SOC: Earth First and ELF strategy

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Date: Sat Jun 23 2001 - 07:13:34 MDT

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From:
Santa Cruz Earth First! - Minutes of Meeting 6-19-2001
------------

On Decentralized Opposition

As Western civilization, if there is such a thing, blunders ever
closer
to the edge of societal collapse, ecosystem failure and general cultural
ennui, a small and scattered cadr=E9 of dedicated enviromeddlers works
to sa=
ve
what little is left of the wild and struggles to prevent further damage
to
ecosystems already in decline. Eschewing the easy but ultimately
hopeless
path of armed insurrection and violent revolution, these foes of the
(corporate) Earth work in their home bioregions to oppose and physically
stop, when necessary, activities destructive to the living Earth.

Recent articles in the mainstream corporate press have focused
attentio=
n
on fires and property destruction at facilities related to genetic
modification, urban sprawl and animal experimentation. CBS has publicly
identified the Earth Liberation Front or ELF as a "group" that has
claimed
responsibility for these acts, and stated that the FBI is attempting to
infiltrate the ELF "and other ecoterrorist groups."

CBS, along with the mainstream press, the security industry and
polite
society in general, fail to recognize that such groups as ELF, Animal
Liberation Front, Live Wild or Die, and the original Earth First! are
not
"groups" in the sense of a recognized gathering of members with
officers,
leaders or even facilitators. We don't meet in boardrooms or high rise
office buildings and plot "the overthrow of the United States government
by
force and violence." We don't have four color newsletters, Java-scripted
web
pages, membership cards, fund-raising campaigns, boards of directors or
free
gummed, self-return labels with pictures of cute animals in living
color.

The label "ecoterrorist group" fits rather loosely on this
dispersed
cadre of dedicated environmental and biodiversity activists who eschew
public recognition for their acts of opposition, depending instead on
the
act itself to spread political and environmental awareness. Although
"spokesmen" have stepped forward, electronically at least, to claim
responsibility for these physical acts of opposition, none can claim
status
as representatives for any universal "group" that guides the actions of
adherents around the world.

The unavoidable response by the world security industry is to
attempt t=
o
locate and neutralize the "leaders" of any opposition to the economic
and
political status quo. As we've seen repeatedly at protest gatherings in
opposition to globalization and the world-wide sellout to corporate
hegemony, the immediate response by the constabulary is "round up the
usual
suspects" and incarcerate them, at least until the fun and games are
over.
Although the intent is to remove the "leaders" from "planning" the
protest
activities, the centralized, authoritarian, hierarchical security
establishment has yet to understand that there are no leaders; planning
is
by consensus and grass-roots organization. The people they have captured
are
merely the most publicly visible participants, who ironically serve as
the
most effective martyrs and "poster children" for the opposition cause!

In the face of centralized oppression, a decentralized,
non-hierarchica=
l
opposition is the most effective response. This simple strategy was
recognized well by Ghandi, Ch=E9 and other pioneers of guerilla
opposition t=
o
oppressive central r=E9gimes. In our modern age of centrally organized,
militarized police forces, operating at the beck and call of
trans-national
corporate interests, our only hope of an effective counterforce is
through
widely dispersed individuals operating under an overarching banner, such
as
that provided by ELF, Earth First! and others. Even the traditional
"cell"
organization of guerilla opposition is subject to infiltration by the
constabulary. What is necessary now is a truly anarchic organization,
with
no leaders, no followers and no organizational structure.

While Earth First! groups, clubs and RRR gatherings may be fun,
they
necessarily draw attention to our unswerving opposition to the dominant
paradigm, serving as a convenient fishing hole for would-be FBI
informants,
industry sycophants and government toadies. The popularity of such
gatherings has driven many of us from the fold, preferring instead to
conduct our creative field services beyond the light of public scrutiny,
in
the cool enveloping darkness of remote locations and stealthy
maneuverings.

We can use this to our advantage. While we put on the lively show,
bloc=
k
the roads and timber sales, dance and frolic on the capital steps, meet
in
colorful neo-hippie celebrations, make bold speeches in highly visible
gatherings, we distract attention from those who eschew public
recognition,
who prefer to work in anonymity, who treasure the unstructured,
unfettered
life of the solitary activist, who carry the banner and the ideal of
Earth
First! in their heart but not on their sleeve.

In effect, Earth First! has two activist arms. The public, propaganda
arm
consists of highly visible, politically pointed protests, guerilla
theatre,
road and equipment lock-downs, banner hangings and other assorted public
protestations against corporate excess. The actions of this group serve
to
educate the public, bring attention and additional resources to the
cause,
and thrust a well-placed middle finger in the face of the established
authority. These activities are often designed to create a respite for
beleaguered and threatened ecosystems, giving those who work within the
existing system increased opportunities to craft and implement legal
impediments to corporate hegemony.

