Revolutionary biocentrism & Ecology deep ecology

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y Revolutionary Ecology

biocentrismy & deep ecology

by Judi Bari

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social and biological issues, class strug- was a social justice gle, and a recognition of the role of activist for many years global corporate in the before I ever heard of oppression of peoples and the destruc- tion of nature. IEarth First! So it came as a surprise to me, when I joined Earth First! in the I believe we already have such a theory. 1980s, to find that the radical move- It is called deep ecology, and it is the ment paid little attention to the social core belief of the radical environmental causes of ecological destruction. Simi- movement. The problem is that, in the larly, the urban-based social justice early stages of this debate, deep ecolo- movement seems to have a hard time gy was falsely associated with such admitting the importance of biological right-wing notions as sealing the bor- issues, often dismissing all but “envi- ders, applauding aids as a population ronmental racism” as trivial. Yet in control mechanism, and encouraging Ethiopians to starve. This sent the order to effectively respond to the cri- social ecologists justifiably scurrying to ses of today, I believe we must merge dissociate. And I believe it has muddied these two issues. the waters of our movement’s attempt to define itself and unite behind a com- Starting from the very reasonable but mon philosophy. unfortunately revolutionary concept that social practices which threaten the So in this article, I will try to explain, continuation of life on Earth must be from my perspective as an unabashed changed, we need a theory of revolu- leftist, why I think deep ecology is a tionary ecology that will encompass revolutionary world view. I am not Naess. It is ancient native wisdom, expressed in such sayings as “The Earth does not belong to us. We belong to the Earth.” But in the context of today’s industrial society, biocentrism is pro- foundly revolutionary, challenging the system to its core.

Biocentrism Contradicts Capitalism Marbled Murrelet, an endangered redwood species The capitalist system is in direct conflict trying to proclaim that my ideas are the with the natural laws of biocentrism. Absolute Truth, or even that they repre- Capitalism, first of all, is based on the sent a finished thought process in my principle of private property – of cer- own mind. These are just some ideas I tain humans “owning” the Earth for the have on the subject, and I hope that by purpose of exploiting it for profit. At an airing them, it will spark more debate earlier stage, capitalists even believed and advance the discussion. they could own other humans. But just as slavery has been discredited in the Biocentrism mores of today’s dominant world view, so do the principles of biocentrism dis- Deep Ecology, or biocentrism, is the credit the concept that humans can belief that nature does not exist to serve own the Earth. humans. Rather, humans are a part of nature, one species among many. All How can corporate raider Charles Hur- species have a right to exist for their witz claim to “own” the 2000-year-old own sake, regardless of their usefulness redwoods of Headwaters Forest, just to humans. And biodiversity is a because he signed a few papers to trade in itself, essential for the flourishing of them for a junk bond debt? This con- both human and non-human life. cept is absurd. Hurwitz is a mere blip in the lives of these ancient trees. These principles, I believe, are not just Although he may have the power to another political theory. Biocentrism is destroy them, he does not have the a law of nature that exists independent- right. ly of whether humans recognize it or not. It doesn’t matter whether we view One of the best weapons of us envi- the world in a human-centered way. ronmentalists in our battle to save plac- Nature still operates in a biocentric way. es like Headwaters Forest is the (now And the failure of modern society to itself endangered) Endangered Species acknowledge this – as we attempt to Act. This law, and other laws that rec- subordinate all of nature to human use – ognize public trust values such as clean has led us to the brink of collapse of the air, clean water, and protection of Earth’s life support systems. Biocentrism threatened species, are essentially is not a new theory, and it wasn’t admissions that the laws of private invented by Dave Foreman or Arne property do not correspond to the laws of nature. You cannot do whatever you labor put into it, but also from the natu- want on your own property without ral resources used to make the product. affecting surrounding areas, because And I believe that surplus value (i.e., the Earth is interconnected, and nature profit) is not just stolen from the work- does not recognize human boundaries. ers, but also from the Earth itself. A clearcut is a perfect example of a part of Even beyond private property, though, the Earth from which surplus value has capitalism conflicts with biocentrism been extracted. If human production around the very concept of profit. Profit and consumption are done within the consists of taking out more than you natural limits of the Earth’s fertility put in. This is certainly contradictory to cycles, then the supply is indeed end- the fertility cycles of nature, which less. But this cannot happen under depend on a balance of give and take. capitalism, because the capitalist class But more important is the question of exists by extracting profit not only from where this profit is actually taken from. the workers, but also the Earth.

