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Mitsubishi & Haiku
>Sir,
> You may be missing the point...........(not a personal attack)..........the
>buyer
>is never the problem. If Mitsubishi is gone tomorrow ,another will take
>it's place. Totally misdirected energy but......personally satisfying.I would
>almost...........put money on it that you are under 35 years of age.
"Mister Ken",
Tim Keating, here. I apologize for putting this on BurmaNet, but
the issue was raised here (your posting was to the net, not private)
, and I would like to also comment on Mr. Tanaka's arguments.
Although I wholeheartedly agree that the demand must be cut in order
for the forests to be saved (in fact, that is my reason for living,
and also my main point of contention with the movement as a
whole), I humbly submit that you, too have missed an
important point. (Truly, no personal attack meant).
I believe that attacks on the "buyer" are necessary
AND effective:
1) by shaming or otherwise making less profitable one buyer,
one discourages others from venturing into similar waters;
2) most often it is actions on the part of the corporate raiders that "enable"
the locals to sell. Perhaps this is not the situation in Thailand, but
Mitsubishi
logging 24-hrs/day by floodlights on land traditionally used by the Penan
is more indicative of the norm. The Penan were not out to sell anything, and
would not conceive of doing so, with or without Mitsubishi. In effect, this
corporation invaded land that did not belong to it, under the guise
of the local (Sarawak) and national (Malaysian) governments -- not the
people residing in the forests at all.
The Lubicon, Penan and many other forest area dwellers are NOT selling their
resources. They are being forcibly taken.
Over and over we see peoples taking over other peoples' resources and land.
Whether it be oil under the surface of Ogoniland, Nigeria or Hauorani territory,
Ecuador, or gold in the rivers of Yanomami-habitated Amazonia, there is a
dual causality: demand for the materials and products of the destruction, and
the profit motive that drives the production. Neither of these should go
unaddressed. We must employ ALL tactics available to us.
If people are offended, they have started the war, not us. By this, I do not
mean
Mr. Tanaka, who, I believe has responded to something based on feelings
regarding tactics, and this I find quite honorable -- but I do mean
Mitsubishi and other destructive corporations, and all their enablers and co-
conspirators, such as the people who continue to consume one or two
pairs of disposable chopsticks a day, wear gold or use oil or its by-products
(as I do -- yes, I too, am involved, but actively seeking to non-participate).
While it is absolutely IMPERATIVE that we completely stigmatize disposable
chopsticks, disposable plywood pouring forms, paneling, hollow-core doors,
pulp and paper made from virgin forests or their replacements, it is also
IMPERATIVE that we stigmatize the "reasoning" and practices of those that
begin and carry out the exploitation.
We must do this any way we are able. I suspect that this is the first Mitsubishi
action that Mr. Tanaka has been witness to. He seems to not know about the
four years of demonstrations, lock-downs, banner-hangings, letter-writing,
postcards and negotiations that have transpired. He seems not to know that
the idea of using haiku is a new one, simply one more strategy in a long line
of strategies. He seems not to know that the Mitsubishi campaign is not haiku,
but that that is but one arrow in the quiver. He seems not to know that there
has been an on-going worldwide boycott of Mitsubishi products for years.
But that does not invalidate Mr. Tanaka's opinion, merely show the need for
us to work harder. If Mr. Tanaka does not know about these, then that means
there are many others who do not either. We must remedy that.
Even as we CONCURRENTLY create a boycott of every one of the enabling
reasons for Mitsubishi and other timber giants to invade the world's forests.
We must boycott disposable chopsticks, and every restaurant that uses them.
If need be, perhaps we must re-think restaurants in general.
We must boycott paper made from virgin forests, and the plantations
into which they are turned. If need be, we must rethink paper in general.
We must boycott all mining products from operations that kill forests. If
need be, we must rethink mining.
I humbly suggest we all pick up this torch quickly, while there are still
forests somewhere in the world. Let's stop pussy-footing around with
individual targets, when the reality is that overconsumption, the corporate
construct and capitalism are the real problems. According to the New
Webster's Dictionary: "cap-i-tal-ism, n. an economic system in which
the means of production, distribution and exchange are privately owned
and operated for private profit."
After all, what did we expect?
I apologize to Mr. Tanaka, and to all Japanese people, if they were
offended by my joining in the Haiku d'Etat. However, I do not yet regret
doing so because Mr. Tanaka's arguments were not convincing. I have
personally participated in numerous actions aimed at Mitsubishi to
highlight their shameful practices. I feel I and everyone else using all
means at our disposal (short of violence) are justified.
After all, we are all -- the Japanese included -- complicit
in Mitsubishi's imperialism whenever we use any product of global
capitalism. If I offend them, I am sorry, but my main concern is
stopping the senseless slaughter and rape of the Earth and all it
wondrous life, not whether I offend some in the process. (Please excuse
me if this is offensive to anyone, but) if your mother and sister were
being raped and slaughtered before you, how important would it be
to not offend the rapists?
If, on the other hand, anyone can point out that ANY of these tactics
are not just offensive, but actually COUNTERPRODUCTIVE, then I will
listen intently. Nothing Mr. Tanaka has said has convinced me that
the use of the Haiku D'Etat was counterproductive or ineffectual,
but merely offensive to some Japanese that are unfamiliar with the
rest of the Mitsubishi campaign.
I do not believe that the use of poetry is ineffective at shaming
Mitsubishi just because Mr. Tanaka says so.
In Burma, the SLORC generals flaunt and appropriate
Buddhism to achieve their shamelful ends. I feel free to use their
Buddhism against those ends. If this offended some Buddhists,
I would apologize to them, and continue.
I think all of us involved in the Mitsubishi campaign would welcome
ideas for additional arrows to add to our quiver. These strategies
would be well-considered and perhaps adopted by a large number
of people participating in the Mitsubishi campaign, as was the use
of haiku.
"The best way to have a good idea is to have lots of ideas." -- Linus Pauling
Tim Keating
Rainforest Relief
New Jersey/New York City, USA