<html>
<body>
<font size=3><br><br>
This article was published in the Lughnasadh issue of the
<a href="http://www.earthfirstjournal.org/index.php">Earth First!
Journal.</a> <br>
<br>
Earth First! Journal • PO Box 3023, Tucson, AZ 85702-3023<br>
(520) 620-6900 •
collective<img src="http://www.earthfirstjournal.org/images/at.png" width=12 height=12 alt="@">
earthfirstjournal.org •
<a href="http://www.earthfirstjournal.org">www.earthfirstjournal.org</a>
<br>
<br>
<b>Extreme Confusion<br>
Why Do Civil Rights Watchdog Groups Care About the Earth Liberation
Front?<br>
By Josh<br>
</b> <br>
<hr>
<img src="http://www.earthfirstjournal.org/images/article_image.php?id=41" width=270 height=377 alt="[]">
<br>
</font><font size=2>artwork by Brian Bowes (brianbowesart.com)<br>
</font><font size=3>When federal prosecutors recently likened the
Operation Backfire defendants to the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), lawyers for the
defense were quick to register their shock and disgust. Daniel McGowan’s
attorney, Amanda Lee, appropriately condemned the comparison as
“appalling,” “historically inaccurate” and “an insult to
African-Americans.”<br><br>
Although many animal rights and environmental activists seem startled by
the prosecution’s analogy, it is merely the most visible and recent
example of a growing tendency to conflate the Earth and animal liberation
movements with racist hate groups. What’s most disturbing is that among
the parties responsible for this trend are two of the nation’s largest
and most prominent civil rights watchdog groups: the Anti-Defamation
League (ADL) and the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).<br><br>
How did these organizations—which were founded with the express purpose
of combating anti-Semitism and white supremacy, and which have enjoyed
the strong support of liberals and progressives for decades—develop such
a keen interest in the Earth and animal liberation movements? The answer
lies in a disappointing, disturbing and largely unknown history of
neoconservative political agendas, adherence to a centrist/extremist
model of society, unethical and illegal intelligence-gathering
activities, cooperation with law enforcement, poor journalism and
fear-mongering.<br><br>
The Anti-Defamation League<br><br>
Founded in 1913, the ADL’s original mission of combating anti-Semitic
slander and libel quickly expanded to include civil rights advocacy.
During the 1930s, the ADL initiated the practice for which it has become
best known: the monitoring of racist and fascist groups through research
and covert intelligence gathering.<br><br>
Previously a somewhat liberal organization, the ADL began to undergo a
marked shift toward a neoconservative political orientation during the
1970s, which resulted in new alliances with the religious and political
right, as well as increased cooperation with law enforcement.
Additionally, the ADL adopted centrist/extremist theory, a
neoconservative social model that clumps together all dissidents from the
political right and left—regardless of their diverse and often
conflicting agendas—and dismisses them as psychologically unstable people
deserving of marginalization and imprisonment. <br><br>
The disturbing results of the ADL’s blind commitment to
centrist/extremist theory came to light in 1993, when a police
investigation revealed that the ADL had assembled (perhaps illegally)
files on thousands of Arab-American, anti-war, anti-apartheid, civil
rights, environmental, labor and social justice groups, including ACT UP,
the American Civil Liberties Union, the American Indian Movement, Food
Not Bombs, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored
People, Greenpeace and the Simon Wiesenthal Center. Although criminal
charges were (miraculously) never filed, the scandal harmed the ADL’s
reputation and drew attention to its increasingly reactionary and
paranoid suspicion of progressives and radicals.<br><br>
Given this troubling history, it is not at all surprising that the
“Extremism in America” section of the ADL’s website currently lists
“ecoterrorism” alongside racist and fascist groups like the KKK, the
National Socialist Movement and the World Church of the Creator.
Moreover, the ADL’s profiles of Earth First!, the Earth Liberation Front
(ELF), the Animal Liberation Front (ALF) and Stop Huntingdon Animal
Cruelty (SHAC) are littered with unqualified references to “terrorism”
and “extremism,” as well as assurances that these nonviolent movements
will inevitably (and intentionally) begin taking lives.<br><br>
The examples that the ADL offers to confirm this charge are problematic
at best and deliberately misleading at worst. For instance, the ADL
states that in 1999, “a British reporter who had infiltrated the ALF the
year before with a hidden camera… was abducted by a number of men. They
branded the letters ‘ALF’ on his back.”<br><br>
What the ADL doesn’t say is that, according to the British magazine Green
Anarchist, this reporter had made similar claims before, like when he
said that he’d been kidnapped and shot in the leg by EF!ers. The idea
that two separate movements employed new, unprecedented and
never-repeated tactics of kidnapping and torture against the same person
is simply too far-fetched to be true. Apparently, the police found Hall’s
story unconvincing and promptly abandoned their criminal investigation.