According to Marxist theory, profit is Modern-day corporations are the very stolen from the workers when the capi- worst manifestation of this sickness. A talists pay them less than the value of small business may survive on profits, what they produce. The portion of the but at least its basic purpose is to pro- value of the product that the capitalist vide sustenance for the owners, who are keeps, rather than human beings with a pays to the workers, is sense of place in their called surplus value. communities. But a The amount of surplus corporation has no value that the capital- purpose for its exis- ist can keep varies tence, no moral guide with the organization to its behavior, other of the workers, and than to make profits. with their level of And today’s global privilege within the corporations are world labor pool. But beyond the control the working class can of any nation or gov- never be paid the full ernment. In fact, the value of their labor is in the under capitalism, service of the corpo- because the capitalist rations, its armies class exists by extract- poised to defend ing surplus value from Floating logs at a mill their profits around the products of their labor. the world, and its secret police ready to infiltrate and disrupt any serious resis- Although I basically agree with this tance at home. analysis, I think there is one big thing missing. I believe that part of the value In other words, this system cannot be of a product comes not just from the reformed. It is based on the destruction A clearcut in the Headwaters Forest of the Earth and the exploitation of the meager environmental safeguards. This people. There is no such thing as “green has resulted in noted disasters such as capitalism,” and marketing cutesie rain- the meltdown of the Chernobyl nuclear forest products will not bring back the power plant, the oil spill in the Arctic ecosystem that capitalism must destroy Ocean, and the on-going liquidation of to make its profits. This is why I believe the fragile forest of Siberia. It has left that serious ecologists must be revolu- parts of Russia and eastern Europe with tionaries. such a toxic legacy that even the rate of human fertility has slowed. Marx stated Biocentrism Contradicts that the primary contradiction in indus- trial society is the contradiction between As you can probably tell, my back- capital and labor. I believe these disas- ground in revolutionary theory comes ters show that the primary contradiction from , which I consider to be a is between industrial society and the brilliant critique of capitalism. But as to Earth. what should be implemented in capital- ism’s place, I don’t think that Marxism But even though has so far has shown us the answer. One of the failed to take ecology into account, I do reasons for this, I believe, is that com- not think that it is beyond reform, as is munism, socialism, and all of the other capitalism. One of the principles of leftist ideologies that I know of, speak socialism is “production for use, not for only about redistributing the spoils of profit.” Therefore the imbalance is not raping the Earth more evenly among built in under socialism as it is under classes of humans. They do not address capitalism, and I could envision a form the relationship of the society to the of socialism that would not destroy the Earth. Or rather, they assume that it Earth. But it would be unlike Marx’s will stay the same as it is under capital- industrial model. ism – that of a gluttonous consumer. And that the purpose of the revolution Ecological socialism, among other is to find a more efficient and egalitarian things, would have to deal with the way to produce and distribute consum- issue of centralism. The Marxist idea of er goods. a huge body politic related to some central planning authority pre-supposes This total disregard of nature as a life (1) authoritarianism of some sort, and force, rather than just a source of raw (2) the use of mass production technol- materials, allowed Marxist states to rush ogies that are inherently destructive to to industrialize without even the most the Earth and corrosive to the human spirit. Ecological socialism would mean men. None-theless, patriarchy needs to organizing human societies in a manner be