O2 Collective - Ecoterrorists or Harmless Peaceniks?

Factual Questions
1

I’m posting out of concern for a friend who has recently fallen in with a big group group of Oregon environmentalists who called themselves the “Oxygen Collective”. I don’t know much about the group except that there have been a lot of arrests in the past (mostly over blocking roads I think) but am worried that this particular group is involved in more serious ‘ecoterrorism’.

One googling turned up this from EarthFirst! (which I understand is an extremely radical 'zine)

Several weeks earlier, the Oxygen Collective had burst in on the offices of a trembling Dr. John Sessions. Sessions is the Oregon State University �scientist� who provided the justification for increasing the Biscuit Fire logging plan (cite: http://www.earthfirstjournal.org/articles.php?a=838 )

Is O2 mostly harmless or might they be involved in serious criminal protests?

2

zut alors.

3

I did some Googling, & there are no news reports of anything worse than trespassing. <shrug>

But your frind will permanently stink of patchouli oil if he hooks up, xiix.

:smiley:

4

I’m beginining to think they focus a lot on art/music to get their points across, though I have found criminal ties to one founding member named Tim Ream:

*NARRATOR

Most of the violence in the movement has been caused by a few groups that hide their identity behind black masks. They say that the violence is not random but targeted to make a point.

Tim Ream:

I myself, I have engaged in acts of property destruction to defend the earth and, and to stop oppression and I will continue to do that.

NARRATOR

Tim Ream is an anarchist who believes that the violence that targets property – not people – is a necessary tactic.

Tim Ream:

It’s these large amounts of property, generally corporate property, that are the instruments of destruction of the planet and, and whether that’s a big dam in India or a bulldozer in Oregon’s forests or, or whether or not that’s a storefront window that allows a, a product ill-gained overseas to be sold to unwitting American consumers, in all cases, that piece of property is a tool of oppression. And once people snap out of their, uh, their Madison Avenue haze in believing the American dream then they can see that they need to stop those institutions, those corporations from continuing that destruction. We have to take the, the weapons away from them even when those weapons are dams and bulldozers and storefront windows*