by Ashley Lusk
U-Wire
The daunting pillar rises high into the cloudless sky, encircled only by flapping flags, a dazzling reminder of the American spirit; down below, masses of humanity interweave their way through one another as they assemble for a common cause. While their angry voices chant "George Bush, you're overrated. You're war games are outdated," the man they rage at is sitting a few blocks away, deaf to their fury. And for just one moment, you can feel it - democracy in action.
Numerous factions and assemblies gathered on our nations sacred ground, at the Washington Monument Saturday to protest or rally the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank meeting. But unlike so many assemblies before, this was not just a gathering for the nation, but for an international cause. Saturday's protest/rally centered on the IMF and World Bank, which are well known for their generous loans to otherwise poverty-stricken countries that can no longer support themselves.
However, according to www.globalizethis.com, the loans have a hefty interest and leave the countries more in debt than they began and struggling to pay off the now enormous balance. In addition to this, the countries are forced to allow the integration of Structural Adjustment Programs, which privatize the previously free "social provisions" such as health care, education and family services, forcing the citizens to pay for these programs out of pocket. This creates another impossible situation, as freshman Katie Clark said with her protest shirt: "34 million people [in these countries] live on less than $1 a day," thus making these services unaffordable.
JMU students, along with thousands of others, were aware of the risk as they began their humble ascent through the streets of downtown Washington, D.C.
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As the IMF/World Bank protest/rally made its way through the streets, patrons of the upper crust cafÇs and hotels strained to look out the windows. An estimated 3,000 to 5,000 people marched through the streets in peaceful protest. The bitter chants could be heard rising from the masses: "Hey Bush we know you, your daddy was a killer too!" as people paraded in their costumes depicting, Bush as a "corporate whore" as well as corporate CEO's, with bloody hands.
As the rally slowly reached its destination in Farragut Square, the marchers began to disassemble. Although over 600 people had been arrested in the days preceding Saturday's events, the protest rally went by virtually problem free. With their statements made and satisfied that no more could be done, the protesters settled for their day's influence on creating a united world democracy.