addressed by any truly revolutionary that is compatible with the way that theory. In fact, the failure to address nature is organized. And I believe the patriarchy is one of the great shortcom- natural order of the Earth is bioregion- ings of Marxism. alism, not statism. points out that there is a Modern industrial society robs us of parallel between the way this patriar- community with each other and com- chal society treats nature and the way munity with the Earth. This creates a it treats women. This is reflected in great longing inside us, which we are such expressions as “virgin redwoods” taught to fill with consumer goods. and “rape of the Earth.” More impor- But consumer goods, beyond those tant, however, ecofeminism holds that needed for basic comfort and survival, one of the reasons for the destruction are not really what we crave. So our of the Earth is that only the “mascu- appetite is insatiable, and we turn to line” traits of conquering and domi- more and more efficient and dehu- nance are valued by this society, while manizing methods of production to the “feminine” traits of nurturing and make more and more goods that do not life-giving are devalued and sup- satisfy us. If workers really had control pressed. Both men and women, by of the factories (and I say this as a for- the way, possess both masculine and mer factory worker), they would start feminine traits. But feminine behavior by smashing the machines and finding a is held in lower esteem no matter who more human way to decide what we is exhibiting it. The relationship need and how to produce it. So to the between the suppression of women credo “production for use, not for prof- and the suppression of nature is par- it,” ecological socialism would add, ticularly clear in Third World nations, “production for need, not for greed.” where the colonial powers take over the land by forcibly removing peasant Biocentrism Contradicts Patriarchy and tribal women from their tradition- al role as keepers of the forest and Patriarchy is one of the deepest and farmlands. The women’s methods of oldest forms of oppression in the interacting with the Earth are supplant- world today. It is so deep that we are ed by men and machines, as logging discouraged from even naming it. You and agribusiness replace their small- can say you are against apartheid scale farming, ripping off nature’s fertili- without offending ty rather than nur- progressive white turing it. This is people. But start why Third World talking about the environmental patriarchy and you movements are will run into howls often women’s of protest and ridi- movements, such cule from other- as those in India, wise progressive Kenya, and Brazil. Headwaters Grove As anyone knows who has ever dealt quering or subduing, ecofeminist sci- with the Forest Service or the epa, ence seeks to live within the pre-exist- “science” is the ultimate authority used ing fertility cycles of nature, enhancing to justify this system’s relentless assault those fertility cycles through our on the Earth. Science is presented to us informed interaction, but not interrupt- as neutral and objective, a path to ing or subverting them. This ecofemi- Absolute Truth. But in fact, the type of nist view of nature is perfectly consis- science endorsed by the industrial patri- tent with biocentrism. In fact, it is archy is not value-free. It is openly another way of saying the same thing. described by its founders as a masculine So to embrace biocentrism is to chal- system of knowledge, based on lenge the masculine system of knowl- the assumption that nature is separate edge that underlies the destruction of from man, to be conquered and sub- the Earth. dued by him. And, reflecting that sepa- ration, its methodology is based on Ecofeminism does not seek to dominate reductionism, or breaking the whole men, as women have been dominated into separate parts in order to study it. under patriarchy. It seeks only to Reductionism leads to that incredible compartmentalization of the brain that allows such conclusions as (and I’m not making this up) clearcutting followed by single-species replanting is the most effective method of forest regeneration because, after five years, clearcut areas have more “stems growing” than select- cut areas.

