American Terrorists
Have you heard of them? E.L.F.
Earth Liberation Front.
They have no organized leadership. They take pride in their destruction. They could kill someone. It could be me or someone I love....
I don't understand their statement. "No growth. We must save the Earth. Lets blow something up to stop it." It's mad. It's wrong.
Here lies a painful obvious truth.
They believe their voices can only be heard by taking extreme and violent action.
What I hear is... "We are cowards and we value dirt, trees, animals, etc... over human life."
HEY!! E.L.F.!!!
Learn to play the game. You can still play dirty to save the world. Money, politics, power...start there. Use your brain. BLOWING UP CONSTRUCTION SITES DOESN'T WORK!! They have insurance and all you are doing is delaying the sprawl and raising our taxes.
How could anyone look at your "organization" and think...
hmm, that looks like a good thing to get into. They must really care about our world to go to those extremes. Who cares if some people die because of their statement, this is war! I'm sure the government will pass some great new environmental laws now!!
It's one thing to hug a tree and be willing to die for the Earth.
Radical Environmentalist.
It's a completely different thing to blow people up to save it.
Environmental Terrorist.
The latter makes me sick!
http://www.earthliberationfront.com/
posted by Kathy at 9:10 AM
5 Comments:
Kathy - great post. I agree with a lot of what you say, but I want to present a mildly opposing viewpoint. Not easy to do. First of all, I do not support killing anyone to make a point or even to "save" the earth. But I do see the value of all organizations extreme and almost terroristic to get people to wake up and see the error of their ways.
This is what they are up against. They have to try to get people's attention, and so many Westerners and especially Americans see absolutely nothing wrong with how we live our lives. There is so much wrong with it though.
Displacing animals, consuming unGodly amounts so fossil, McMansions, rampant use of unnecessary vehicles (like SUVs - I hope my words won't offend there), polution, deforestation, sprawl, failure to use sensible transportation alternatives, global warming, poor water quality, soil erosion, atrazine in our corn...I could go on and on.
Think about how many people live their lives in full consumption mode and never stop to think about the impact of their lifestyle on the earth or on others. Think about what a difference it would make if everyone just cut consumption and waste and apathy by 10%.
Now think about how you get people's attention.
One last thought. There are two kinds of deaths...direct and indirect. People die everyday from the effects of our consumption and waste. Again, I would NEVER condone the actions of eco-terrorists, but I would love it if the indirect deaths received the same attention as the direct one's do.
Placed in that context, I do not condone their work, but I understand it.
Too radical?
10:27 AM
I understand and respect any organization's right to protest, but when that protest includes destruction of property or murder (direct or indirect) it's wrong. They've crossed the line.
Owning an SUV is not against the law. Neither is building a house out of 100% logs. Not yet. Change is slow.
Change the law. Change is happening. I spend a great deal of money on my vehicles alone because of environmentalists that have changed the law.(smog laws)
I've said it in another comment, but I'll say it again here...
If you've got something to say then it matters how you say it!
Nobody will remember the guy that blew up a mall or why he did it.
10:51 AM
Duf- thanks for the comment. I apprieciate your thoughts!
10:55 AM
Kathy - most interesting to me in your comments is "owning and SUV is not against the law." Of course it isn't. And by the way, I don't own the most fuel efficient car on the market myself. So please take my comments in the best spirit.
As I see it, legality has very little to do with it. Owning an SUV (and not to harp on one example) causes a lot of problems. One of my favorites is that if you own an SUV and have a crash with someone who is not driving an SUV, you are significantly more likely to severely injure or kill that person.
You spoke eloquently about destruction of property and injury or death to persons, and I agree, it should be avoided. The actions of ecoterrorists are illegal (and they should be and they always will be). Owning an SUV or building a McMansion in the suburbs is not illegal (nor should it be, nor will it ever be). But just as we expect ecoterrorists not to destroy property or to harm or kill people, we shoud apply the same standards to everyone else. I think we get lazy in our thinking there. Owning an SUV does not kill anyone, but it does harm the earth - this is similar to damaging property. So, as we grow, we must challenge ourselves to do it intelligently.
Unchecked (like we are today) it is clear that we cannot count on people to be reasonable. One person in a car on her own driving 25 miles each way to work in an SUV on paved reliable roads (where 4 wheel drive is not needed) is not smart. Not everyone could live like that - our air, our roads, everything would be compromised to the point of almost no value.
How do we stop that issue?
11:17 AM
well, I don't think we "stop" the issue. We find common ground. A good example is the hybrid. And to get more people to drive them we pass laws that allow them to use the carpool lane.
Incentive to save the Earth, because we are, at the heart, selfish humans.
I found this statement you made to be the most profound...
"So, as we grow, we must challenge ourselves to do it intelligently."
There has been one arrest in our current string of violence. A teenager. As they say...teenagers think they know it all. I believe this is one of those cases where a young person thinks he's going to change the world by his actions.
"Actions speak louder than words" he must be telling himself, but he won't really understand what he said until his own life experiences mature his opinion.
I think his buddies are carrying on with his bomb scare threats. I just hope this can end soon and peacefully. It's too close to me.
11:40 AM
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