Seattle’s cauldron of possibility

Let’s consider the recent “takeover” of a six-block area in downtown Seattle known as Capitol Hill. The neighborhood was a focal point of the city’s protests and at one point in early June, in the midst of clashes between police and protesters, police abandoned the local precinct. Protesters then declared a small, cordoned-off area to be police-free. Initially known as CHAZ — the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone — it eventually became CHOP, for Capitol Hill Occupied Protest. And the area maintained a certain organized autonomy — complete with patrolling paramedics and sentinels, along with numerous participants with interesting agendas — for several weeks. […]