Reductionist science has indeed creat- Allen Creek Grove in the Headwaters Forest ed such wonders as nuclear bombs, achieve a balance, as in nature. Of plastic shrink-wrap, and Twinkies. But course, in this lopsided culture, achiev- it has not resulted in a true under- ing a balance would involve a tremen- standing of the world, because dous rise of the feminine – both a rise nature’s parts are not separate, they are of individual women and a rise in femi- interdependent. Thus, as pointed out nist values among both women and by ecofeminist philosopher Vandana men. But without this balance, society Shiva, reductionist science has given us cannot make the changes that we need antibiotics that create super bacteria to survive. and fertilizers that create barren soil. What This Means for the Movement Instead of this masculine system of sep- aration and domination,ecofeminists The fact that deep ecology is a revolu- seek to promote a science of nature. tionary philosophy is one of the reasons Nature is seen as holistic and interde- Earth First! was targeted for disruption pendent, and humans as part of nature, and annihilation by the FBI. The fact our fates inseparable. Rather than con- that we did not recognize it as revolu- tionary is one of the reasons we were so working people. With the exception of unprepared for the magnitude of the the toxics movement and the native attack. If we are to continue, not only land rights movement, most US envi- Earth First! but the ecology movement ronmentalists are white and privileged. must adjust our tactics to the profound This group is too invested in the system changes that are needed to bring soci- to pose it much of a threat. A revolu- ety into balance with nature. One way tionary ideology in the hands of privi- that we can do this is to broaden our leged people can indeed bring about focus. Of course, sacred places must be some disruption and change in the sys- preserved, and it is entirely appropriate tem. But a revolutionary ideology in the for an ecology movement to center on hands of working people can bring the protecting irreplaceable wilderness system to a halt. For it is the working areas. But to define our movement as people who have their hands on the being concerned with “wilderness only,” machinery. And only by stopping the as Earth First! did in the 1980s, is self- machinery of destruction can we ever defeating. You cannot seriously address hope to stop this madness. How can it the destruction of wilderness without be that we have neighborhood move- addressing the society that is destroy- ments focused on the disposal of toxic ing it. It’s about time for the ecology wastes, for example, but we don’t have a movement (and I’m not just talking workers’ movement to stop the produc- about Earth First! here) to stop consid- tion of toxics? It is only when the facto- ry workers refuse to make the stuff, it is only when the loggers refuse to cut ancient trees, that we can ever hope for real and lasting change. This system cannot be stopped by force. It is violent and ruthless beyond the capacity of any Allen Creek Grove in the Headwaters Forest people’s resistance movement. The only way I can even imagine stopping it is through massive noncooperation.

Crowd at Headwaters Forest rally So let’s keep blocking those bulldozers and hugging those trees. And let’s focus ering itself as separate from the social our campaigns on the global corpora- justice movement. The same power that tions that are really at fault. But we have manifests itself as resource extraction in to begin placing our actions in a larger the countryside manifests itself as rac- context. And we must continue this dis- ism, classism, and human exploitation cussion to develop a workable theory of in the city. The ecology movement revolutionary ecology. a must recognize that we are just one front in a long, proud, history of resis- tance.

A revolutionary ecology movement must also organize among poor and y JUDI BARI DIES BUT HER SPIRIT LIVES ON Judith Beatrice Bari — November 7, 1949 – March 2, 1997 by Nicholas Wilson

udi Bari was no ordinary person. A “She was a wonderful inspiration to gifted and inspiring speaker, Judi all of us and a steadfast champion of our Jwas widely regarded as the principal natural heritage,” said Sen. Tom Hayden leader of the Earth First! movement in (Dem.