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In a grand and futile gesture to halt the expansion of agricultural business into the world's remaining rainforests, several protesters scaled the Chicago Board of Trade building and unfurled a banner this morning. The result? A bit of publicity and a trip to the police station.
Five protesters are being held for criminal trespassing, reckless conduct and criminal damage to property. By the time police and medics arrived on the scene to remove them from their perch, the activists had climbed to the 23rd floor of the 45-floor building. The 50-foot banner was an attempt to draw attention to and hopefully to "halt agribusiness expansion in the rain forests of South America, Southeast Asia and the Pacific," according to the protesters.
A Tribune video clip of the incident shows several surprisingly bored-looking passersby, and the well-equipped activists climbing the wall. The banner was a little difficult to read what with all the moving and wind, but it basically called out agricultural processing companies ADM, Bunge and Cargill.
The banner-hangers are members of the Rainforest Action Network, who ran a full-page ad in yesterday's Trib, which read in part:
ADM, Bunge and Cargill are driving climate change by having rainforests slashed and burned to make way for massive biofuel crop plantations. Not only does this intensify global warming, it also threatens endangered species like the orangutan, displaces family farmers, and exploits Indigenous communities. Why would they do this? They’ll tell you they’re making the world a better place. But they’re really just making a buck.
Image by Carlos J Ortiz.
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I'll bet that the criminal damage charge will disappear by the time they get to court.
Exactly how is the building's owner going to prove damage except by send its own people climbing the walls & documenting it.
The cops & state's attorney's office love to overcharge people in the hope that they will plead guilty to a lower charge.
As for the reckless conduct charge, if these guys are expert climbers, it's not reckless, idiotic, but not reckless!
A respectable endeavor which served it's purpose to spread awareness.
uremindme; or, did further damage to itself. Pulling such stunts often does the exact opposite and turns people off from such organizations.
It's not just one banner and then we're done, of course ... RAN (Rainforest Action Network) is launching a whole campaign to force ADM, Cargill and Bunge to change their business practices.
http://ran.org/what_we_do/rainforest_agribusiness/
We've signed policies with some of the world's largest corporations already. When we drop a banner, our targets pay attention.
Guest 1: I don't think that's so. I find some protest tactics lame, but this is an appropriate target, location and action. They weren't going to be allowed in the building to discuss these things, were they? So they brought the message to the people on their way to work for whom these ideas are not often presented.
meh
The people the protesters were presenting the 'ideas' to aren't the type to jump on the climb-a-building-and-fly-a-banner type of organization bandwagon.
And as far as those ideas not often being presented to those same people; I highly doubt one single person passing by had never heard that rainforests undergo destruction from corporations.
In a grand and futile gesture to preserve the noble poverty of those cute indigenous people...
RE: In a grand and futile gesture to preserve the noble poverty of those cute indigenous people...
Uh huh. RAN actually partners with Indigenous communities to defend their rights. Ask them if they feel they'd be better off as slave laborers on a palm plantation.
If by partner you mean, show up, make a deal with the chief who's power is threatened by change, then send out a press release, then absolutely.
Why not let the locals decide what they want to do instead? Oh wait, that's because they seem to be deciding in favor of economic development. Better break out the "slavery" slur. You know what: poverty sucks. Wages are low and work is hard in agricultural commodity production. The fact that people choose it tells you something about the dearth of alternatives.
In 20 years rural Brazil will be rich enough to get into conservation for the same reason we do. Either that, or they'll be deliberately underdeveloped by well meaning activists from rich countries acting out their save the world fantasies.
If you think you know better how to develop Indigenous peoples' land than they do, by all means, apply for a job at ADM.
Guest 10
Mind if I take that one step further? let’s start with our narrow Dorr who grandly opined with "In a grand and futile gesture to halt the expansion of agricultural business into the world's remaining rainforests"
Maybe she would grace us with what she would do, then perhaps the rest of you deep critical thinkers on world activisism might consider putting down your Red Eye News Journals of popular thought, turning off your reality TV or what ever foot ball or base ball game your watching and explain the real course of action to take. But don't worry you have time, because Dorr needs to
Now personally would I engage in such a tactic? Probably not. But it certainly is a step above wasting a gazillion dollars of tax payers dollars
on police protection at yet another Liberal Radial Chic Urban Out Fitted stupid march to "end the war" with some weak liberal Congressmouse like Jan Schakowsky there rally the troops into thinking they actually did something, right attending a Daley Fundraiser with her felon husband.
Big ups too you Rainforest Action Network. Its good to see some one ready to take a stand by taking a risk, when most can't even speak boldy, and tell then honest truth about what’s going on, let alone act
Futile? Rainforest Action Network just launched its campaign against these companies yesterday. This isn't an isolated act. We've won campaigns in the past against some pretty unlikely targets. So in this case the author's cynicism about activism isn't just nihilistic; it's inaccurate. Even if the action were futile, I still think the people who literally risked their lives to make their voices heard on behalf of the planet and people they don't even know are pretty inspiring. (And by the way, the climbers weren't charged with criminal damage to property.)
Cameron, RAN
How interesting that the paper they used for the banner no doubt came from a tree which had to be cut down in order for it to be manufactured.
What's next, bringing back Magic Johnson to teach me how to avoid getting HIV? Or maybe Michael Vick can teach me how to be nice to dogs.
Hello all of you from the too-clever-half department ...
(1) Banners are not made from paper.
(2) Telling people about global warming creates excess exhalation of carbon dioxide! What hypocrisy!
These are regrettably familiar politics but we're not interested in repeating such mistakes. Neither is it in our best interests to do so. Divisive politics are short-lived but consensus-based solutions last.
Check out our recent work with First Nations in Canada for a sense of our track record. -Brant (RAN)
Looks like you folks are doing good work. I look forward to seeing future actions in Chicago. Who knows you might wake some of these zombies up
Yes people have heard the rainforests are in danger, but do not all connect the dots between that and agri-business and the fact that it's being subsidized via the Farm Bill by the U.S. Government.
And is it really the case that locals are deciding the fate of their environs or do they have no realistic choices? Is ADM putting the vote to the villagers or the local and often corrupt governments of south and central america?
Because a person chooses to not think about these things or change their behavior doesn't give them carte blance to malign those who would attempt a change in the practices of multi-national corporations and the governments that support them.