The Dangerous allure of Monkey Wrenching

It was fun when Edward Abbey wrote about it. Monkey wrenching. Throwing a big ole monkey wrench into the wheels of progress to preserve land we love. But beneath it all, violence is violence. And the deeply annoying thing about the latest apparent incident of ecoterrorism and the attention it is drawing is that in the long run it does absolutely no good, only damage. Damage to the homeowners, damage to the environmental movement. It reinforces the image of wild eyed tree huggers. As I get older, I realize that life really is compromise. Can't save this wetland? Fight as hard as you can, and then move on. You will win some, you will lose some. But fight the war to win. The Maryland case will literally be a pyrric victory. A few homes that shouldn't be where they are will be burned. But they'll be back. And the real victims will be people who care about the environment.