June 24th, 2008 By Justin Williams
They’re Not Tree Hugging Hippies. They’re Ecoterrorists
When I first read about the tree sitters and other I-69 protesters being evicted from their fort a few days ago, I thought it was a somewhat noble cause. I’m personally not against the highway itself, but I can recognize someone trying to draw awareness to their cause with something peaceful like a tree sit.
The more news that comes out on these people, and the more they retaliate, I’m starting to realize how unstable and batshit insane they really are.
From the Courier & Press this afternoon:
Authorities are searching for a group of about a dozen protesters who descended this afternoon on the East Side office of the Evansville-based project manager for Interstate 69, beating on windows and breaking one before fleeing the scene.
The protesters, who are described as in their late teens or early 20s, reportedly wore bandannas across the bottoms of their faces when they approached Bernardin Lochmueller & Associates…
I realize that a dozen people doesn’t represent the majority of the protesters, but it’s a large enough group to shine a negative light on a cause. How exactly vandalizing the building of a hired contractor is going to further the cause of stopping construction of a highway is beyond me. If they want to protest, there are more peaceful methods to go about it that don’t involve vandalism, harassment and bandannas across your face.
Do you really think vandalism and harassment is going to get INDOT and whoever else is backing the I-69 project to cancel the project? More importantly, do you really think this sort of mindless garbage is going to net you more supporters?
But, Justin, you say. I-69 is evil and should be stopped. From the comments a few days ago:
And one more thing, I-69 is a National Interstate system that will connect Canada to Mexico, bringing more illegal drugs, illegal aliens, and possibly even terrorists threw our communities. I think the NAFTA interstate Highway (I-69) will destroy communities along the way, cutting some rural counties in half, increasing emergency response times to accidents.
Thats why some of the protesters are from out of State, because this Interstate will hurt everyone in some way.
We shouldn’t need to worry about I-69 bringing the terrorists in. They are already here tossing bricks and banging on windows.
photo courtesy of vistavision
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Midgetquen
June 24, 2008 @ 08:40PM
Darlin, you know I like you, so you know this isn’t personal. But do you really think you can get every angle of this ongoing story simply through mainstream media who have been cheerleading the road for so long? I somewhat get the privileged position you’re coming from. I’ve been there. But you really aren’t even close to getting the whole story. Want to see scary? Check out the dark surveillance vans outside my brother’s apartment or outside the home of (generally respected, I add) proprietor of Penny Lane? Read my blog post about the tactics of surveillance and intimidation they used on me, someone who has remained fairly neutral on the whole thing except for maintaining dialogues and friendships with some of the folks who are protesting. I can’t speak to if they meant to break that window or not; I have no idea. They probably didn’t mean to; the accusations of terrorism are hilarious. These are some of the most nonviolent people I’ve ever met in my life.
I do know that rattling a few windows and sitting in a few trees, out of personal principle and in desire of advocating area citizens who have fruitlessly fought this road so long (A MAJORITY of area citizens, by independent and INDOT reports), is nothing compared to the tactics unleashed on me Friday for doing, well, pretty much nothing.
Justin Williams
June 24, 2008 @ 08:49PM
I have 0 issue with anyone wanting to sit in a tree. If a group of people want to light a torch and walk around to raise awareness of the issue, I’ll buy the lighter. I’m hard pressed to find any sort of justification for this afternoon’s festivities.
As for it not being a form of terrorism, look it up the dictionary.
“the use of violence and intimidation in the pursuit of political aims.”
How is tossing a brick through a window not violent? How is a group of people banging on windows not intimidation? You don’t have to strap a bomb to your chest to be a terrorist.
Like I said, not everyone against I-69 is a complete jackass, but it doesn’t take but a few to ruin the message the rest of you are trying to portray.