At the same time, a dispersed minority of EF! followers prefers the
muted
clink of bolt cutters in the night air, the slow drip of vital fluids on
cooling desert sands, the solid thunk of a well placed spike, the cheery
glow of blazing billboards against the night sky. This pleasant
evening's
activity harkens back to the mythic origins of Earth First! and the
Ecowarrior tradition. Ned Ludd is our patron saint, reminding us that it
is
not people we oppose, but social institutions that oppress human
individuals
and bring about widespread destruction of the wild. As ecowarriors, we
have
an obligation to ourselves and to our fellow activists.

Doc Sarvis explained the guiding principles of ecotage to Hayduke in Ed
Abbey's "Hayduke Lives" as the Code of the Ecowarrior:

1. No one gets hurt
2. Don't get caught
3. If you do get caught, you're on your own.
4. The eco-warrior forms no network, creates no club or party or
organization of any kind.
5. The eco-warrior works without recognition or reward.
6. Keep fit
7. The eco-warrior does not fight people, he fights an institution, the
Planetary Empire of Growth and Greed

This doesn't mean we can't enjoy our gatherings around the fire,
our
naked woo-woo dances, our activist workshops and our monthly strategy
sessions. Remember that the security industry is searching for just
these
signs of centralized organization, to infiltrate, instigate, and to
incarcerate those perceived as the leaders of our movement. We may know
in
our hearts we have no leaders, but that won't help those jailed to serve
the
nefarious purposes of the central authority. They must show results in
order
to justify their own oppressive regime. It is up to us to deny them any
satisfaction at our expense.

In our activist lives, we choose our strategies, our tactics, our field
of
battle. We cannot afford to discard any of our tools; we cannot ignore
any
effective tactics. We must make use of all resources available to oppose
the
corporate growth maniacs, who want only one thing in this world:
EVERYTHING!

"Let our practice form our doctrine, thus assuring precise
theoretical
coherence." Doc Sarvis, in "Monkeywrench Gang," by Edward Abbey

Michael A. Lewis
East Mesa
Rio Grande Valley

--part1_ac.16c554d4.2865effe_boundary
Content-Type: text/html; charset="ISO-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable

<HTML>From:
 Santa Cruz Earth First! - Minutes of Meeting 6-19-2001
 ------------
 
 On Decentralized Opposition
 
     As Western civilization, if there is such a
thi=
ng, blunders ever closer
 to the edge of societal collapse, ecosystem failure and general
cultural
 ennui, a small and scattered cadr=E9 of dedicated enviromeddlers
works t=
o save
 what little is left of the wild and struggles to prevent further
damage=20=
to
 ecosystems already in decline. Eschewing the easy but ultimately
hopeles=
s
 path of armed insurrection and violent revolution, these foes of the
 (corporate) Earth work in their home bioregions to oppose and
physically
 stop, when necessary, activities destructive to the living Earth.
 
     Recent articles in the mainstream corporate
pre=
ss have focused attention
 on fires and property destruction at facilities related to genetic
 modification, urban sprawl and animal experimentation. CBS has
publicly
 identified the Earth Liberation Front or ELF as a "group" that has
claim=
ed
 responsibility for these acts, and stated that the FBI is attempting
to
 infiltrate the ELF "and other ecoterrorist groups."
 
     CBS, along with the mainstream press, the
secur=
ity industry and polite
 society in general, fail to recognize that such groups as ELF,
Animal
 Liberation Front, Live Wild or Die, and the original Earth First!
are no=
t
 "groups" in the sense of a recognized gathering of members with
officers=
,
 leaders or even facilitators. We don't meet in boardrooms or high
rise
 office buildings and plot "the overthrow of the United States
government=
by
 force and violence." We don't have four color newsletters,
Java-scripted=
web
 pages, membership cards, fund-raising campaigns, boards of directors
or=20=
free
 gummed, self-return labels with pictures of cute animals in living
color=
.
 
     The label "ecoterrorist group" fits rather
loos=
ely on this dispersed
 cadre of dedicated environmental and biodiversity activists who
eschew
 public recognition for their acts of opposition, depending instead
on th=
e
 act itself to spread political and environmental awareness. Although
 "spokesmen" have stepped forward, electronically at least, to claim
 responsibility for these physical acts of opposition, none can claim
sta=
tus
 as representatives for any universal "group" that guides the actions
of
 adherents around the world.
 
     The unavoidable response by the world
security=20=
industry is to attempt to
 locate and neutralize the "leaders" of any opposition to the
economic an=
d
 political status quo. As we've seen repeatedly at protest gatherings
in
 opposition to globalization and the world-wide sellout to corporate
 hegemony, the immediate response by the constabulary is "round up
the us=
ual
 suspects" and incarcerate them, at least until the fun and games are
ove=
r.
 Although the intent is to remove the "leaders" from "planning" the
prote=
st
 activities, the centralized, authoritarian, hierarchical security
 establishment has yet to understand that there are no leaders;
planning=20=
is
 by consensus and grass-roots organization. The people they have
captured=
are
 merely the most publicly visible participants, who ironically serve
as t=
he
 most effective martyrs and "poster children" for the opposition
cause!
 
