No elves in ELF

I thought I’d expound a little more on David Nosko’s recent well-reasoned March 6 letter to the editor. I think that part of the point of the so-called “Earth Liberation Front” is that, as an environmental/ecological organization, ELF is a hoax. Environmental/ecological issues are simply being used as springboards by irresponsible people who are only interested in engaging in irrational chaos. It’s possible that ELF is a domestic terrorist network, but as for speaking for the Earth, I doubt it. When the Earth has something to say, she speaks loudly and clearly. She doesn’t speak to us while hidden beneath a cloak of darkness, for we are given plenty of fair warning. We just need to pay attention to her warning signs and not take reality for granted. A good “elf” knows this. ELF represents the evil kind of elves, better known as Orcs. Real elves do not commit malicious acts of violence to get their points across, nor do they hide behind just causes to inspire them to commit such counterproductive injustices as setting someone else’s home ablaze. One thing that ELF does do is teach that there is a need to be better protected and better armed for survival. But we know that there’s a lot more to it than that, and we have a lot of work ahead of us, but to go about it with a war mindset is probably not ultimately the best way to go. Quite reasonable arguments can be made for there being a long-standing “war” against the environment, but ecologically-oriented environmentalists know that it’s up to the individual to live as symbiotically as possible with our surroundings, which means that violence shouldn’t be the intended goal. It’s likely not going to be productive to destroy someone’s property and then expect to have a rational conversation with that person about the beauty of nature. The response is much more likely to be violent, which is probably why ELF makes its violent strikes when no one is around. Covert operations are certainly part of war, but, in my opinion, human consciousness has gone beyond war and that consciousness is continuing to expand.