-L.A.), Chair of the Senate Natu- Northern . She led Earth First! ral Resources Committee. At his request, in her region to embrace the use of non- the California State Senate adjourned in violent direct action and to renounce her honor the day after her death in tree-spiking, or any other tactic that 1997. could lead to injuries to timber and mill “She was instrumental in bringing the workers. Coming from a labor organiz- plight of the ancient redwood forests to ing background, Judi was quick to point national attention. We will sorely miss out that it was not the workers but the the energy she provided, particularly in giant corporations who should be the negotiating the fog that envelopes the target of environmental reformers. Headwaters Forest today, but she has Her name was etched into the nation’s left a legacy of dedicated activists who consciousness in 1990 when she was will carry her banner flying high,” bombed in Oakland, California, while Hayden said. organizing for that year’s Redwood Judi was a fighter and organizer for Summer logging protests. She was near- many social and environmental justice ly killed when a powerful motion-trig- causes during her lifetime. Her indigna- gered bomb exploded under her driver’s tion over injustice extended to issues of seat, shattering her pelvis and leaving war, racism, sexism, political repression, her disabled and in pain for the rest of economic exploitation, and the unneces- her life. sary destruction of ecosystems. Police and the FBI accused her of Born November 7, 1949, in Baltimore, knowingly transporting the bomb, but Maryland, Judi began her activism in no charges were ever filed in court due her college years. At the University of to lack of any evidence against her. The Maryland, which she attended for five lawsuit she filed in 1991 against the FBI years, she “majored in anti-Vietnam War and Oakland police is still moving for- rioting,” as she put it. ward in federal court. She sued them for When she got a job as a blue-collar trying to frame her as a terrorist in order worker, she quickly became involved in to discredit her and Earth First! in the union organizing. As a clerk for a large public’s mind, for fabricating evidence, grocery chain, she became the union and for failing to even look for the real shop steward in the early 70s. Later she bombers. broke a gender barrier by qualifying for a job at the U.S. Washington Bulk Mail conceit in running. According to Darryl, Center, where she organized a success- he fell instantly in love with her and they ful wildcat strike for better working became for the next two years a roman- conditions. tic couple as well as an Earth First! Judi moved to Northern California in organizing team. 1979, where she married fellow union The first significant Earth First! cam- organizer Mike Sweeney and had two paign Judi helped organize was a block- daughters, Lisa and Jessica. There she ade of logging on public land near Cahto discovered what would become her Peak, in the Coast Range mountains in most significant focus: the redwoods. northern Mendocino County. Ultimate- While working as a ly, several thousand carpenter, she acres of forest were became curious spared from the about the beautiful chainsaws and fine-grained red- became part of the wood boards into Cahto Wilderness which she was area. hammering nails. Earth First! had Outraged to learn been primarily the boards came male-dominated from thousand- before Judi “put the year-old trees, she feminine spin into decided to work to it,” noted Betty Ball, preserve the last former director of remaining old- the MEC. “She suc- growth redwood ceeded in getting forests. rid of some of the By 1988 she was macho chest-beat- the contact person ing that had been for Earth First! in prevalent in Earth Mendocino County, working out of the First! prior to that. Mendocino Environmental Center Judi’s influence then allowed many more (MEC) in Ukiah. Soon thereafter, Judi women to get involved, in more influen- became one of the primary organizers of tial ways than had been possible previ- efforts to preserve Headwaters Forest in ously. Judi also innately understood the importance of community-based organ- Humboldt County. “When Judi got izing, as opposed to the nomadic style involved, thousands came,” said her that Earth First! had before that.” friend and fellow Earth First! organizer In a 1992 Ms. Magazine article, . Judi wrote: Judi teamed up with Darryl in 1988 when he was staging a campaign for I was attracted to Earth First! because they Congress. A talented graphic artist, Judi were the only ones willing to put their bod- designed Darryl’s campaign brochure, ies in front of the bulldozers and the chain- all the while making fun of him for his saws to save the trees. They were also funny, irreverent and they played music. announced 195 layoffs, Judi showed up But it was the philosophy of Earth First! at a Mendocino County Board of Super- that ultimately won me over. This philoso- visors meeting along with several Louisi- phy, known as biocentrism or deep ecolo- ana-Pacific workers. Judi demanded that gy, states that the Earth is not just here for the county use its eminent domain pow- human consumption. All species have a ers to seize L-P’s 300,000 acres of forest- right to exist for their own sake, and lands in the county and operate them in humans must learn to live in balance with the public interest, with operations the needs of nature, instead of trying to under control of a worker . mold nature to fit the wants of humans. Many believe it was her efforts to build alliances between timber workers Music was an integral part of Judi’s and environmentalists — and her organizing style, and her violin trans- demand for seizure of corporate prop- formed into her “fiddle” when she moved erty — that brought Judi to the atten- to California. Rarely showing up at any