Those of us just finishing our first nine months in the fair hamlet of Eugene this June probably know very little about the town’s history. As someone who’s spent the better part of four years in Eugene, I often feel utterly unaware of my context, its history and its character. At times, I’m just apathetic – a sentiment I’m sure a good many University students might share.
The “world’s greatest city of arts and the outdoors,” as it far-too-ambitiously fancies itself, has a much more substantial legacy than such a superficial slogan suggests. For many years, it was the conscience and breaking point of the hippie movement, or, as described by High Times, “the capital of American Anarchism.” If a city was as far to the American left-wing as Rush Limbaugh is to the right, it might be safe to say that city is Eugene.
Given this position relative to the rare but radical violent left, it might come as no surprise that for many years Eugene has endured much more than its fair share of eco-terrorism, or acts of violence on behalf of the environment without the sanction of the state.
It is my position that, in comparison to thoughtful argument coupled with non-violent but persuasive action, eco-terrorism is not particularly effective as a strategy to bring about the kind of environmentalist cultural ethic our society needs to survive and come into harmony with its surroundings. Like most things that go horribly wrong when they resort to violence, eco-terrorism is generally rooted in a good set of intentions: preserving the quality of the air we breathe and the water our children drink.
Why eco-terrorism fails is, in my view, not nearly as simple as the fact it destroys property and occasionally
Eco-terrorism undermining movement
Daily Emerald
May 6, 2009
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