Hello Enviroethicists!
My thanks to Jim Tantillo for the Philadelphia Inquirer article, "Arsonist
for Open Space." Also to the rest of you for the interesting discussion
which followed.
I was so provoked by the plight of the Vince Scott family, and the
"justifications" of the ELF folks, that I devoted the July Editorial in THE
ONLINE GADFLY to that topic. I call it "Put Down that Monkey Wrench!"
The full piece can be found at
www.igc.org/gadfly/liberal/monkeywrench.htm. Or, to save keystrokes, go to
the home page (www.igc.org/gadfly) and select the "Editoriale du Mois".
Some excerpts:
>. . . we might open up a long, complicated and technical discussion of
>such deep philosophical issues as the "moral considerability" of natural
>objects and landscapes, or the libertarian claim of the inviolability of
>property rights, or in opposition thereto, the allegedly over-riding
>"defenses of necessity" as articulated in the Earth First! Maxim, "no
>compromise in the defense of the Earth."
>Happily, in this case, we can side-step all that, for the plain and simple
>reason that the ELF tactics "in defense of the Earth" succeed in
>"defending" nothing whatever, except, perhaps, the sense of
>self-importance and self-righteousness of the perpetrators. Still worse,
>these tactics are counter-productive, for they supply rhetorical and
>political ammunition for the counterattacks of the "brownlashers" – the
>corporate-political-ideological opponents to environmental protection and
>reform.
>Accordingly, the question of whether the "advantages" of eco-terrorism
>outweigh the costs in property and personal safety is moot. There are no
>"advantages" to be gained by such tactics, only costs -- and
>significantly, costs to the cause of "defending the Earth." "Violence for
>the Hell of it," will not save the Earth. Still worse, it will disarm
>those non-violent "mainstream" environmental forces which offer the best
>hope for the defense of the Earth.
>Violent acts of eco-sabotage, such as the burning of the home of the
>randomly selected and innocent Scott family, are acts of blind rage. They
>are "blind" in that, in Kierkegaard’s words, they "tear out the eyes of
>the Reason." As a few moments of quite and sober reflection should make
>clear, the occasional torching of private homes will not end suburban
>sprawl, nor will the destruction of Vail ski lifts and lodges close down
>the skiing industry. Instead, such acts will turn the law against the
>perpetrators, and cast the suspicious eyes of the public upon "moderate"
>environmentalists who share the concerns of the eco-terrorists while they
>deplore the methods.
. . . .
>. . . an informed public must act deliberately, rationally and
>collectively in defense of the Earth. The tactics of the Earth Liberation
>Front can only provoke an angry public to turn on those who, through
>terroristic sabotage of property and endangerment of life, appoint
>themselves as "uncompromising defenders of the Earth." As a result, both
>democratic institutions and the Earth will be lost to humanity.
Carry On!
Ernest Partridge
"The Online Gadfly"
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