Saturday, December 18, 2010

Earth First and the Clash of Cultures

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Organizer, Cathy Casella, The Picketts, Mary Lindsey and Karri Casper

As we pulled up to the Earth First headquarters around 4:45, there were four Sheriff's vehicles near the vicinity. Ten or so non-threatening citizens were peacefully demonstrating against a group that believes that our civilization is destroying the Planet and through their activism and civil disobedience, they can change the world for the good.

The perception of "civil disobedience" is where the problem lies. To the Earth First Group, it may mean nothing more than a form of non-violent civil disorder such as laying down in the middle of the road in order to block vehicles into a facility such as FPL that they believe is hurting the environment or perhaps it can be something as benign as tree hugging. They do, however, describe themselves as "radical." No one there could describe to me what their mission was.

To those protesting the Earth First group, (the BAC PAC and its sympathizers) they believe that this group is very dangerous ("just Google them," they said) and that their civil disobedience comes in the form of violence such as committing arson and other acts. They also are concerned that Earth First has been particularly active collaborating with anti-globalists and see this as an undesirable group in our city saying, "enough of anarchists."


Earth First is affiliated with other groups that occupy the space: West Palm Food Not Bombs, The Palm Beach County Environmental Coalition, Everglades Earth and the South Florida Legal Defense Fund. They rub elbows with other groups with similar concerns such as the the Animal Liberation Front (ALF), and the Earth Liberation Front (ELF), who have committed over 600 criminal acts in the United States since 1996, resulting in damages in excess of 43 million dollars.

We went inside Earth First HQ and said "hello" to those there. Most were sitting around reading as they have an extensive library of books on many activist issues such as the environment, radicalism and anarchism. Others there, such as Pangioti, were setting up for their opening party.

Earth First describes itself as lovable swamp defenders. According to their literature, over the last few years, Earth First has
  • Blocked construction of the largest fossil fuel power plant located in the Everglades
  • Built home made solar panels to power homes
  • Promoted alternative transit and bike riding
  • Created community gardens
  • Defended the last underdeveloped urban forests in our country
Accused of "monkey wrenching" by the protesters, Earth First admits to that practice.

The clash of cultures today was obvious. It is what Susan Stanton describes as the "haves" and the "have-nots." The "haves" believe in the free-enterprise system and capitalism and doing everything through the election process--the legal way. Their life-style is the reward for working hard and they don't want anarchist groups here trying to destroy that.

The "have-nots" are interested in things greater than themselves and insist that government and corporations have been ineffective in the environmental community. They plan on fighting corporate greed, political corruption and public apathy.

There is merit to both.

11 comments:

  1. Good post Lynn,

    Balanced and thoughtful.

    I would liked to hear a bit more intelligent reasoning from the protesters about why they think Earth First should not move to Lake Worth. Greenpeace has some blemishes on their track record too, yet would they protest them as well?

    Lake Worth is a true melting pot and it citizens should embrace the diversity instead of clinging to a white bread concept of what is acceptable.

    Tom

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  2. Anything goes for me if people live within the law. This group hasn't. I don't like anarchists, so is that a problem for you?
    Joe

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  3. "The "have-nots" are interested in things greater than themselves and insist that government and corporations have been ineffective in the environmental community. They plan on fighting corporate greed, political corruption and public apathy."

    Can't say that I agree with the proposition that the "have-nots" are interested in things greater than themselves. For the most part they are anarchists desiring to reverse the course of evolution in this country and will revert to any means necessary to make certain that our economy and our way of life more resembles that of Cuba, Mexico, Pakistan, India or other third world countries......in other words, take us back to the 18th & 19th centuries where pollution and environmental understanding had no meaning as burning coal and raping the land were the only means of survival.

    "Lake Worth is a true melting pot and it citizens should embrace the diversity instead of clinging to a white bread concept of what is acceptable."

    For a smart guy, Tom takes the art of total B.S. to a whole new level with this statement.

    Former Resident

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  4. "Oh yes, definitely. About as much intellectual merit as the 1.4 pounds of brown that I flushed this morning. So what is so scary about what I wrote? Anti-capitalist? Do you still have a rediculous, naive faith in the system that poses a threat to the human species? Funny, now the terrifying (continuing down a path we know ends in an ugly way) is "ok" to people, and the arguments that have merit are branded "scary." I guess you would still have seperate fountains for us, given your legalistic, status-quo-preserving thought train."
    Andrew Procyk

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  5. These anarchists simply do not have enough age on them to realize that they will have to live in the world that they are fighting to bring about, and none of them is prepared for those types of hardships.

    Some people (a majority of LW?) are such space cadets that there is absolutely no way to have civil discourse with them.

    LM

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  6. People trying to overthrow the US should be watched very carefully. I voted for Prosick several years ago. What happened to him politically or I guess he was like this all of the time. Now that is worrisome.
    joan

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  7. Lake Worth is being run over by anarchists and illegals. At least the illegal doesn't want to overthrow the US if that's any consolation.

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  8. That's a good one. The illegal immigrant does not pay attention to ANY of our laws and wants all the rights of U.S. citizens without being a citizen. This is so wrong on so many levels that it ain't even funny. As long as the Earth First group commits no crimes, then they have a right to be here. If they get involved in criminal acts, then I will be the first one out there waving a protest sign.

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  9. To Cathy Casella,

    How come you left this part out of the Wikipedia you used in your letter? I have highlighted what you left out.

    Earth First! was known for providing information in the Earth First! Journal on the practice of tree-spiking and monkeywrenching (or ecotage) which have led to reports of injuries from such tactics, although no evidence that Earth First! was involved in related activity.[15] In 1990, however, Judi Bari led Earth First! in the Northern California and Southern Oregon region to renounce these practices, calling them counterproductive to an effort to form a coalition with workers and small logging businesses to defeat large-scale corporate logging in Northern California.

    Nice selective editing!

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  10. Giving credence both sides, and thereby to anything Lindsey does these days, is (IMHO) like allowing a rabid dog to run loose in your city and insist it is harmless. Sorry. One of the things I miss is being around LW to watch just how out of her mind she is going to get before she may disappear forever into an institution. The hilarity is: there are people who support her insanity. Anyone wanna take bets on a date for her commitment? I guess, if true, the psychological pressure of being in charge of little brown kids sewing sexy underwear for rich white people gets to you after a while."
    Andrew

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  11. Aren't these the people who also voted against Amendment 4? They don't like environmentalists at all. they only want to rape for profit. Screw all of them.

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