March
2004
Earth
First! of Humboldt County: Tools of the Trade
By Shunka Wakan
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In these days of war and environmental devastation,
a life of nonviolence is revolutionary in itself. Speaking out against
the destruction of the Earth’s ecosystems, war, inequality, injustice,
corruption, greed, etc., is a very powerful act. So is building bridges
with the people responsible for the terrible destruction, to help them
see what is happening, and that peace and sustainability is a real possibility
if we put our hearts and minds to it. Civil disobedience—tree-sitting,
demonstrating in large numbers with puppets, drums, chants and songs,
getting arrested, hanging banners, blocking roads, making expository
films and other forms of media—all of these are very effective
actions that can truly save wilderness areas and expose injustices,
and help bring forth positive change. For North Coast Earth First!
of
Humboldt County, California, these are the tools that we use.
We are built upon a long history of nonviolent civil disobedience and
direct action, which includes an agreement of “no property destruction.”
There are people, however, who do not have such a clause in their nonviolence
code. They see some facilities and machines as torture labs and war
machines and choose to destroy them. The roots of our resistance are
the same—we’re all sick of seeing the horror of animal
testing and various forms of environmental destruction. Our tactics
are different,
yet many of us recognize that the motivations are the same.
Personally, I don’t consider property destruction to be inherently
“violent,” as long as no life is taken or physically harmed.
Sure, the animal torturer could say, “I was harmed because I lost
all that money and research…” but I don’t include
that in “harmed.” I’m talking about physical harm.
Again, my own tactics do not include property destruction; this is
the
path I have chosen and feel is the right one for me.
As an activist, I have had to ponder this issue seriously, having friends
who have engaged in property destruction. But I do not see people like
Rod Coronado, who liberated caged fur-bearing animals, and Jeff Luers,
who set fire to a bunch of SUVs [see article in Satya, January/February
2004], as “violent.” I understand why they did what they
did, and have, or are currently, paying their “debt to society”
in prisons within this ever-growing prison culture—while people
like logging magnate Charles Hurwitz and George Bush break federal environmental
laws and international peace treaties daily. It’s hard to feel
sorry for the animal torturer or gas-guzzling SUV salesman when there
are innocent critters and people dying left and right, every day, for
profit.
I have become a very public figure, so property destruction is definitely
out for me. Having been a witness to the murder of tree-sitter David “Nathan” Gypsy Chain, and part of Julia “Butterfly”
Hill’s Luna ground support team, I have been interviewed many
times; I also help local media and filmmakers document the resistance
to the destruction of the old growth Redwood and Douglas Fir forests
here in Humboldt County. Even if I weren’t in the public eye,
I doubt that I would have the nerve to firebomb something, or burn something
down; I just don’t see it for myself. I can only imagine the
steel of the people who actually do it. I see it as a brave act.
Part of the reason we don’t destroy property here as a form of
protest is because it tends to really infuriate people, and Humboldt
is a sparsely-populated area…we all have to live here, and everyone
knows everyone, practically. North Coast Earth First! has a tradition
of bridge-building, worker outreach and coalition-building, established
in part by people like Judi Bari [see Satya May 2002]. I honor that
tradition and will continue to refrain from property destruction my
entire life. I’ve also decided to not judge people who do participate
in property destruction as “violent” or “terrorists,” as
long as no living being is physically injured or killed.
Ultimately, I do believe that love, communication, lowering our consumption
rate, sharing land and resources, and committing ourselves—worldwide—to
nonviolence is what will bring us to where we need to be. Lots of pavement
and buildings could be removed to liberate the Earth underneath and
make more room for local community gardens and green spaces, which
would
make our communities more self-sustaining and nicer places to live,
overall. If only we could all agree on this and dismantle the tools
of war, environmental destruction, animal suffering, etc.
These are my personal opinions and feelings based on just over five
years of non-stop activism. I can only speak for myself, and this is
not meant to be the official stance of North Coast Earth First! There
very well may be people in our group who are adamantly opposed to property
destruction of any kind, and they are in the right movement for that
stance, since we do not use that as a tool for change.
We have many ongoing tree-sits here in Humboldt. To learn more and get
involved, check out www.northcoastearthfirst.org.
You can help by making phone calls, donations, and spreading the truth
about what’s going on—here and all over the planet. You
can also come and sit in a tree yourself, reconnect with nature, and
get a taste of taking on the corporate/governmental machine. It’s
an ongoing struggle, with a rich history and tradition, and the door
is always open for good people who want to help save the forest. We
look forward to hearing from you, and to working with you, on these
very serious and important issues. And we’ll do it with a spirit
of hope, positivity, love, and dedication, until we have peace and
sustainability.
Shunka Wakan is a North Coast Earth First! activist
and organizer.
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