tion of timber company executives and rally or demonstration without breaking made her the target of efforts to smear out the fiddle, Judi used songs as a unify- and discredit Earth First!. ing tool in the tradition of labor organ- izing. The music also served as a weapon PROLOGUE TO THE BOMBING on the front lines against her targets and as a morale booster around the campfire In August 1989, a log truck rammed or on the road. Judi’s car from behind, sending her, two Judi continued her labor activism other Earth First! activists, and four chil- when she joined an effort to support dren to the hospital and totaling the car. workers doused with toxic PCBs in a Judi proved through photographs that 1989 Georgia-Pacific sawmill accident the truck was one stopped by an Earth in Fort Bragg, California. Although the First! blockade less than 24 hours earlier. company told workers and press that the Nevertheless, law enforcement treated spill was just mineral oil, testing showed the incident as a simple traffic accident. it was laden with PCBs. Judi helped According to Judi, when the truck driver organize the injured workers into Local saw after the accident that there were #1 of the Industrial Workers of the children in Judi’s car, he said, “The World (I.W.W. or Wobblies) and gave kids . . . I didn’t see the kids.” technical support for their successful In 1990, the Forests Forever Initiative, case in U.S. Labor Court. The same Proposition 130, was slated for Califor- year, Judi wrote in the nia’s fall ballot, and it was vehemently newspaper that the time was ripe for the opposed by the timber industry. If Wobblies to organize among timber passed, it would cost the corporations workers. many millions of dollars annually by In the same period, Louisiana-Pacific restraining the rapid overcutting that was overcutting its redwood lands at an Judi labeled “liquidation logging.” unsustainable rate, and had begun to In the spring of 1990, Judi and Darryl close sawmills and lay off workers as had the idea to try to bring thousands of timber supplies were exhausted. In April college students from around the coun- 1990, after L-P closed one sawmill and try to the redwoods in an effort inspired by the Mississippi Summer civil rights you turn up dead, then we’ll investi- campaign of the early ‘60s. The purpose gate,” he told her, according to Judi’s of the campaign was, 1994 book, Timber Wars. as Bari put it later, to try to make sure It was in the resulting climate of there were still some forests left to pre- polarization, tension, and fear that Judi serve if and when the Forests Forever and Darryl were traveling to college initiative passed. campuses, recruiting support for Red- Timber companies joined forces to wood Summer. defeat the initiative. They hired public relations firms (including the infamous THE BOMB EXPLODES Hill & Knowlton) to whip up opposition to Forests Forever. The consultants As the two were driving in Oakland, coined the term “eco-terrorists” to dis- California, May 24, 1990, a powerful credit Earth First! and labeled Prop. 130 bomb exploded under Judi’s driver’s seat, “the Earth First! initiative.” They manu- nearly killing her. Oakland Police and factured phony Earth First! press releas- FBI terrorist squad members were quick- es advocating tree-spiking, logging ly on the scene. Within three hours, equipment sabotage, and violence in they placed Judi and Darryl under arrest. order to create a public perception of Police told the press the two were the Earth First! as violent extremists. The only suspects, and that they were eco- fake press releases were circulated to terrorists injured by the accidental workers and to the press by Pacific Lum- explosion of a bomb they were know- ber and Louisiana-Pacific, among others ingly transporting. Their bail was set at in the timber industry. A Pacific Lumber $100,000 each, even though Judi was in inter-office memo, which surfaced later intensive care. under subpoena, showed the company Judi barely survived the bomb blast, knew the press release was fake even which fractured her pelvis in several before they distributed it. places, pulverized her tailbone, and Death threats aimed at Judi, Darryl caused extensive tissue and nerve dam- and other activists began arriving. They age. She was crippled and in constant came by mail and telephone, and one pain for the rest of her life. Darryl suf- was left on the door of the Mendocino fered lesser injuries, including a facial cut Environmental Center. This last one and ruptured eardrums. consisted of a photo of Judi clipped National and international media car- from the local newspaper with a tele- ried headline stories about the bombing scopic gun sight drawn over her face. and police accusations against Judi and She described this as a classic right- Darryl. The sensational stories were wing extremist death threat. Attached kept going for weeks by a series of state- to it was a yellow ribbon, the symbol ments from police and FBI claiming to used by the corporate-sponsored timber have found incriminating evidence in industry support groups. When Judi Judi’s