Hypothetically, would literal tree-hugging (i.e. chaining myself to a tree) be an effective method of protest and prevention? Would the loggers cut me down anyways? Just a random thought.
Depends on what you mean by “effective.” It might delay them for a few hours or a day. There’s a long history of this kind of thing, although it’s usually more effective to do a treesit rather than a lockdown for trees. You could do a lockdown on equipment like bulldozers/feller bunchers though. The Earth First! Direct Action Manual has a lot of info.
Be prepared to be literally tortured in various ways, including pepperspray placed directly in your eyes, pain compliance holds, or they just cut the chains/lockbox you’re in and if you get cut with it too bad.
Personally I’m not a big fan of get-arrested-on-purpose types of direct action, but it has its uses. I strongly recommend that if you’re going to do something like this you connect with a group that knows how to do it and you have a support crew, including jail/legal support.
Sure, lab safety goggles will protect you from pepper spray in most instances. But what eye protection you’re wearing won’t matter. You’re chained to a tree. The cops can do literally anything they want to you, including ripping your safety glasses off and emptying a can of pepper spray directly in your eyes. See: the infamous case of the Pepper Spray 8
Deputies pepper sprayed Mike McCurdy (above) and Noel Tendick directly in the eyes at close range while they were locked together through the tracks of a Pacific Lumber bulldozer on an old-growth redwood logging site. The activists endured the torture and did not unlock. Deputies then safely cut them loose with a portable grinder, as they could have done without using pepper spray, and as they had done hundreds of times in previous years.
That relies on the loggers fearing a murder charge. In Trump’s America, would a logger be charged with murder for “accidentally” killing a tree hugging protestor?
Hypothetically, would literal tree-hugging (i.e. chaining myself to a tree) be an effective method of protest and prevention? Would the loggers cut me down anyways? Just a random thought.
You’re gonna get labeled a terrorist and probably shot
The way to go is in the monkey wrenching book (forgot the full name:
You take steel bars, and cut them to size
Then you remove a piece of bark
Drill a hole into the tree
Put the steel rod in
Glue the bark back on
Do it at eye level-ish, that way you’re not hurting the worker with a snapping chain, instead damaging the lumber mill. Bigger damage anyways
What do we use when they start checking the trees with metal detectors?
I don’t think cinder blocks would work as well
If anything that’s time wasted having to check every tree. Makes their big tree harvesters slow way down
Iron bars are the old fashioned way, the modern method is a granite or concrete rod, not quite as good as iron but it’ll still fuck up a saw good
That’s actually addressed in the book as well, you can get hardened ceramic rods that work even better, they’re just a bit more expensive
The Monkey Wrench Gang
“Ecodefense: A Field Guide to Monkeywrenching” was the name
There are groups already doing the work. Look them up!
For example, BARK Out! Is active around Mt Hood in Oregon.
Depends on what you mean by “effective.” It might delay them for a few hours or a day. There’s a long history of this kind of thing, although it’s usually more effective to do a treesit rather than a lockdown for trees. You could do a lockdown on equipment like bulldozers/feller bunchers though. The Earth First! Direct Action Manual has a lot of info.
Be prepared to be literally tortured in various ways, including pepperspray placed directly in your eyes, pain compliance holds, or they just cut the chains/lockbox you’re in and if you get cut with it too bad.
Personally I’m not a big fan of get-arrested-on-purpose types of direct action, but it has its uses. I strongly recommend that if you’re going to do something like this you connect with a group that knows how to do it and you have a support crew, including jail/legal support.
what a fascinating read!
Is there a such thing as pepper spray resistant eyewear?
Sure, lab safety goggles will protect you from pepper spray in most instances. But what eye protection you’re wearing won’t matter. You’re chained to a tree. The cops can do literally anything they want to you, including ripping your safety glasses off and emptying a can of pepper spray directly in your eyes. See: the infamous case of the Pepper Spray 8
Trees have been saved by people camping in them.
That relies on the loggers fearing a murder charge. In Trump’s America, would a logger be charged with murder for “accidentally” killing a tree hugging protestor?
Treesitters have been killed by loggers before and didn’t face murder charges iirc. They are probably more worried about wrongful death suits.
Sure would be a shame if the equipment kept experiencing catastrophic failure.
They were defending themselves against domestic terrorists /s (but actually just cynicism)
Just spike the trees.