     In the face of centralized oppression, a
decent=
ralized, non-hierarchical
 opposition is the most effective response. This simple strategy was
 recognized well by Ghandi, Ch=E9 and other pioneers of guerilla
oppositi=
on to
 oppressive central r=E9gimes. In our modern age of centrally
organized,
 militarized police forces, operating at the beck and call of
trans-natio=
nal
 corporate interests, our only hope of an effective counterforce is
throu=
gh
 widely dispersed individuals operating under an overarching banner,
such=
as
 that provided by ELF, Earth First! and others. Even the traditional
"cel=
l"
 organization of guerilla opposition is subject to infiltration by
the
 constabulary. What is necessary now is a truly anarchic
organization, wi=
th
 no leaders, no followers and no organizational structure.
 
     While Earth First! groups, clubs and RRR
gather=
ings may be fun, they
 necessarily draw attention to our unswerving opposition to the
dominant
 paradigm, serving as a convenient fishing hole for would-be FBI
informan=
ts,
 industry sycophants and government toadies. The popularity of such
 gatherings has driven many of us from the fold, preferring instead
to
 conduct our creative field services beyond the light of public
scrutiny,=
in
 the cool enveloping darkness of remote locations and stealthy
maneuverin=
gs.
 
     We can use this to our advantage. While we
put=20=
on the lively show, block
 the roads and timber sales, dance and frolic on the capital steps,
meet=20=
in
 colorful neo-hippie celebrations, make bold speeches in highly
visible
 gatherings, we distract attention from those who eschew public
recogniti=
on,
 who prefer to work in anonymity, who treasure the unstructured,
unfetter=
ed
 life of the solitary activist, who carry the banner and the ideal of
Ear=
th
 First! in their heart but not on their sleeve.
 
 In effect, Earth First! has two activist arms. The public,
propaganda ar=
m
 consists of highly visible, politically pointed protests, guerilla
theat=
re,
 road and equipment lock-downs, banner hangings and other assorted
public
 protestations against corporate excess. The actions of this group
serve=20=
to
 educate the public, bring attention and additional resources to the
caus=
e,
 and thrust a well-placed middle finger in the face of the
established
 authority. These activities are often designed to create a respite
for
 beleaguered and threatened ecosystems, giving those who work within
the
 existing system increased opportunities to craft and implement legal
 impediments to corporate hegemony.
 
 At the same time, a dispersed minority of EF! followers prefers the
mute=
d
 clink of bolt cutters in the night air, the slow drip of vital
fluids on
 cooling desert sands, the solid thunk of a well placed spike, the
cheery
 glow of blazing billboards against the night sky. This pleasant
evening'=
s
 activity harkens back to the mythic origins of Earth First! and the
 Ecowarrior tradition. Ned Ludd is our patron saint, reminding us
that it=
is
 not people we oppose, but social institutions that oppress human
individ=
uals
 and bring about widespread destruction of the wild. As ecowarriors,
we h=
ave
 an obligation to ourselves and to our fellow activists.
 
 Doc Sarvis explained the guiding principles of ecotage to Hayduke in
Ed
 Abbey's "Hayduke Lives" as the Code of the Ecowarrior:
 
 1. No one gets hurt
 2. Don't get caught
 3. If you do get caught, you're on your own.
 4. The eco-warrior forms no network, creates no club or party or
 organization of any kind.
 5. The eco-warrior works without recognition or reward.
 6. Keep fit
 7. The eco-warrior does not fight people, he fights an institution,
the
 Planetary Empire of Growth and Greed
 
     This doesn't mean we can't enjoy our
gatherings=
around the fire, our
 naked woo-woo dances, our activist workshops and our monthly
strategy
 sessions. Remember that the security industry is searching for just
thes=
e
 signs of centralized organization, to infiltrate, instigate, and to
 incarcerate those perceived as the leaders of our movement. We may
know=20=
in
 our hearts we have no leaders, but that won't help those jailed to
serve=
the
 nefarious purposes of the central authority. They must show results
in o=
rder
 to justify their own oppressive regime. It is up to us to deny them
any
 satisfaction at our expense.
 
 In our activist lives, we choose our strategies, our tactics, our
field=20=
of
 battle. We cannot afford to discard any of our tools; we cannot
ignore a=
ny
 effective tactics. We must make use of all resources available to
oppose=
the
 corporate growth maniacs, who want only one thing in this world:
EVERYTH=
ING!
 
     "Let our practice form our doctrine, thus
assur=
ing precise theoretical
 coherence."         Doc
Sarvis,=20=
in "Monkeywrench Gang," by Edward Abbey
 
 Michael A. Lewis
 East Mesa
 Rio Grande Valley</HTML>

--part1_ac.16c554d4.2865effe_boundary--

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