car and in two searches of her reported the threats to police she was house, allegedly proving she was dismissed by Mendocino County Sher- involved in making the bomb. These iff’s Sergeant Satterwhite. “We don’t reports persuaded many people then, have the manpower to investigate. If and some even today, that she was linked to making the bomb by physical evi- threat letters; stonewalling demands for dence. But in fact, as FBI agents later other evidence through the lawsuit; and testified under oath, no evidence what- covering up its own role in the matter. soever connecting Judi or Darryl to the Richard Held was the FBI Special bomb was ever found. Agent in charge of the San Francisco No charges were ever filed against office at the time of the bombing. Short- either Judi or Darryl. The FBI delayed ly after the lawsuit forced the disclosure its arraignment repeatedly, asking the of police photos of Judi’s bombed car, court for more time to gather evidence. Held resigned from the FBI. The photos Finally, two months after the bombing, clearly showed that the bomb was the Alameda County District Attorney directly under her seat, rather than on declined to press any charges because the back seat floorboard as police and there was no evidence. No other sus- FBI had told the press. Held had also pects have ever been identified by headed FBI operations to disrupt the police or FBI, and both have continued Black Panther Party and American Indi- to insist that Judi and Darryl were their an Movement (AIM) under the FBI code only suspects. name “COINTELPRO” (Counter Intel- ligence Program) in the ‘60s and ‘70s. THE LAWSUIT: JUDI BARI VS. THE These operations were the ones that UNITED STATES OF AMERICA resulted in the imprisonment of Black Panther leader Geronimo Ji Jaga (Pratt) In May 1991, a year after the bomb and AIM activist Leonard Peltier, both blast, Judi and Darryl filed a federal civil of whom are widely considered political rights lawsuit against the FBI and indi- prisoners framed for crimes they did not vidual agents, and against the Oakland commit. Police and individual officers. The suit In the most recent development in the filed with the 9th Circuit court, charges suit, Judi and Darryl’s lawyers have filed that Judi and Darryl were falsely arrest- a massive “preemptive strike” motion the ed by the Oakland Police, at the “illegal, size of a big city phone book. The brief politically-motivated instigation of the summarizes some 14,000 pages of evi- FBI.” dence against the FBI and police, and After a court hearing in the case just seeks to end a long series of delaying two days before Judi’s death, Bill actions the defendants have used to keep Simpich, co-counsel for the two, made a the case from coming to trial. The public appeal for U. S. Attorney Gener- motion asks the court to certify that the al Janet Reno to appoint a Special Pros- defendants have no “qualified immuni- ecutor to investigate the FBI’s role in the ty,” which they have claimed protects bombing and the alleged cover-up. them from being sued for mistakes in Simpich accused the FBI of suppressing the line of duty. The evidence shows exonerating evidence; ignoring obvious that defendants accused Judi and Darryl evidence indicating Judi was the victim of guilt for the bombing while knowing of attempted murder; making false and full well they were the victims, and that defamatory statements to the press and there was no evidence to support arrest- the courts; deliberately failing to investi- ing them, searching their homes and gate physical evidence such as death- property, or smearing them in the press. “We’re not suing them for failing to and scores of other demonstrators for catch the real bombers,” Judi said in a trespassing and interfering with busi- November 1996 interview. “We’re suing ness, she brought in Dennis Cunning- them for not even looking for the real ham, lead attorney in her suit against the bombers.” FBI, to defend them, and eventually negotiated a painless settlement of the JUDI’S ACTIVISM CONTINUES suit. Judi was a principal organizer behind Determination, intelligence, and an the large-scale rallies and civil disobedi- ever-present sense of humor were ence actions that helped bring Headwa- among the traits often cited in describ- ters Forest to national attention. She was ing Judi. When someone remarked the first of hundreds to be peacefully about her ability to continue her activ- arrested at the September 1995 rally for ism despite her injuries, she quipped, Headwaters. A year later at the same “They bombed the wrong end of me.” place, Judi was one of the primary organ- Though handicapped and in constant izers and speakers. That day, more than pain from her injuries, Bari continued to a thousand people crossed over the organize non-violent direct action pro- Pacific Lumber property line to be tests, including sustained efforts against arrested, including former Congressman logging giants Louisiana-Pacific and Dan Hamburg, singer Bonnie Raitt, and Pacific Lumber/Maxxam Corp. president Adam Werbach. In a December 1996 interview in the San Francisco Examiner, Judi