At 10:00 a.m. tomorrow morning (Feb. 23), four of the seven protesters arrested during the recent tree-sit on Coal River Mountain will be defending themselves in a Federal preliminary injunction hearing at the Raleigh County Courthouse in Beckley. Marfork Coal Co., a Massey subsidiary, is claiming $75,000 in damages and is seeking a permanent restraining order on the activists. The defendants have filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, on grounds that the injunction employs overly broad language and that the charge of $75,000 is excessive. This claim contradicts Marfork Coal’s previous statement that the tree-sit did not stop mining operations.
Anyone who wishes to attend the hearing is welcome to come and watch. A valid photo identification is required for entry.
I think the ruling against you was partially based on bragging statements posted on your own web site ” Amber Nitchman, Eric Blevins, David Aron Smith, David Baghdadi,Benard Fiorillo, Josh Graupera, and Isabelle Rozendaal (STOPPED) a blast site on Coal River Mountain for nine days”……. Posted by Charles Jan. 30th 2010 C G Z archive for Jan. 2010
CGZ is using the wrong strategy in fight MTR in West Virginia. It is my opinion that you guys come off as a bunch of terrorists and whackos by your direct action compaign against Massey and the whole system. My advice is your organization is to try to win the “Hearts and Mines” of the local residents in the local area. Massey is doing this with their commercials showing the people a great corporate imagine. The imagine that most people have of you guys are a bunch of pot smoking radicals that are unshaven and looking to unleash anarchy on the world. Clean up your imagine to fit into the community. Besides looking like a bunch of rejects from Berkley CA, try to look like the locals. How many of you have ever attended a local church? Go out and fix some houses for old folks and challenge Massey to do the same.
How about asking some of your medical contacts to come to the area and hold a free medical clinic. Show some concern directly for the people. This is how Kennedy and Jay rockefeller won over the locals as their power base.
Finally, You guys need to read Gen David Petraeus counterinsurgency mannuel on how to win over the local population. It worked in Iraq and can work in Boone County
I don’t care for your politics or goals. However, I admire your courage and willingness to take a stand
@mark
I think that you’re right on a lot of things here. I know my face does get kind of scruffy sometimes and I think it’s really too bad that we come off in such a negative way. I do hope that maybe taking your advice and going to church more often will help. I do try to help out my neighbors when i can, but i wholeheartedly agree that the more often my friends and I could get out into the communities and help people, be it (re)build a house, clean one up, or just cook a big community meal the better.
Also I am really interested in trying to get some sort of free medical training going. I know that I have some contacts with medical experience who potentially could commit some time to coming out and training people in good self/other care tips and/or some other sort of medical training.
Either way i think this would be something that would be really amazing to have happen, and if you have any ideas on how to make that a reality, or other ideas/things that you think would be useful for us to do I would really love it if you could send me and email at david.r.german@gmail.com or mail me a letter [David German P.O. Box 62 Rock Creek, WV 25174] I really appreciate your criticism, I feel like it’s constructive, and I would love to talk to you in detail about how to make some of the ideas you mentioned realities.
I feel like Mark is right about a lot of things here. While protesters have the right idea, (Treesits, civil disobedience, ect.) Some of the methods only encourage people to dismiss groups like CGZ as “Pot smoking hippies looking to unleash anarchy on the world” or worse, label the protesters as terrorists. I believe the monkeywrenching needs to stop. Some of the methods used to protest are over the top, and so the punishment is over the top. If we exibit civil disobedience without damaging equipment, and the over the top punishments continue, we are more likely to get media sympathy. If we destroy equipment, act rude or vulgar, or hurt people, even if it is by accident, we will be made into the enemy.
I feel like we should continue treesits, sitting in front of trucks, and organized peaceful protests to accomplish our goals. I know it will work, mainly because, well, MLK, Ghandi, women trying to vote, I don’t remember any of them wreckng trucks, and they have acheived so much!
Maybe I’m just naive, but it seems like our tactics now aren’t working as well as they could. Maybe it’s time for us to change them.
Edward,
People affiliated with Climate Ground Zero have never committed an act of sabotage or “monkeywrenching” against a coal company. We are strictly nonviolent, and no one in this campaign has been charged or even accused of sabotage. I don’t know where you are getting your information, but we try to be open, honest, and friendly with everyone we encounter. It’s part of the nonviolence trainings that we give here. We have never trashed a truck. Can you point to a concrete example of some action we took that you feel was “over-the-top”?
Not to attack, but to mention, Massey does tremendous work in our communities.
Mat, you call this being open and honest : Keep your car as unmarked as possible. No protest bumper stickers. Blend your appearance in with the community. Baseball caps, plaid shirts, camo. Etc. If possible, carry a video camera with you.
It also goes on to say don’t give your real name if caught on private property. This was found on Mountain Justics Summer’s web site under ” fliers , tools and handouts “. It also sounds condescending like your encouraging a dumbing down if you will of prospective activists to fit in .
Mat, there it is. Ouch!
Plus, the new work shoes I ordered came yedtersay arrived so I wore them today. They’re much more supportive than the old ones, but they hit my foot in different places, so now I have a large, swollen area on each foot above and to the inside of where the laces are. OWW!!! The worst part is I have to put them back on in the morning to go to work. By Monday I’ll be fine, but tomorrow is gonna be a bitch!