Hey all:
I have to comment again (it's been some time). These sorts of articles
drive me crazy...particularly when they mention the Vail incident.
I take it that the threat is real from ELF and ALF, in that both
organizations (if you can call them that, if it makes sense to call
something without any formal structure, oversight, arrangement, leader, or
checks-or-balances, an organization) strive to do some economic damage to
corporations that are doing their own part to avoid accounting for their
own sorts of extremely external, but nevertheless, extremely costly,
damages. But, I do take them seriously when they say that no humans will
be injured in the process. These groups, and I have read a fair amount of
their literature, tend to be extremely concerned about causing physical
pain and suffering to others.
Now then, this is not to say that I agree entirely with their activities.
As I mentioned earlier on the list, I spent the majority of my summer
working on the Stop Vail Expansion campaign, and spent a good half of my
public outreach efforts offering apologies for the ELF folks. In many
ways, their actions were counterproductive (and certainly made it hard for
those of us who were there on "politically legitimate" grounds--though
we were still engaged in civil disobedience.)
What is important to recognize about these sorts of situations is that, in
fact, very powerful counterforces can use groups like ELF and ALF to their
own advantage. When I was in Vail, for instance, Vail Incorporated spent
a good deal of energy reminding the public that ELF could strike again,
and that there was a high likelihood that WE were members of ELF (which
was not true). At times, agitators (whether employed by Vail or simply
outside agitators) would come into our camp, come to our offices, and try
to stir things up. Which is to say, often those sorts of things that look
like they may be the fringe actions of a crazy radical group--as I
understand the black-clad anarchists at the WTO were accused of being--are
in fact the actions of sabateurs who understand just how volitile public
image can be.
Here's the rub: I consider myself an Earth First!er. I have been
considering myself this for about five years, ever since I first got
seriously involved with the environmental movement. During my time
working with other Earth First!ers, I have not met a more responsible,
more reflective bunch of people (from all walks of life: some with PhD's,
some with no high school diploma; some from wealthy backgrounds, some from
very poor, working class backgrounds). Earth First!, in spite of what
many folks in the press may say about it, takes great care to nuture good
standing with the public, while also remaining true to its most core
mission. Actions are planned meticulously, and nobody--I say again, NO
BODY--is ever out to hurt anybody.
So then, as to the speculation about environmental activists and violence,
I'd like to lay it aside as quickly as possible. I travel in this
troupe of roving tree-huggers. I speak from experience when I say, well,
speculation of this nature is unadulterated bunk. The press does not
speak from experience, but from hearsay (or, perhaps more iniquitously,
from press-releases sent to them by moneyed interests).
Be skeptical. And, while you're at it, don't be afraid to save a tree.
Yours,
Ben Hale
Philosophy Department
SUNY at Stony Brook
Stony Brook, NY 11794
On Fri, 24 Mar 2000, Jim Tantillo wrote:
> Possibly of interest to people who followed our discussion on eco-terrorism
> last fall. . . . The article below includes speculation that Eugene and
> Portland Oregon environmental activists may have been involved in the
> violence at the World Trade Organization talks last year.
> Jim T.
>
>
> >
> >Eco-Terrorists Wreak Havoc
> >
> >.c The Associated Press
> >
> > By AMALIE YOUNG
> >
> >PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Using darkness for cover, activists smashed a window
> >in a Wisconsin warehouse, crawled inside and placed incendiary devices on
> >a propane tank. They set the timers and fled.
> >
> >That same day, March 13, a group calling itself the Animal Liberation
> >Front boasted that they'd burned the warehouse down - even though they
> >hadn't. The devices had malfunctioned and last week's attack on the
> >refrigerated warehouse containing gourmet dog food had failed.
> >
> >Acting solo or side by side, the ALF and its sister group - the Earth
> >Liberation Front - have claimed credit for a string of costly arson
> >attacks and other acts of sabotage across the country.
> >
> >In their communiques, the so-called eco-terrorists say they're on a
> >crusade to protect animals and the environment. They also say their
> >intentions are non-violent.
> >
> >It's little comfort to the people who own property that has been destroyed
> >or damaged in the attacks. Dana Watkins, whose dog food warehouse in
> >Viraquo, Wisc., was apparently the latest target, used to provide food to
> >fur farms - favorite targets of the vandals.
