i have to disagree with the statement that the peaceful protesters created the climate which led to the current chaos.

many friends of mine were in the midst of the barricades all day tuesday, and the stories they tell about the day are beautiful and inspiring. noam tells of negotiating with the police (who were becoming increasingly nervous as violence broke out elsewhere), talking them out of using gas and spray on his own group, who were acting without violence. he was making connections with these men, who are union workers after all. some of the policemen wept. jen tells of refusing again and again to let delegates pass, and getting a cheerful response: "oh well; it was worth a try!" they talked and joked and exchanged experiences, and a good number of the delegates were supportive of her cause.

chaos is born of chaos; the ones who chose to use violence are the only ones responsible for their actions. in fact, it's a shame the national guard was not called in earlier. several angry demonstrators tackled the hooligans and brought them to the police, demanding that they arrest them. the police simply had too much on their hands, and couldn't spare the manpower. instead the gangs roamed free, and the largely non-violent crowd was gassed and shot and subdued. what irony.