In treating this highly suspicious incident as proven fact, the ADL has
failed to uphold its mission of assembling “accurate, detailed,
unassailable information” and disseminating its findings through
responsible and ethical journalism.<br><br>
The Southern Poverty Law Center<br><br>
The SPLC has followed a similar path from legitimate anti-racist work to
the demonization of radical dissent. The SPLC was founded by Morris Dees
and Joe Levin in 1971, as a small law firm focusing on civil rights
cases. During the 1980s, the SPLC was catapulted into the national
spotlight by a series of legal victories that bankrupted KKK and neo-Nazi
groups. It quickly became one of the most visible and best funded
anti-racist watchdog groups in the US.<br><br>
Like the ADL, the SPLC has attracted significant controversy. In 2000,
Harper’s Magazine published an article by Ken Silverstein—the magazine’s
award-winning Washington Editor—alleging that the SPLC greatly overstates
the threat posed by hate groups in order to raise more money.<br><br>
“In 1986,” Silverstein wrote, “the SPLC’s entire legal staff quit in
protest of Dees’ refusal to address issues—such as homelessness, voter
registration and affirmative action—that they considered far more
pertinent to poor minorities, if far less marketable to affluent
benefactors, than fighting the KKK.”<br><br>
Another similarity to the ADL is the SPLC’s Intelligence Project, which
gathers information on a variety of “extremist” groups and publishes its
findings in the quarterly Intelligence Report. While typically focused on
white supremacists, the Report began covering the anti-globalization,
animal rights and radical environmental movements following the 1999
World Trade Organization (WTO) protests in Seattle, Washington. Although
the Report has generally avoided the “ecoterrorism” label in favor of
“ecoradicalism,” it has undermined this sober restraint through a
campaign of innuendo, conjecture, misinformation and fear-mongering that
makes the ADL look amateurish by comparison.<br><br>
In the Winter 2000 edition of the Report, for example, the SPLC concluded
that the WTO protests signaled a coming alliance between right-wing and
left-wing<br>
opponents of globalization, including neo-Nazis, the Nation of Islam and
Earth First!. This charge was repeated in the Summer 2001 Report, which
flung numerous outlandish accusations at the ELF in the hope that one
might stick. The SPLC charged that “the ELF’s use of underground violence
strongly resembles ex-Klansman Louis Beam’s concept of ‘leaderless
resistance,’” as if this shared organizational structure is proof of a
common racist ideology. Never mind the fact that leaderless resistance
was actually developed by a US intelligence officer as a strategy for
combating communist “extremists.”<br><br>
The same Report also stated that “the ELF recently set this year’s
‘International Day of Action’ for April 19—a mythic date for the
anti-government right. It was that day in 1993, when about 80 Branch
Davidian cult members died in a fire in Waco, Texas…. It is also the day
that Timothy McVeigh blew up a federal building in Oklahoma City in 1995,
killing 168.” The Report ignored that the ELF chose the date for its
proximity to Earth Day (April 22, 2001), and it did not even consider the
possibility that the relation to Waco and Oklahoma City was a
coincidence. Maybe the ELF picked April 19 because it’s the anniversary
of the 1943 Warsaw Ghetto Uprising—a significant event in the history of
Jewish liberation and the fight against fascism. This explanation is as
likely as any other.<br><br>
Dozens of similar articles in the Intelligence Report make it clear that
the SPLC advances conjecture as fact and coincidence as conspiracy, while
excluding any information that might undermine its desired conclusion
that the ELF is on the verge of allying itself with violent
racists.<br><br>
Disturbing Implications<br><br>
If the ADL and the SPLC were small organizations on the margins of
popular discourse and public policy, there would be little need for
concern. However, both groups are large, particularly the ADL, which has
30 regional and three international offices. The ADL and the SPLC are
also incredibly well-funded, with total annual revenues of more than $50
million and $30 million, respectively. Finally, and perhaps most
disturbingly, both organizations enjoy significant influence with
politicians, law enforcement and the public at large.<br><br>
In 2002, a US congressional questionnaire sent to former ELF spokesperson
Craig Rosebraugh quoted the SPLC’s charges of a growing alliance between
the ELF and the racist, fascist right. It then asked, “How do you feel
about the ELF being compared to the KKK? Is this an accurate comparison?
