Putting People First / September 5, 1994 ======================================== Washington Report FROM THE TRENCHES by Kathleen Marquardt Chairman, Putting People First ...A weekly opinion column about the struggle against "animal rights" and eco-extremists. Copyright@1994 Putting People First Permission to reproduce this column is freely granted on the condition that credit is given to Putting People First. Putting People First is a nonprofit organization of citizens who believe in western civilization; that we need to return to common sense in man's relationship with his fellow man; and that public policy should be based on science and rationality, not emotionalism. Putting People First PO Box 1707 Helena, Montana 59624 (406) 442-5700 Fax (406) 449-0942 ===================================================================== EARTH FIRST! DECLARES WAR ON SHOPPING MALLS We have had to put up with the animal rights wackos taking to the streets every year on the Friday after Thanksgiving to protest fur. In fact, before I started Putting People First, before I even knew what animal rights was about, I happened upon one of their "fur-free Fridays" when my husband, Bill and I were in Santa Fe one Thanksgiving. There were all these weirdly dressed and made-up people protesting fur. We were so offended by the protestors and their outrageous statements that we wanted to purchase furs to show our protest of them. While we could not afford to buy fur coats (or at least fur as is generally thought of by the public) we did buy sheepskin coats -- not considered fur yet in the fashion media. My coat does have coyote (fur) trim on the hood to protect my face from ice. I feel great every time I wear my coat -- for the statement it makes and because it is very warm. But back to the subject of today's column -- the day after Thanksgiving. It is supposedly the biggest shopping day of the year -- the perfect day to choose to make a statement. In the most recent Earth First! Journal is an announcement for the environmental side of the anti-human movement to get involved in "fur free Friday," by expanding the theme to shut down shopping malls. It is billed as the first annual CLOSE DOWN THE MALLS DAY and the Luddites are encouraged to TEAR IT UP! SHUT IT DOWN! DO IT NOW! The piece begins: Who says you gotta be the Grinch to steal Christmas? This year you can join the Great American Mall-Out and help all those manic consumers save a little money this shopping season. We all know that behind every clearcut, every stripmine, every toxic wastedump, is the rampant mindless consumption which fuels the ecocidal Machine. In other words, everyone of us who shops at a mall is bringing about the destruction of the earth and these terroristic misfits are going to "educate" us about our faults by crawling down off their tree- sit platforms and tossing blood in the fur department, pulling a fire alarm, calling a bomb threat, blocking a highway exit ramp or other entrance or otherwise doing a "Puke-in." You will be able to recognize these misfits because they often dress in the thro-back garb of the sixties with a few tattoos and nose or eyebrow rings thrown in for shock value. And we can probably expect the mainstream media to fawn all over them like they do PeTA and the other animal rights anarchists. If this garbage they are cooking up does not get you riled up, listen to this. Earth First!ers are going to campuses and encouraging students to join up and take action. EF!ers are telling students that they can go ahead and commit crimes even if it means getting caught because when they turn 18 their records will be erased. Good reason to commit crimes, huh? Here is what we need to do. o Notify your local police that this could be happening in your area. And request that the police treat them like the common criminals they are and not pamper them. When people break the law they should be held accountable. o Notify your local media that these extremists are planning sabotage and disruption at malls across the country and you would appreciate it if the media did not make "heroes" out of these overgrown delinquents. If they are treated like the unacceptable law breakers they are, they will no longer be held up as icons for our children to emulate. o Notify your local business people that you and the majority of the citizenry are behind them and will support them. Ask them to bring charges against any vandals. Make them understand that it is too late to follow the "be quiet and they will go away" dictum of presixties era fads. If they cave in, they prove themselves to be easy targets for any future endeavors. o Maybe most important, contact your local high schools. Tell them that everyone has the right to free speech, but NO ONE, not even Earth First!ers have the right to go into our schools and promote violence and terrorism. UPDATE ON BIODIVERSITY TREATY Now, more than ever we need letters to Senators telling them NOT to ratify the Biodiversity Treaty -- at least until it has been fully written. On Internet, Greenpeace and the Sierra Club are going all out to get Greenies to deluge Senator Bob Dole with letters praising the treaty. The Biodiversity Treaty, while is mostly blank sheets of paper that the writers (all major Greenies) will fill in later, not only makes all species equal (a rat is a tree is polio is a boy), but will radically alter most human activities (farming, fishing, mining, logging, etc.), and treats private property as a sin. We gave the Greens a crushing blow when we were able to get 35 Senators to come out against ratification last month. But we must keep up the pressure. We won the first skirmish, not the war. We need to thank those 35 Senators (for a list, call our office) and encourage to "keep the faith," and not back down from Green pressure. We must tell every Senator that we expect them to listen to their constituents and vote against the treaty. The Greens are vocal, but are still a minority.