NY Times Movie Critic: Environmental Terrorist Just a Victim of Society?
On Sunday, New York Times movie critic John Anderson issued a favorable profile of “If a Tree Falls,” a partisan documentary from Marshall Curry featuring convicted arsonist Daniel McGowan of the environmental terrorist group Earth Liberation Front: “Activist or Terrorist, Rendered in Red, White and Green.”
When Daniel McGowan moved in with his sister after college, he was so passionate about recycling that he took all the labels off her canned food. The problem was, he didn’t wait for her to open the cans. 'I didn’t know if I had soup, or what kind of soup; I don’t know if there’s peas, or corn,' Lisa McGowan said in an interview. 'He said, 'I never thought of that.'
Some would call Mr. McGowan overeager. The government calls him a terrorist.
The problem is, McGowan isn’t in jail for taking labels off canned food items but for arson and conspiracy related to the destruction of two lumber companies in Oregon, domestic terrorism credited to the Earth Liberation Front.
With 'If a Tree Falls,' Mr. Curry performs another balancing act: examining the roots of radical environmentalism, the destruction wrought by the Earth Liberation Front beginning in the mid-’90s and the definition of terror as used by the federal government. In the process he presents a character who defies most of the presumptions, and stereotypes, of terrorism in the post-9/11 world.
This paragraph exculpated the eco-terrorist, who after all only burned down “two empty buildings.”
'If a Tree Falls' is not a whodunit. Mr. McGowan admits to having participated in arson committed by the front, a group the F.B.I. called America’s No. 1 domestic terror threat in 2001, though no one was harmed during its acts of property destruction. 'They wanted to give him 330 years for burning down two empty buildings,' Ms. McGowan said of her brother, who received a seven-year term but was sentenced under terrorism enhancement provisions of the law, and is thus limited to one visit a month, behind glass.
Anderson suggested it’s not McGowan’s fault, but that of a repressive U.S. society:
That footage, some of the film’s most galvanizing, includes a 1997 episode in Eugene surrounding the cutting down of old-growth trees for a parking lot. When the cutting was abruptly rescheduled to the day before the City Council was to take up the issue, a confrontation between police and environmentalists ensued. The not-quite-articulated message of 'If a Tree Falls' is that a citizenry deprived of a voice may embrace more drastic measures, even a citizenry as mild as Mr. McGowan.
In February 2010, Anderson also fell for radical environmentalism, discerning a “plausible premise” in an environmentally conscious zombie movie (yes, you read that correctly), "The Crazies."
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Comments
There's a thin line between
Submitted by johnsonl on Wed, 06/15/2011 - 11:05am.
being "passionate" about a cause and being obsessive/compulsive about it. The clue should have been recycling the paper from unopened cans. That's just crazy.
helping Mother Earth?
Submitted by MidAmerica on Wed, 06/15/2011 - 11:09am.
Here in my neck of the woods I chuckle at the notion of planting a tree 'to help the environment'. The tree planting ceremonies are held with serious and reverent pretensions as if this act of planting a tree has worldwide ramifications.
nonsense
Almost everywhere east of the Mississippi River if a patch of ground is left alone it will soon be filled with so many trees that it will be impossible to walk through it. If you are the owner of an acreage one of the big headaches is keeping the trees from taking over.
Exactly, MA
Submitted by UpNorth on Wed, 06/15/2011 - 11:49am.
We live on 20 acres, I used to be able to sit on my deck and shoot deer at the pond about 200 feet from my house. That was when we moved in, now 12 years later, the pond is surrounded by pine trees, which are about 12-15 feet high. Can't see the pond, the ground surrounding it, or the deer, most days, now. And, not a single one of those pines was "planted" by me, Mother Nature took care of it.
And, I'm constatntly looking for maple trees popping up next to the house, next to the driveway, or in the yard.
Sounds like some kind of disorder.
Submitted by notinstl on Wed, 06/15/2011 - 11:09am.
he should try doing something legal....i hope he gets nothing but recycled food in prison...that should make him happy
The college graduate said, "I
Submitted by ant on Wed, 06/15/2011 - 11:14am.
The college graduate said, "I didn't think of that." Money well spent.
Then they become...
Submitted by almostacowboy on Wed, 06/15/2011 - 11:41am.
Democrats.
