Anarchists claim responsibility for "green" housing project set on fire last Monday
The town home set ablaze on Feb. 25 was under construction at 24th and Norman in Seattle's Central District.
On Sunday, a statement posted on pugetsoundanarchists.org briefly explained how "Some Anarchists" pulled off the arson with "ease" and went on to outline their motives.
The author(s) claimed the attack was primarily a move to curb "sustainable development":
Sustainable development is a disease that makes us sick. By furthering gentrification and ecological destruction, these buildings dress disaster up as progress, promising a 'green' future that will never be.
"Sustainable development" is a term first coined in the 1970s to describe centralized planning coordinated with private developers to encourage human populations to live in dense, walkable urban areas in order to reduce "carbon footprints" and "climate change."
Although many anarchists are environmental activists, it is not uncommon for them to be against such centrally-planned environmental programs.
In fact, ecolibertarians, often left-wing anarchists, are environmentalists who feel the government creates the environmental crises they purport to be fighting against.
According to Regina Cochrane of University of Calgary, "ecolibertarians insist that the centralized control exercised by nation-states constitutes a causal factor in, rather than a useful response to, the environmental crisis."
Cochrane continues, "Eco-anarchists, in general, advocate a polyculture, politics and production oriented around increasing local self-sufficiency and ecoregional integrity."
However, opposition to sustainable development doesn't come only from the anarchist community.
Perhaps the most well-known push against sustainable development comes from those opposed to U.N. Agenda 21, a United Nations-led campaign to impose "smart growth" around the world in coordination with its local arm ICLEI, the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives.
ICLEI currently operates around the world and in 49 states in the U.S., including Washington. In fact, Seattle, an ICLEI member city, was voted third "Most Sustainable" in 2006.
However, the anarchists' attack was about more than sustainable development according to their statement.
It was also a protest against the "status quo" and a sign of solidarity with the Grand Jury Resisters detained to admittedly "coerce" them into revealing information about the Northwest anarchist community.
Our attack was just one more opportunity to joyously reject the status quo. It was another attempt to shed the subjugated subjectivity forced upon us by Capital[ism] and the State. We act against civil society and its attempts at domestication. F*** that s***.
Solidarity with Maddy, Kerry and all the silent ones facing repression with the Federal Grand Jury. We will not cower in fear. We will not remain docile in the face of State terror.
It is likely the arson was committed by some of the same anarchists that recently removed and destroyed 17 surveillance cameras in the Puget Sound region, as the statements were released on the same website with solidarity for the GJRs as a shared motive.
According to the Seattle Fire Department, the fire caused $30,000 worth of damage. Though the building was unoccupied, embers from the fire fell on a neighboring roof. No one was injured.
Note: Image retrieved from Central District News: http://www.centraldistrictnews.com/2013/03/fire-that-burned-townhouses-a...
Emilie Rensink writes about civil liberties, counter-terrorism, cyber-security and political activism. Subscribe to get her articles delivered to your inbox.
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