July 31, 2008
Resistance to the construction of Interstate 69 continued nationally on Monday as nearly 100 people took over K Street in Washington, D.C. to demonstrate their opposition to NAFTA & I‑69. SDSers, Potomac EF!ers, and others danced in the streets, handed out hundreds of fliers and stickers about I‑69, and held corporations publicly accountable for their complicity in I‑69 and the Plan Puebla Panama. Distracting the police with their funky dance moves, the crowd was able to storm the Cato Institute, a right-wing think tank responsible for forcing neoliberal ideology down the throats of communities across the world, and left their pristine glass doors plastered with anti-I-69 stickers.
The rowdy crowd continued to the offices of HNTB, a planning firm responsible for I‑69, but were limited to blocking traffic and chanting by the line of riot police protecting their corporate bosses. The group finally danced its way down to the Washington Post, holding the corporate apologist responsible for uncritically supporting neoliberal policies and free trade agreements throughout the Americas. Once again, the crowd was almost obtained entrance to the offices, distracting those inside and disrupting work, but were forced down the stairs by a line of riot police.
The action forced hundreds of people to stop in their tracks (literally, as traffic was stopped by a dancing reclamation of the streets), open their eyes, and learn about Interstate 69. It also served as a reminder to those responsible for Interstate 69: we know where you are, we will continue to visit you wherever you hide, and all that protects you are thin glass doors and a line of riot police. Capitalism may be globalized, but so is resistance.