Promote Non-violent Action
I would like to correct some errors in the article that ran two issues ago titled "Earth First! Returns" by David Madison (Vol. 9, No. 44). First, my name is Chris Irwin, not David. Second, Earth First! did not originate in the Northwest. It originated in the Southwest. Also, we do not teach "monkey wrenching" in our meetings. Monkey wrenching is the act of sabotage against heavy machinery.
As far as our group being called "politically inflexible" by the Sierra Club, its last president was arrested at an Earth First! action to protect ancient redwoods, along with Bonnie Raitt and several thousand others.
The mill we occupied was in Caryville, not Carryton. Also it was a chipmill, not a pulp and paper mill. And hanging from the crane was a blast. It wasn't terrifying.
"Eco-terrorist" is a label dreamed up by multi-national corporations in the Northwest to describe an organization fighting their clear cutting of 1,000-year-old redwood groves and the destruction of entire watersheds. The corporate carpetbaggers are now invading the Southern Appalachians. They are the true "eco-terrorists." Currently the South is providing over 20 percent of the world's paper supply. This can't last.
Another problem in the region is the TVA's nuclear energy program. It has nearly bankrupted the utility, and now the TVA wants to play with tritium in its reactors. Weapons grade tritium.
Combine this with the dying Southern Appalachians and you get the picture of an entire eco-system under attack. We choose to defend. We are non-violent and dedicated. Our meetings are at 7 p.m. Tuesday nights at Laurel High School in Fort Sanders.
Chris Irwin
Knoxville
Ed. Note: Metro Pulse apologizes for the factual errors.
Zak's Stigma
It's hard to generate much enthusiasm for a movie review which begins with a gratuitous attack on the Catholic Church, as did Zak Weisfeld's recent piece on Stigmata [Vol. 9, No. 37].
Yes, the Catholic Church was responsible for the Crusades and the Inquisition. It's also responsible for establishing universities and preserving medieval texts, for feeding the hungry and clothing the naked around the world, for standing up for those who can't speak for themselves, and for acting as an agent for peace.
My parish operates a FISH pantry to feed Knoxville's hungry. The Ladies of Charity provide layettes and help with electric bills. The Knights of Columbus raise money for the mentally handicapped. The Diocesan Office of Justice-Peace-Integrity of Creation just sponsored a justice day with displays on respecting life, ending capital punishment, establishing a living wage for Knoxvillians, and protecting the environment. Catholic Charities offers many programs, like Columbus Home for abused children and the Choices program, which counsels women with unplanned pregnancies. St. Mary's Medical Center is a first-class hospital renowned for its caring compassionate staff.
That's only a little of what the Catholic Church is doing in Knoxville, where its members comprise 4 percent of the population. The Catholic Church is the largest Christian religion in the United States—think of what all those people in all those parishes across the country are doing for their communities. Furthermore, Catholic-sponsored charities around the world feed the hungry, provide disaster relief, take medicines to Third World countries, run schools for homeless children, and work with kids whose parents have given up on them.
I won't dignify Mr. Weisfeld's inflammatory remarks about population control with a response except to say that even if his misinformed and bigoted comments about the Church were true, his opinion is absolutely irrelevant to his review.
I would welcome a balanced and well-researched article on the contributions of the Catholic Church throughout the ages as penned by Mr. Weisfeld, if he is capable of writing such a piece. Until that time, perhaps he can restrict his vitriolic invective to the editorial page. He owes the Catholic readers of your paper an apology for his wholesale condemnation of our church.
Leslie Sholly
Knoxville
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