gangstas and dealers looking to get rich. Drugs Inc s4e8: Wasted in Seattle, National Geographic 2014
Mexican cartels control 70% of foreign narcotics entering America. ibid.
Last year Seattle saw a 30% increase in homicides. ibid.
Belltown – one of the most lucrative open-air drug markets in the city. ibid.
There’s one drug that never goes out of fashion – heroin. ibid.
There are over 130 medicinal marijuana dispensaries in Seattle. ibid.
Seattle is the first city to map all of its ley lines. Unexplained Mysteries, 2003/4
No city I’ve ever seen is as pretty as Seattle. But I couldn’t live there. You’d get restless and before you know it you’re too old, and you haven’t seen any of the world. Jimi Hendrix
At night, what you see is a city, because all you see is lights. By day, it doesn’t look like a city at all. The trees out-number the houses. And that’s completely typical of Seattle. You can’t quite tell: is it a city, is it a suburb, is the forest growing back? Jonathan Raban
Does Democracy Have You By the Throat? Anarchy is the Anecdote. Breaking the Spell, poster, 1999
Free the Third World: Stop WTO. ibid. banner
People who were needing shoes were breaking windows and getting shoes, and that’s the way it should be. ibid. protester
We need to dismantle private property, and that begins by breaking the spell; and that’s what a smashed window does. ibid.
I had no idea they were that brutal. ibid. pepper-sprayed woman
This is people power in action. ibid. protester
He was a bank robber with a style of his own. He installed fear in those who encountered him. He planned to perfection. He left no clues. His getaways were flawless. He was one of the most creative outlaws in modern America. Masterminds e4: A Man Called Hollywood, History 2003
With bank branches popping up all over Seattle there seemed to be lots of cash around just ripe for the taking. This city was fast becoming a hotspot for bank robbers. ibid.
He perfected the art of make-up. ibid.
‘They finally found him. He had shot himself.’ ibid.
1947: Shortly after the close of World War II 23 nations signed a general agreement on tariffs and trade: GATT. Battle in Seattle 2007 starring Woody Harrelson & Andre Benjamin & Jennifer Carpenter & Martin Henderson & Ray Liotta & Connie Nielsen & Michelle Rodriguez & Channing Tatum & Charlize Theron et al, director Stuart Townsend
It has very little to do with trade and it is certainly not free. ibid. protester
Of course we’re going to get hurt. What do you think this is? Protests get me excited and depressed at the same time. ibid. her to him
I am watching a completely unprovoked attack by police here in downtown Seattle. ibid. Jean
The Battle in Seattle turns into a war. ibid.
How do they keep putting themselves on the line like that, for a cause they can’t win? ibid. Jean
Isn’t it time that people mattered more than profit? ibid. Medicine sans Frontiers bloke
People are protesting with us in thirty cities across the world. ibid. protester
Thanks WTO It’s Been A Riot. ibid. cinema sign
2003: As the WTO floods local markets with imports, 40,000 Indian farmers commit suicide to escape their debt. ibid. caption
In Seattle 500 families live in these temporary camps tolerated by the city. Working & Homeless: The Death of the American Dream, 2022