In response to Aaron McKenzie’s morally and intellectually flawed column (“May the force be with you,” ODE, June 7), I have only one question: How does the Oregon Daily Emerald hope to preserve what little credibility it has left by running garbage like this?
McKenzie’s stated premise is that property destruction is a morally acceptable methodology for causing political/social change. In paragraph four, he asserts, “To achieve political change … a person or group must target some infrastructure.” To his credit, McKenzie does mention that violence against individuals should be avoided. He goes on to justify the ELF’s local and national terrorism with typical eco-propaganda. I’m sure the title of McKenzie’s column, “A Cauldron of Idiocy,” is purely coincidental.
I submit that with this line of logic, virtually any type of terrorism can be justified. If we accept that arson and bombings are an acceptable means of political expression, then how can one argue against abortion-clinic bombings? How about burning “mom and pop” stores that don’t carry environmentally friendly packaging? Extend the logic to its final conclusion, and terrorism against individuals can also be rectified. This type of thinking is abhorrent to any thinking mind and has no place in a civilized society. This is plain ol’ criminality and should be treated as such.
Personally, I am delighted with this genre of wannabe pundit trash because of the damage it does to the causes that these idiots embrace. If they had any common sense at all, these folks would realize that the public at large doesn’t tolerate terrorism no matter how worthy the cause.
Although McKenzie never had any credibility to damage, the Emerald does — or used to. Students and faculty assume that the campus newspaper has some type of standard for determining what is morally and intellectually acceptable. Columns like this call that assumption into question. You guys can do better than this.