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From: bill@persci.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.politics
Subject: Re: Greenpeace Foundation - contacts
Message-ID: <241@persci.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 18-Jul-85 11:19:46 EDT
Article-I.D.: persci.241
Posted: Thu Jul 18 11:19:46 1985
Date-Received: Sun, 21-Jul-85 01:48:10 EDT
References: <2729@harpo.UUCP>
Reply-To: bill@persci.UUCP (Bill Swan)
Organization: Personal Scientific, Woodinville WA
Lines: 43

In article <2729@harpo.UUCP> jad@harpo.UUCP (jad) writes:
> [...]
> Now there is one more reason (perhaps the gravest reason) why caring people
> everywhere should support Greenpeace. To discourage the murdering fiends
> who have attacked Greenpeace, it is necessary to demonstrate to them that
> their atrocity will strengthen Greenpeace and it's causes. If we care 
> enough to save lives, we will act. Otherwise, the assassins may well strike
> again.

Pardon me for what I'm about to say. Please note that I, like (I suppose) any
reasonably rational human not economically involved otherwise, share many of
the goals expressed by Greenpeace. This group has done valuable work..

..however, this latest development makes me just a little uncomfortable. When
I was on a university campus and not in the "real world", I observed a lot of
the operations of the professional protest groups, of many flavours, and most
with reasonable (expressed) goals. Their methods were often not so honourable.

For example, in one protest, I saw the leaders running around *behind* the 
crowd, starting chants, shouting encouragements, and generally egging them
on. When the police arrived and started making (mass) arrests, these leaders
were nowhere to be found, not until the paddy wagons were full. Guess who
re-appeared to cheer them on? ..and who got the police records and who didn't?

It was interesting to observe how a group would be active for a while, then,
when things started to become quiet again, some new atrocity would be found
to fan the flames. The technique is old, and has been used by many groups over
the world. Hitler had some spectacular successes with it.

I am not accusing the leadership of Greenpeace for deliberately sabotaging
their own ship, nor do I believe that they would murder one of their own
(photographers). Yet, it seems that their support has been waning (out of
disinterest), and their coffers emptying. It would take only one mis-guided
individual to decide to correct this state of affairs by drastic action. Why
this mysterious note from the "Vietnam vets of Australia"? Why would they
have anything against Greenpeace?

Something is very fishy here, and the reaction from "jad", whatever his name
really is, is exactly what I would expect in a scenario such as I've outlined
above.
-- 
Bill Swan 	{ihnp4,decvax,allegra,...}!uw-beaver!tikal!persci!bill
       "Youse pays yer money, and youse takes yer chances."