Transcending Single Issue and Reformists Politics at the Santa Clarita Treesit
“Write a letter to your local politicians!” proclaims the reformist as an act of defiance is made, in this case a treesit. My dear reformist, you are at best but a drug that may temporarily alleviate a symptom but not eradicate the root source of a problem. Shall we pander and beg to the politicians that give the ‘go ahead’ to such development projects on a regular basis? Shall we diffuse our energies in the run-out dead-end of politics? I say not. For those who have observed such games played out, it should be obvious that letters will do little to quell the onslaught of civilization.
The ecological struggle is not merely some anthropocentric rhetoric about “heritage”. It is a life and death struggle. To speak in such verbiage as “heritage” is to reinforce a view of human domination, to speak in terms of the ideology of human supremacy. To recognize the sacredness of all life and redefine our relationships in such terms would be a step toward ending the exploitation of this earth. This redefining poses a threat to the mentality that allows for destruction, like development projects.
The plan is to build some new yuppie “town” (with chemical golf course – the green cancer, man-made lake, etc.), which is another example of the rich desecrating wilderness so they can have their country estate. Class warfare anyone?
A look at the players.
Any developer especially one like Ratazzi, with comments like “I don’t need anymore firewood” (referring to sparing the tree currently occupied) deserve to be put out of business.
"We need to be more creative," said Councilwoman Laurene Weste, who participated in the early morning rally. "No one wants to decimate Pico Canyon."
There is no “creative” way of developing Pico Canyon without decimating it. Obviously the politician is using this issue as a PR move to boost her voter approval, because it’s hip to be sensitive the environment. Let’s not let her improve her career at our or the bioregions expense.
"We have to strike a balance between the environment and the quality of life of our residents," Ferry said. "The reality is that the cars are coming."
Mayor Ferry thinks we need the road to relieve congestion. We don’t need anymore roads, we need an end to the tyranny of the automobile. That oil guzzling chunk of rolling metal. Tell me Mr. Ferry what of the quality of life of the current residents? What of the coyote, the sagebrush, the bobcat, and the multitude of other life forms to be killed? Maybe someone could steal a bulldozer and level Mr. Ferry’s house with family inside to give him some perspective of the environmental stability that is underway for the plants and animals of Pico Canyon. Mr. Perry, just in case your delusional smog filled head is unable to capture the absurdity of your comment, let me elucidate. To approve such as disaster is to disrupt the environmental balance. This is not about striking a compromise between business needs and the earth, our fate is inextricably tied to that of this planet, the more this planet is destroyed the more we approach our own demise. If your idea of “quality of life” is ‘the green cancer’, spewing smog mobiles, alienated humans kept in uniform boxes produced with industrial chemicals; then I suggest you fulfill a more functional purpose and hang yourself from one of those oaks. At least this way you add to the clutter in the way of the development.
Why is there such a defeatist attitude amongst the conservationist interviewed in the news article? Let’s not stop with one tree, lets put down the whole project. This action has potential to do much more than save oak trees, as essential as that is. This treesit could evolve into a community of resistance with blockades and tunneling, acting as a catalyst for radicalizing members of the community. The occupied space could be an opportunity to break out of current social relations to relate on our own terms outside the hierarchical structure of the matrix. This could be a rallying point for resistance to empire expansion and the ecocide that results. It can be an opportunity to expand critique of the self-destructive direction of capitalism as it converts wilderness to wasteland. At the very least we should be able to incur damages and expenses to these scum and let those who plan developments know they can expect resistance and retribution. If we can’t face them with an occupation, let’s get them in the night. Sabotage anyone?
Developers go build in hell! –
http://www.angelfire.com/empire/meltdown/developement.html For info. on road protesting, tunneling, etc. check out:
http://www.angelfire.com/empire/meltdown/ No Compromise! By the way where is all the So Cal Earth Firsters!?
It’s up to y’all what your going to make of this. Show up.