said timber THE LAST DAYS workers no longer agree with the argu- ment that is the main Tragedy struck in October 1996 threat to their jobs. “They’re not stupid,” when a biopsy of a breast lump revealed she said. “In Mendocino County since Judi had breast cancer which had already 1990, Louisiana-Pacific laid off more advanced to her liver. The cancer spread than two-thirds of its workers and closed quickly through her already fragile five of its seven mills. What we’ve been body. Refusing hospitalization and saying is true: It is corporations versus chemotherapy, Judi courageously chose the rural community. We’ve never said to spend her last days at home with her no to logging. We just want sustainable family. logging.” Through the end of January, she con- In a 1992 dispute at Enchanted Mead- tinued to host her popular weekly public ow, along Mendocino County’s coastal affairs radio show, “Punch & Judi,” on Albion River, Judi and Darryl helped Mendocino County public radio station residents of the “Albion Nation” mount a KZYX. On February 21, nine days determined two-month struggle featur- before her death, the station broadcast a ing tree-sitters, road blockades, people special call-in tribute program during chaining themselves to equipment, and her regular time slot. Letting listeners almost-daily public rallies. The logging know that Judi would be listening from by Louisiana-Pacific was eventually halt- home, the host asked them to share sto- ed by court order. When Louisiana- ries and memories about her. Pacific filed a SLAPP suit against Judi Many callers spoke directly to Bari, thanking her for her work and praising On June 11, her courage, strength, leadership, intel- 2002, a federal jury returned a stun- ligence, and hilarious sense of humor. ning victory in favor of Judi Bari and One caller, former Representative Darryl Cherney in their landmark civ- Dan Hamburg, said, “She’s feared by il rights lawsuit against four FBI agents those in authority . . . But, Judi, you’re feared by those people because you’re and three Oakland Police Department truly a revolutionary. You see with your (OPD) officers. The jury clearly found vision a different kind of world: a world that six of the seven FBI and OPD where connections are made between defendants framed Judi and Darryl in the global economy and poverty and an effort to crush Earth First! and chill environmental deterioration. You under- participation in Redwood Summer. stand what the connections are between That was evident in the fact that 80% the big picture and the little picture.” of the $4.4 million total damage award Judi Bari died peacefully March 2, 1997, at home in her mountain cabin in was for violation of their First Amend- Willits. She wanted obituaries to list ment rights to speak out and organize her occupation as “revolutionary” and politically in defense of the forests. asked people to remember what labor Only the third jury trial in a civil union martyr said just before rights case against the FBI, the dam- he was executed in 1915: “Don’t mourn. ages awarded in the Bari case were the Organize!” highest ever. In 1981 a $1.85 million She asked that her friends gather for a settlement was paid to the family of “party” in her memory. More than a Black Panther leader Fred Hampton, thousand people gathered in Willits March 9 to celebrate her life. It began killed during an FBI instigated raid in outdoors in a tree-shaded city park with Chicago in1969. The FBI also paid speakers, musicians, and potluck food. $3.1 million to settle a suit by the fam- As dusk approached, a kilted bagpiper ily of Vicky Weaver, shot by an FBI and a contingent of hand drummers led sniper at Ruby Ridge, Idaho. a procession several blocks to a commu- FOR MORE INFORMATION you nity hall. can visit the official website The evening featured a slide show by www.judibari.org. To learn more about Judi’s sister Martha, showing Judi’s life a documentary regarding the life and from infancy through childhood, ado- lescence, college and early adulthood. work of Judi Bari you can visit The slide show ended with a shot show- www.whobombedjudibari.com. ing Judi looking back, smiling and wav- Finally, also available is Judi Bari’s ing goodbye to her family as she drove 1994 book Timber Wars which s a away to California and all that was to compilation of her articles, essays, and follow in the life of a truly remarkable speeches, including her first person woman. account of the car bombing and its aftermath, as well as her analyses of the issues which concerned her.

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- dis and duplicate Please copyright-free. is document This In Memory of Judi Bari. Judi of Memory In C Starting from the ‘‘ very reasonable but unfortunately revolutionary concept that social practices which threaten the continuation of life on Earth must be changed, we need a theory of revolutionary ecology that will encompass social and biological issues, class struggle, and a recognition of the role of global corporate capitalism in the oppression of peoples and the destruction of nature. ’’ ~Judi Bari