FIRING LINE:

In defense of ELF
June 11, 2001

ELF is reactionary for a reason. To not respond to the institutionalized destruction of the environment is irresponsible at best and immoral at its worst.

Now how does one combat the market forces that dictate profits at the cost of the environment? Simple economics of capitalism solves the problem, make it so expensive that it's not practical.

If you feel like letter writing, lobbying and marches are working, take a deeper look at the no-free speech zones, the gassings, the way mainstream protest is trivialized in the mass media.

As a political strategy, civil disobedience makes groups like the Sierra Club more plausible to corporations like Monsanto and allows small steps to be made for the environment. The left always has to counter the right in order for things to even out.

Have you realized that the state of politics is such that the right is being as extreme as the left only in a more subtle fashion. Who are the real eco-terrorists here, could it be Shell who is being sued for helping in the murder of Ken Siro Wiwa or ELF who has successfully relayed the message of eco-defense without harming anyone in four years?

Carol Avery
Geography Major