Inside the mind of an eco-terrorist

Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

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More and more lately, Ashvegas has seen instances of directs acts of varying degrees of vandalism, all for the cause of saving the environment. From the broken windows of marketers’ storefronts to sand in the gas tanks of bulldozers to protesters on city streets to an arson fire that burned down a West Asheville home, we’ve seen people take direct action for this cause.

These people might be called eco-terrorists or eco-saboteurs. But before you go labeling them, you might try listening to them.

Outside magazine provided just such an insight in September with a story about Chelsea Gerlach, who participated in several Earth Liberation Front actions, got busted and is now serving time in the federal pen.

Here’s a sample:

I’d never been a particularly spiritual person, but meditation came to me as a way to be at peace with a seemingly untenable situation. I’ve started to feel more grounded—more intertwined with the spirit of life while alone in my concrete box than I did during much of my time in the free world. Activists need to incorporate this internal work into the movement. It’s the basis of true compassion. Once you realize that there’s really no “them”—no other—moral action is not sacrifice. It’s just aligning yourself with what is good.

Were we wrong? I don’t know if I can answer that yet.

I don’t regret doing what I felt was right. I don’t regret trying to protect the environment. I had good intentions, and I don’t regret that I dedicated so much of my life to this. I can’t change the past, and I’m not sure I would. The actions were important for my personal evolution—and also for the evolution of the radical movement. I wouldn’t be where I am without those experiences. I don’t mean sitting in jail. I mean my mind-set.

Even now I can’t say that destroying property is always wrong. Our main motive at Vail and in other actions was to inspire people, and we did that. But we were wrong to think more people would adopt our tactics. I can finally understand why they didn’t. Activism is motivated fundamentally by compassion and a desire for peace. It’s a big step to use force, and it should be.

It’s an act of violence to close your heart to anyone, even for a moment. We were certainly guilty of that. We didn’t really consider how our actions would impact individuals. We felt the pain of the Earth, and that was what we focused on. A few lost jobs didn’t even measure on the scale of the extinction of species. But it doesn’t matter what the scale is. You’re hurting someone, and you have to grapple with the consequences of that.

True compassion has to apply to everyone: lynx and skiers. I apologized to my victims in court, and I meant it. I couldn’t have done that two years ago. The primary responsibility we have as activists and as human beings is to ensure that whatever action we take is based on love. In my involvement with the ELF, we didn’t do that, and in that sense we failed.

In martial arts there’s a concept that you’re not fighting against another person but taking a stand against violence itself. You use only the minimum amount of force necessary to stop an attack. I’m in jail. I’m not going to be doing any more direct action, and I’m not saying anyone else should. But what would a truly moral direct action look like? Maybe it would mean taking in the pain of your victims—opening your heart to them, being wholly present with them—and at the same time truly taking in the pain they’re causing to the natural world. Meditating on it. Fully contemplating it. And then, at the end of that process, perhaps deciding that the most compassionate thing in the world is to light their buildings on fire.

Here’s the Outside magazine story.