> >
> >Watkins worries the radicals may return and try to finish the job. ``Every
> >night we go to bed scared, wondering what will happen,'' he said.
> >
> >During the past three years, damage from acts of eco-vandalism has
> >amounted to millions of dollars. Since December 1997, the two groups have
> >taken responsibility for at least 10 arson attacks, including a $12
> >million fire that destroyed a ski lodge in Vail, Colo.
> >
> >No lives have been lost, but some fear it's only a matter of time.
> >
> >``Until fairly recently, they have been more of a nuisance than a real
> >problem,'' said Gary Perlstein, co-author of ``Perspectives on
> >Terrorism,'' a book about radical American fringe groups.
> >
> >``Somebody is going to die, even if it is accidentally,'' he said. ``When
> >they find that their present activities don't work, they'll have to get
> >more aggressive.''
> >
> >Though their histories are murky, ELF and ALF trace their origins to the
> >late 1970s with the founding of Earth First!, a group energized by Utah
> >anarchist Edward Abbey's novel ``The Monkey Wrench Gang.''
> >
> >Serious environmental terrorism started to mount in the 1980s as
> >conservationists fought to prevent loggers from cutting ancient trees and
> >new concerns were sparked about endangered animals.
> >
> >By the late 1980s, an increasing number of animal-rights activists had
> >joined radical environmentalists in bids to save both wilderness and
> >animals. Some believe there is a link between eco-terrorists and
> >Eugene-based anarchists who were blamed for some of the violence during
> >the World Trade Organization talks in Seattle last year.
> >
> >Mainstream environmentalists say they know little if anything about the
> >radical groups and disown violence, worrying that the fanatics may harm
> >their cause.
> >
> >``They discredit people who might otherwise speak out in our democracy,''
> >said Wendell Wood, a conservationist with the Oregon Natural Resources
> >Council.
> >
> >AFL and ELF have no official headquarters or Web site. The only faces
> >attached to the two groups are self-proclaimed ``spokesmen'' who alert the
> >media each time the groups strike.
> >
> >Both spokesmen say they are merely sympathetic mouthpieces for the two
> >groups, passing on anonymous communiques after the groups strike.
> >
> >``The public has a right to know that these are not just random acts,''
> >said Craig Rosebraugh, the 27-year-old spokesman for the ELF.
> >
> >In February, the FBI raided Rosebraugh's Portland home and seized
> >computers, papers and other items. Later that month, Rosebraugh was called
> >before a federal grand jury to answer questions about the ELF and ALF.
> >
> >Rosebraugh, who runs a Portland vegan bakery, says he refused to answer
> >the grand jury's questions.
> >
> >Gordon Compton, an FBI spokesman in Portland, declined to comment on
> >Rosebraugh's status or investigations into attacks linked to the groups.
> >
> >David Barbarash, who acts as ALF spokesman from his home in British
> >Columbia, served four months in jail for taking part in an ALF action -
> >the release of cats used in medical research at a Canadian university in
> >1992.
> >
> >Barbarash also faces charges in Canada for mailing letters booby-trapped
> >with razor blades to more than 20 hunting guides in 1996.
> >
> >``Sending razor blades to people is a violent activity,'' he said. ``I
> >have never taken any violent action against people.''
> >
> >Perlstein speculates that the ELF and ALF are a single, loosely knit
> >network whose members don't all know each other. That way, they can't
> >inform on the others if caught.
> >
> >``It's a classic shell network that's been used in guerrilla warfare,'' he
> >said. ``Unless the FBI can arrest someone with information, they're going
> >to have difficulty catching them.''
> >
> >On the Net:
> >
> >For more information on ALF and ELF: http://www.envirolink.org and
> >http://www.enviroweb.org/ALFIS/index2.shtml
> >
> >Center for the Defense of Free Enterprise, an organization that tracks
> >crimes committed to save nature: http://www.cdfe.org
> >
> >AP-NY-03-23-00 0248EST
> >
> > Copyright 2000 The Associated Press. The information contained in the
> >AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise
> >distributed without prior written authority of The Associated Press.
> >
> >
> >
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> >--part1_10.1922bf1.260bec32_boundary--
> >
>
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