Justin Williams
June 24, 2008 @ 09:25PM
Also, whether or not they meant to break a window is irrelevant. The mere act of going to the office building and banging on the windows in the first place is a form of intimidation.
sloppy joe
June 25, 2008 @ 09:20AM
off topic but wtf…congratulations on the blurb over at my first daily stop…TUAW
Now if only my mutha freakin ATT reception would allow me to make a fucking call in this city
my iPhone is about to be an iTouch….ATT….can you hear me buying a 2nd gen phone, starting a new contract, then returning it the very next day for a 100% refund AND cancelling my contract, ALL at no charge, all because your network SUCKS? i’m gonna reccomend this approach to anyone with ATT issues
your fucking signal sucks in this town….
wait a min…maybe not so off topic…..let’s put some towers in those trees where the earth muffiins were….maybe i’ll get the Edge net and and 2 bars….
Midgetqueen
June 25, 2008 @ 10:50AM
Justin, d’you realize that, by that definition, quite a few police actions could be considered terrorist acts?
No matter. I’ve got a LOT of thoughts on the whole thing, some of which conflict with each other; one thing that doesn’t conflict is the fact that I’m proud to have friends and acquaintances who care enough about the rights of this area’s citizens to put their own bodies on the line. I’ve heard quite a few comments to the effect of “Well, most of the people arrested aren’t even from here. Why would they care?”
One big reason is that they realize NAFTA is an issue that effects the entire nation, and that I-69 is part of a larger superhighway which will facilitate NAFTA. Another is that they don’t care whose rights and voices aren’t being upheld; they care that they have an ability to make some noise about it on behalf of those who are, or think they are, silenced. I can’t help but take my hat off to that sentiment.
There was also a very sweet letter to the editor today concerning one of the tree-sit arrestees. She, for one example, is a sweetheart and not a nutjob at all.
Justin Williams
June 25, 2008 @ 12:12PM
Yes, I do realize that. I’m not justifying everything the cops did last Friday as legit. I’ve been pretty open that I think bringing half the squad to cherry pick a few people is excessive. Trying to use intimidation like in your case is not sound either.
I also don’t think every single protester/activist is a complete nutjob. You can’t deny that some are, and those seem to be the ones that are out their getting the most publicity. The only place I read about the Bloomington event was the Stop I69 blog. Part of that is no doubt because of a media bias, but I also think a big part is because the guys who are vandalizing and harassing are a sexier story.
I really don’t have a dog in the fight. If the road is built or isn’t is of little concern to me personally. I just think it’s a bit excessive to start targeting the offices of a contractor just because you don’t like the project they signed up for.
cody
June 25, 2008 @ 06:11PM
the only reason att signals sucks right now is bc of the launch of the 3g network after june 30 it will be back to normal.
it is like everyone in evansville trying to operate off of a small tdma like network. all 2g equipment has been replaced with 3g, which has not been turned on yet. so we are all dealing with sharing a limited 2g network.
people bitch about not being 3g but when it comes time to launch, you cant deal with the outages. get over it.
Brian
June 25, 2008 @ 08:24PM
Thanks Cody.
Justin Williams
June 25, 2008 @ 08:45PM
AT&T: cell signal terrorists.
jim
June 25, 2008 @ 10:12PM
Terrorism: “the use of violence and intimidation in the pursuit of political aims.”
So, what are their political aims?
sloppy joe
June 27, 2008 @ 02:50PM
jhc….ever since i switched to att from verizon (last july - new iPhone), my signal at home has SUCKED…i live on the east side in a nice neighborhood (near the state hospital)…i need my phone to work, its the only one i have
im well aware that att is planning on lighting up 3G on the first of the month, and adding 3-4 new towers (depending on who you talk to at att, locally or at a call center). my point is, there is no excuse for such a shitty signal in the metro area.
ill be pleasantly surprised if lighting up 3G fixes my no bar signal at home on a v1 iPhone. we’ll see. if not, hello 3G v2 and one last chance for att to keep my cash.
it’s nice knowing verizon kicks ass here and nationally, and that 2nd choice phones dont completely suck…again thanks to apple raising the bar - no pun intended
sloppy joe
June 27, 2008 @ 02:52PM
again, fwiw, i typically have to use Skype to call my own # to access voicemail….how fucked is that? att blows….but i love apple more, usually ;)
Brian
June 30, 2008 @ 11:03PM
It’s really odd that no matter where in town I go I have ZERO problems with my iPhone or coverage.
