Opinions

Aimee Ouellette
opinions @theotherpress.ca

 

 

Confessions of
an eco-terrorist

Aimee
Ouellette

Opinions editor

 
  
 

" Padegian as a concept, is ill-defined.
There are many definitions of terrorism,
and this is partly why

“terrorism” is such an
effective buzzword.
Some people use it to
describe violent acts
which are perpetrated
for the sole purpose of
creating fear, and some
people use it to describe
any violent act which is
perpetrated by a government they don’t
suppport. Most agree, however, that
the label of “terrorism” is reserved for
outrageous acts of violence that inspire
widespread terror, regardless of who
the perpetrators may be. When I heard
several Seattle-area mansions were
burned in a case that many suspect is
arson, I was surprised to hear the term
terrorism used in connection: in this
case, “ecoterrorism.” Now generally
I wouldn’t define the arson of several
uninhabited houses as terrorism, even if
the intent was to freak out the developers
of million dollar homes. I want to harp
on this point a little, because I think that
a lot of what gets called terrorism isn’t
really terrorism (or even all that terrible).
In this arson case, however, I recognize
a growing trend. Environmentalists are
getting extremely uppity nowadays, and
I’m not happy about it.

In short, I have a confession to make:
environmentalists terrify me.

Here’s why: the environmentalist’s
exuberant love of the earth doesn’t
always translate to empathy for his or her
fellow human being. I’m definitely not a
perfect nature lover, but I do make many
environmentally-conscious choices that
I’m proud of. So when people see me
doing something bad for the environment
and I catch them giving me the stink-
eye, my first reaction is always to feel
humbled. I want to walk up to them and
apologize: | know you think that I don't
love the earth, but I do! I swear I do!

After that brief moment, however, I
start to get irritated. Who made them the
enviro-police? I’m constantly being put
on the defensive by self-righteous enviro-
crusaders, and the reign of terror must end.
Yes, you, coffee-shop girl; I notice when

6

“Environmentalists
often don’t under-
stand that environ-
mentalism itself is

about compromise.”

you say “to go?” disdainfully because
you wish I wouldn’t order my coffee in
a paper cup. And you, the Lulu-Lemon
clad yoga-maniac who is judging me for
wearing moisturizer that was likely tested
on animals (by the way, your eighty
dollar shirt doesn’t have any seaweed in
it after all. HA!). Even my own friends
occasionally raise their eyebrows when
I give my cat a salmon treat, as if my
yowling little kitten is now personally
colluding with the over
fishing of our oceans. Not
that he necessarily wouldn’t
be—he is a cat after all, and
I’m pretty sure that if he
was given the opportunity
to hunt down and kill
every single living forest

creature, he would ©
do so joyfully
(and _ efficiently).
Anyway, the point
is that people ©
immediately see —
me as a_ guilty
environment-hater
for buying him
those salmon treats,
and for eating meat
myself.

Yes, I said it:
I’m a confirmed ~
omnivore.
Although you
environmentalists
have a point when
you say that meat
is murder, what
you fail to mention ©
is that it is also
very tasty. Therein
lies my dilemma.
I can’t make the
best environmental
decision in every ©
aspect of my life—
no person who
lives in a city can—
and that’s why
environmentalists
are sO aggravating
sometimes. They
don’t seem _ to
understand that
environmentalism
itself is about
compromise, in that
it’s about deciding
which aspects
of life you are
willing to change
in order to make

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less of a negative impact on the world.
With that said, I wish environmentalists
would compromise a little when they
deal with me. I’m drinking coffee out of
a paper cup, but what you don’t see is
that I always use cloth shopping bags, I

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don’t own a car, and I wash my clothes
in cold water. So give me a little credit,
environmentalists—just because I’m
chowing down on a burger doesn’t mean
I club seals on weekends. As far as you
know, anyway.

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