Eco-terrorism
harms public good
Imagine,
for a moment, that you have a job at a car
dealership. You go to work day after day
and sell cars, making a decent living in
this great country that we live in, to provde
for your family and make sure that your
kids are well fed. You clock in and clock
out, and expect to do the same tomorrow.
One morning, you arrive at the car dealership
at 9 a.m., only to find that the car dealership
has been burned to the ground, and you are
jobless. Chances are that you will find
another job, possibly at a different branch
of the dealership, but for the moment you
are left unemployed.
The
above hypothetical situation became a reality
in the early morning hours on Aug. 22, as
a group of lunatic environmentalists affiliated
with a faction called the Earth Liberation
Front (ELF) set fire to a Hummer dealership
in West Covina. The blaze destroyed not
only 20 Hummer SUVs, but damaged several
other vehicles, including Chevrolet Tahoes
being stored in a parts warehouse. In addition
to the fire, the arsonists left their calling
cards spray-painted on numerous vehicles
through slogans such as "Fat Lazy Americans"
and "I love pollution." Why would
they do such a thing? Why would they risk
not only hurting themselves, but nearby
innocent civilians? More importantly, why
would they be proud of doing such a thing?
Quite simply, the answer is selfishness.
Personally,
it sickens me to know that some Americans
support and condone these kinds of actions,
which are, for all intents and purposes,
terrorist attacks. What is even more disgusting,
however, is the fact that these people are
doing this for what they believe to be the
social good. Does ELF not realize that these
acts are doing more harm to the environment
than good? Do they fail to see that these
fires release numerous toxins and agents
into the air that harm not only humans,
but also the environment, the very thing
they claim to seek to protect?
Car
dealerships are not the only targets of
the ELF as was demonstrated by the group
in 2000 when it vandalized a genetic engineering
laboratory at the University of Minnesota
in St. Paul. During this incident, the ELF
broke into the university laboratory, destroyed
transgenic oat resource crops, spray-painted
messages on the walls and glued door locks
shut.
After
the incident, the ELF released a communiqué
that said, "Let this action be a warning
to the University of Minnesota and the entire
biotech industry, that if you continue to
destroy the bio-diversity on the earth your
profits will continue to fall. The elves
are always watching. Stop genetic engineering
or we will." I am surprised Osama bin
Laden himself has not joined their group,
as they both seem to hate Americans and
our way of life.
The Earth Liberation Front, and groups like
it, are not helping to remedy the problem
it claims to be fighting for; it is only
stifling human progress through science
and experimentation. These people are selfish
and irrational, and deserve to be labeled
as what they are -- terrorists. These people
are no better than the terrorist hijackers
who flew planes into our buildings on Sept.
11. Frankly, ELF is nothing but a
group of overzealous, crazed psychopaths,
and should be dealt with to the fullest
extent of the law. The ELF has absolutely
no place in civilized society, and it should
be ashamed of itself.
Gerry
Wachovsky is a journalism minor and can
be reached at SenorBucho@aol.com.
|
