Copyright 1995 The New York Times Company
The New York Times
May 3, 1995, Wednesday, Late Edition - Final
SECTION: Section A; Page 22; Column 6; Editorial Desk
LENGTH: 200 words
HEADLINE: Anarchists Disavow The Tactics of Terror
BODY:
To the Editor:
The so-called Unabomber's evocation of "anarchism" and "radical environmentalism" is deluded (excerpts from letter, April 26).
Emma Goldman and Alexander Berkman, on whose shoulders all contemporary anarchists stand, grappled with the tactics of assassination and terror a century ago. Most anarchists have long since decided that you can't blow up a social relationship. Many are committed to the principles of nonviolence.
Indeed, nonviolent radical environmentalists have been targets of terrorism, as Earth First's Judi Bari was when a car bomb left her disabled for life in 1990.
Terrorism inherently lends itself to authoritarianism and elitism, which are antithetical to anarchism. Unfortunately, because of the prevailing double standard, anarchists are likely to be demonized in the wake of the irresponsible FC adventurism. Of course, the violence of retail terrorist outfits like FC pales in comparison to that of wholesale terrorist organizations like the Democrats and Republicans, with their endless wars. BILL WEINBERG Brooklyn, April 26, 1995 The writer is a member of Neither East Nor West, which supports former Soviet bloc opposition groups.