I’d be surprised (and dismayed) if someone else in the vast blogosphere has not already made this point, but I think it is important to say:
James Lee (the Discovery building hostage taker and crazy environmentalist) no more represents left-wing environmentalists than do violent “right-wingers” (such as Timothy McVeigh) represent those people who are conservative, libertarian, or anti-government. I can see conservative demagogues using Lee to bash left-environmentalists, but I think this is quite unfair even if liberal/progressive demagogues have done similar things to those of us who are largely opposed to the actions of the federal government and the recent trajectory of American politics.
Of course, it is fun to note that Lee was apparently inspired by Al Gore’s loony manifesto. But there is no straight line from Gore to hostage taking. Lee and other environmental activists who have turned to personal violence are the extreme (pun intended) tail of the distribution in the environmental movement. So let’s keep our eye on those who want to, via the political process, use the coercive power of the state to infringe on our liberty in the name of the environmental faith – and avoid demagoguery related to individual nuts.
Mr. Lee’s manifesto included the line: “Nothing is more important than saving … the Lions, Tigers, Giraffes, Elephants, Froggies, Turtles, Apes, Raccoons, Beetles, Ants, Sharks, Bears, and, of course, the Squirrels. The humans? The planet does not need humans.”
I like the use of the term “Froggies.”
Funny how much some people love “Froggies” more than humans. To channel my Linkerian sentiment on this, when Froggies start producing operas like those by Mozart, art like that produced by Botticelli, and philosophy like Plato’s, then I’ll start caring as much about animals as people. Of course, that doesn’t mean that we should treat animals with absolute no care (especially given that they are instrumental to the healthy environment humans need). But it does mean that we can’t forget that human needs trump.
[...] Cleveland” at Pileus offers these thoughts on James Lee: James Lee (the Discovery building hostage taker and crazy environmentalist) no more [...]
I have this feeling that is that JAMES LEE had been a conservative it would have been reported in every birdcage linner and the talking heads as well would be blabbering about it for weeks but this guy is a tree hugger and eco-freak so nothing about it