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Change Your Life! |
Globalization protesters' irony |
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News
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September 30, 2000
PRAGUE, Czech Republic, SEPT 29 (AP) - As protesters try to kill off the IMF and World Bank - potent symbols of economic globalization - they often find themselves relying on the tools of the very forces they are fighting. Not always sensing any irony, they surf the Internet, message by e-mail, use mobile phones, fly international airlines and speak English - the language of global commerce - all of which are making the world smaller for business. Without employing these tools of globalization, it would be harder for the activists to wage their war on globalization. "It is like taking a bus to get to a protest," acknowledged Lada Chatrny, a Czech protester who came from the small town of Letovice to demonstrate against this week's annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. "By going, you support the oil producers," Chatrny said. "So you can't fight these things, really." Take the widespread use of English. In this age of worldwide MTV, it's hard to separate English from the global culture the protesters hate, with capitalist icons such as McDonald's and Coca-Cola among their favored targets. But when it comes to communicating among themselves, protesters from different countries are likely to speak English, much like world business leaders. "I don't think there is contradiction between using English and our views," said protest spokeswoman Cyanne Loyle, who comes from the northeastern United States but would not give her hometown. "Americans are not the largest group here, so we are not forcing anything on anyone," Loyle said. "There are a lot of people here that are opposed to using mobile phones or the Internet. We do it because this is the press center and we need to be in touch. But to say that roots of our movement are based on the Internet and cell phones, that's unfair. "You have to play within the system in order to get out of it," Loyle said. German activist Stefan Bienefeld agrees. "English is the language most people speak and understand," he said. There are many other ways Prague's demonstrators use the bounty of globalization to further their cause against what they characterize as the evil forces of capitalism. They plan the protests on mobile phones made by such international giants as Nokia and Ericsson, spread the word by fax and the Internet and willingly fly around the world on Boeing 747s or Airbus A340s that fill the blue skies with exhaust fumes. World Bank President James Wolfensohn noted the trend toward smoother and faster global communications is helping not only capitalists, but also their ideological foes. "It's used by the people who organize rallies. It's used by us," Wolfensohn told a news conference Thursday, after the IMF and World Bank wrapped up their summit that was marred by rioting outside.
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