Again, they miss the point....
Submitted by bikeromany on Wed, 06/15/2011 - 11:13am.
Here's another liberal passionate about his cause, who can't figure out the ramifications of taking labels off cans before they're opened, and doesn't care who's inconvenienced by it. Yet, they're ready to change the world according to their agenda.
They never think it through, yet they're ready to kill you to accomplish it.
Liberal American heroes. Thoughtless and stupid.....but passionately so.
Same old story
Submitted by HockeyKid on Wed, 06/15/2011 - 11:38am.
"Gosh, we didn't realize that blowing up the dam would flood the river and kill people downstream. We just wanted the fish to live free!"
"What do you mean the fire I set burned down a building? It was only supposed to send a message!"
Morons.
"Beauty is only skin deep, but liberal's to the bone." - me
FIRE!!
Submitted by MidAmerica on Wed, 06/15/2011 - 11:35am.
In the western states the environmentalist backed policies of restricting brush and tree thinning are responsible for the destruction of forests by hellacious forest fires. Fire is a natural and normal occurrence everywhere. Occasional fires that clear out dead and overgrowth are better than one huge out of control holocaust. Here where I live fire is what kept the trees at bay and allowed for the growth of lush prairie grasses. In the dry western regions if fire is suppressed and potential fuel is not removed then the destruction of hundreds of thousands of acres is just a spark away.
It is for that very reason...
Submitted by almostacowboy on Wed, 06/15/2011 - 11:42am.
that native Montanans, Idahoans, and Wyomingites hate to see Californians moving to their states.
Notice to Tennessee - I ain't like that. I'm leaving CA for TN because of them.
almostacowboy77
Submitted by well99 on Wed, 06/15/2011 - 3:05pm.
You aint kidding.I'm not a native but I will tell you what.Idiots that come up to here try turning this into another Cali.STMF's if they liked it so well they shouldn't of left.
His removing the labels....
Submitted by almostacowboy on Wed, 06/15/2011 - 11:35am.
prior to opening the cans is consistent with EPA policies which, they say, "prohibits" them from considering costs when implementing policy (read, "crushing industry").
I would gladly add the EPA and it's head, Lisa Jackson, to the list of Terrorist Organizations.
Just some psychiatric observations.
Submitted by drsamherman on Wed, 06/15/2011 - 12:02pm.
An obsession is a dysfunctional preoccupation with a specific topic, object or person. For example, a patient is obsessed by "germs" or the context of being infected. The next part is compulsion. A compulsion is a dysfunctional series of actions supported by an obsession. For example, the germophobe continuously scrubs, cleans and disinfects items. The dysfunctional component means the obsession(s) and compulsion(s) arising therefrom make normal functioning impossible.
A delusion is a fixed, false belief emanating from an improper or inappropriate conclusion drawn from an altered sensorium or invalid logic. An example of a delusion would be someone believing their spouse is having an affair with another person, even though the spouse is severely incapacitated.
Add delusional elements (dissociative features) to an OCD patient and you have one gigantic mess on your hands.
One gigantic mess on your hands*
Submitted by cajun2 on Wed, 06/15/2011 - 12:27pm.
OMG, running around in circles, WHERE ARE MY SANITARY WIPES????
LOL, thanks drsam, that was very interesting.
I guess Hitler and Stalin were just 'overeager'... Hmmmm?
Submitted by wizardjr on Wed, 06/15/2011 - 1:03pm.
More slaughtering of the English language by leftards.
When Daniel McGowan moved in
Submitted by Rusty Shackleford on Thu, 06/16/2011 - 10:39am.
We're constantly told how smart these people are and how anti-science someone is for doubting the claims by these people, but here's a college educated environmentalist that had no idea that removing labels from canned food will make it impossible to know what's inside.
Now remember, these intellectuals are smart enough to figure out a dozen different ways why your lifestyle is going to destroy the earth and we're supposed to obey without question, but a concept as complex as an unlabling a tin can causes the hamster in his head to drop dead.
I hope this guy in prison long enough that his bones turn to dust. Even though he killed no one he's far more dangerous to society than a Casey Anthony. If his critical thinking skills are so lacking that it doesn't even occur to him that removing labels from cans might cause a problem, would he be able to noodle out that burning an apartment complex might cause someone to die?
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