Rhage
July 03, 2008 @ 09:22AM
midgetquen commented:
“I can’t speak to if they meant to break that window or not; I have no idea. They probably didn’t mean to; the accusations of terrorism are hilarious. These are some of the most nonviolent people I’ve ever met in my life”
Well, how ‘bout this: These same people, the people you seem to think are “nonviolent”, totally destroyed BLA’s Illinois satellite office. You can’t find mention of this anywhere on the Net, and I don’t know why, but I can assure you that it happened. I’ve seen the pictures. Windows were smashed out, the entire building was spray-painted with graffiti, the company car was totaled (and the tags spray-painted over), etc. Additionally, your “nonviolent” friends have threatened the homes and families of the employees of BLA, whether they have anything to do with the project or not, and even if they weren’t employed at the time of the initial evaluation in the 90s. Your “friends” have also threatened more IL-type attacks on BLA’s other offices. Now, did (and do) they really MEAN to cause all that damage and threaten them? Because you seem to think they didn’t MEAN to break that window in Evansville. Hmmm. And you think the terrorist accusations are hilarious? Well, I’m not laughing…because their actions are 100% those of a terrorist group. You can NOT destroy someone’s company property, threaten to do it again, and randomly threaten employees’ families and homes, and expect not to be called a terrorist. Because, by definition, a terrorist perpetrates terror, fear, and violence. That is what your “friends” are doing with their threats of violence against people and property, instilling fear into their victims, their spouses, and their children. Hence, THEY ARE TERRORISTS.
If you choose to associate with these terrorists, then you deserve to be watched by the police. And, yes, the FBI is involved…and THEY’RE probably watching you, too. And that’s fine with me. Because your parents should have taught you the concept of guilty by association. When you hang out with undesirables, your reputation will be effected badly. Choose better friends or tell your “nonviolent” buddies to shape up.
Rhage
July 03, 2008 @ 09:33AM
Jim, their political aims are allegedly to put an end to I-69 expansion. Following are just a few of the definitions of politics, in case you are still confused:
“the opinion you hold with respect to political questions”
“social relations involving intrigue to gain authority or power”
“Politics is the process by which groups of people make decisions. Most commonly it is generalized as “who gets what, when, why, and how.”
Go to dictionary.com and look up politics, political, and intrigue, and if you still don’t understand how these people can be called terrorists, you never will. This group is attempting to influence a political project and/or opinion with their acts of intrigue. They are violent. They use intimidation. As a result, they meet the definition of terrorism that you posted. Unlike the people they falsely accuse as terrorists (the employees of BLA) who don’t engage in ANY of those things.
hoosiermama
July 26, 2008 @ 08:31AM
I grew up in a small town 30 miles outside of Indianapolis and I can tell you that the only thing you really have to fear from I-69 is the death of the small communities outside of Evansville, Vincennes, Terre Haute, etc. I-69 is unnecessary, and, in this day and age, it seems a little backward to be blasting an interstate through Indiana’s last true rural areas…when we know that such things do nothing but damage the environment and have a lasting economic and aesthetic impact on the communities outside of the large cities. If you don’t believe me, get out a map of Indiana and GOOGLE any random town - any small town - not Bloomington, Kokomo, Muncie - but seriously small towns. Google “urban sprawl”. Google “urban decay”. One of the very unique things about this area of Indiana is the relative (as compared to other areas of the state) vitality of its rural communities. I guarantee you - that will all be gone within 25 years of the completion of I-69 around any given area. I lived it, people. I know what I am talking about. So, if you don’t live in Evansville, Vincennes, or any other larger community in this area, and you think it’s bad now - wait awhile. It’ll get worse.