Do you feel a kinship of cause with ‘racists and fascists,’ as the SPLC
contends?” (For the record, Rosebraugh brusquely answered, “A) That is
ridiculous and insulting. I would expect the SPLC to have more
intelligence than that. B) No. C) No.”) These and other absurd
allegations are frequently adopted as fact by lawmakers and law
enforcement, resulting in policies and investigations based on ADL and
SPLC propaganda. It is entirely possible—even likely—that the federal
prosecution’s recent comparison of the ELF to the KKK was inspired by
these organizations’ reports.<br><br>
Additionally, there is evidence to suggest that both the ADL and the SPLC
have a history of conducting covert investigations using surveillance and
infiltration tactics that law enforcement is generally barred from
employing without a warrant. The organizations then provide this
information to the police and the FBI, effectively circumventing
constitutional rights of privacy and assembly. The result is that these
private watchdog groups are increasingly complicit in classically fascist
systems of government surveillance and control. Apparently, the ADL and
the SPLC oppose fascism when it is promoted by private individuals but
condone it when practiced by the state, which is precisely when it is
most dangerous.<br><br>
The general public is also susceptible to the assertions of the ADL and
the SPLC. Media reports on the Earth and animal liberation movements
frequently quote these esteemed watchdog groups, whose statements are
uncritically presented as expert commentary. To a populace that knows
very little about the radical environmental and animal rights movements,
the fact that the ADL and the SPLC are being quoted would seem to imply
that there is an anti-Semitic, racist or fascist component to these
movements.<br><br>
By advancing this kind of innuendo, the ADL and the SPLC cheapen
oppression and transform it into a kind of rhetorical capital that can be
wielded for political gain. By painting the radical environmental and
animal rights movements as a bunch of Nordic youths waiting to be
Nazified, these organizations effectively marginalize and delegitimize
the radical Jews and people of color who are actively working for the
liberation of animals and the Earth. Perhaps more than anything, this
shows how low the ADL and the SPLC have sunk.<br><br>
Conclusions<br><br>
Obviously, the ADL’s and the SPLC’s focus on the Earth and animal
liberation movements needs to be challenged, but this must be done
carefully. Speaking and writing against the ADL and the SPLC is a
delicate undertaking, especially since both organizations are generally
perceived as unassailable warriors in the fight against oppression. We
must always be clear that our problem is not with combating
anti-Semitism, racism and fascism, but with doing so in a manipulative
and unethical fashion in order to advance a repressive, neoconservative
agenda.<br><br>
Additionally, we must be careful not to accidentally align ourselves with
white supremacists. When researching the dark side of these
organizations, pay close attention to what your sources are. Many
websites “exposing” the ADL and the SPLC are operated by KKK and neo-Nazi
groups. If your source refers to “the Jew Morris Dees” or cites the ADL
as part of the “worldwide Jewish conspiracy,” you should look elsewhere
for<br>
information.<br><br>
As a final word of caution, it is my strong belief that direct action
must be avoided. Home demonstrations and property damage will not work
against the ADL or the SPLC. These organizations’ employees have endured
death threats and physical violence from neo-Nazis and the KKK. They
won’t be swayed by animal rights and environmental activists. Besides,
this kind of approach would prove suicidal from both a law enforcement
and public relations perspective. If action is to be taken, it should be
restricted to peaceful demonstrations at relevant public events.<br><br>
Effective opposition to unethical practices of the ADL and the SPLC must
necessarily focus on the general public. Both organizations depend upon
direct mail fundraising campaigns that tend to target liberals and
progressives, who are largely unaware of these organizations’ dirty
dealings. Mainstream animal rights and environmental activists, as well
as sympathetic liberals and progressives, are likely to respond
positively to a reasonable critique of these organizations.<br><br>
Finally, Jewish animal rights and environmental activists—like myself—who
are deeply disturbed by the ADL’s activities should discuss this with
family, friends and members of our community. The involvement of a vocal
contingent of anti-racist organizers, Jewish activists and activist
people of color would go a long way toward legitimizing a challenge of
the ADL and the SPLC, and it would help assure that these efforts retain
the nuanced and cautious tone that they will require to be successful.
Ultimately, exposing the reactionary and repressive nature of the ADL and
the SPLC is not just about defending the Earth and animal liberation
movements. It is about creating legitimate methods of challenging
institutionalized oppression wherever it appears.<br><br>
<br><br>
<br>
</font><x-sigsep><p></x-sigsep>
<font size=3 color="#FF0000">Freedom Archives<br>
522 Valencia Street<br>
San Francisco, CA 94110<br><br>
</font><font size=3 color="#008000">415 863-9977<br><br>
</font><font size=3 color="#0000FF">
<a href="http://www.freedomarchives.org/" eudora="autourl">
www.Freedomarchives.org</a></font><font size=3> </font></body>
</html>