Save the Redwoods/Boycott the Gap
Boycott the Gap: ONE MINUTE TO MIDNIGHT!
Posted by Mary Bull (chalicenew@earthlink.net)
Thursday, May 25, 2000
Forest Defenders Across the Land!
There has been a HORRENDOUS ESCALATION in the number and size of timber
harvest plans filed in Mendocino County as a result of the “Option A” plans
recently approved by the CA Dept of Deforestation (an Option A plan is a
loophole that gives timber companies CARTE BLANCHE to take any and all the
trees they want, without regard for sustainability, the environment, or
accountability to anyone). Meanwhile, Hurwitz/MAXXAM has been logging old
growth in Humboldt County and they are scheduled to begin logging the HOLE
IN HEADWATERS next week...
It's truly ONE MINUTE TO MIDNIGHT for our coast redwood forest.
OUR RESPONSE??? We are considering EVERYTHING--from an International REDWOOD BOYCOTT (please enter this discussion--see below!) to SUING GRAY DAVIS for BREACH of his CAMPAIGN PROMISE to stop the logging of old growth (there IS a statute!)!!! Of course, WE ARE PLANNING A SERIES OF KNOCK-DOWN, DRAG-OUT DEMOS against the FISHERS of GAP, Inc and GRAY DAVIS, for which we NEED YOUR HELP!!! EVERYONE must get ACTIVE to stop this DECIMATION! ...In this newsletter and call to action:
-Jun 3, SF: ***KICKOFF DEMO AGAINST THE FISHERS of GAP, INC!!!***
-Jun 7-10, SF: COALITION ACTIONS against the GAP FISHERS!
-Jul 11 (?), Ukiah: DEMO AGAINST BOARD OF DEFORESTATION!
-Jul (TBA): THE WIZARD OF SACTO ACTION!!!!
-Aug 14-17, LA: DNC 2000: They Ain't What Democracy Looks Like!
-Sep 26, Prague: IMF/World Bank Protests!
-Arraignment of the Citizens Board of Forestry: Quick Update!
-Civil Rights Challenge to Sacto County Jail Strip Search!
-Mother's Day Gap Action: Report-Back!
-May Day Celebration: Mini Report!
-Letter-writing Tips!
***For group discussion of an International Redwood Boycott, the Gap Boycott
Campaign, and other related topics, please join the NO COMPROMISE egroup by
going to www.egroups.com, searching for the email group name, and
joining!***
***EAST COAST ACTIVISTS--THIS JUST IN: May 27, Brooklyn: Old Navy Demo!
1-4PM. Atlantic Ctr, 625 Atlantic Ave, Brooklyn. Take the 2, 3, 4, or Q to
Atlantic Avenue or the B or R to Pacific Ave. Walk down Hansen Place (away
fromFlatbush) 2 blocks toward Atlantic Avenue Shopping Center . Walk the
length of the Center to the Old Navy on Atlantic Avenue. Join Wetlands
Preserve and Redwood Mary for what's bound to be a great action!!!***
Jun 3, SF: ***KICKOFF DEMO AGAINST THE GAP FISHERS!!!***
**************************************************************************
With the Gap Fishers we have the unique opportunity to save OVER A QUARTER
OF A MILLION ACRES of redwood forestland through public pressure—namely a
boycott of their stores, which we launched in November of 98 and which is
reaching CRITICAL MASS!
THE JUNE 3RD DEMO is the first in a series of INTENSE PROTESTS culminating
in our WIZARD OF SACTO Action, designed to shame GRAY DAVIS and elicit
support for the redwoods from Californians everywhere! THE BBC WILL BE
FILMING the JUNE 3RD DEMO for their three-minute INTERNATIONAL SPOT on the
GAP BOYCOTT CAMPAIGN. This spot could potentially add tremendous PRESSURE to the FISHERS to stop their exploitation of people and the environment.
On June 3rd, the Fisher Family will be having a PICNIC on one of their GIANT OLD GROWTH REDWOOD STUMPS in front of their Gap flagship store!!! Join TWELVE DANCING REDWOODS as they provide the chorus for "A FISHER FAMILY PICNIC"--a skit illustrating the history of Fisher Family Exploitation and ending with a TWIST I think you'll like! ...Don't you want to hear John and Bob Fisher SING the great Monty Python tune, "I'm a Lumberjack and I'm OK!" with modified lyrics?! That's just part of the fun!
TIME and PLACE--a Gap flagship off Union Square in SF--TBA shortly. Contact
me to help with the preps or to BE A TREE (!): 415-731-7924. Otherwise, look
for the announcement and PLEASE BE THERE--for the redwoods and workers
rights!
Jun 7-10, SF: COALITION ACTIONS against THE GAP FISHERS!
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We're organizing a series of coalition actions against the Fishers of the
Gap!!! To be part of the organizing team, please attend the meeting at
Global Exchange tonight at 7:00 PM. 2017 Mission (at 16th). For our part, we
plan to do the CUBE DANCE and the "WE'D RATHER WEAR NOTHING..." action at Banana Republic on either the 9th or the 10th, and we plan to be part of the CULMINATING ACTION on the 10th.
If you've never had the THRILL of being a CUBE or the JOY of STRIPPING in
downtown San Francisco, VOLUNTEER NOW (remember, nudity is optional--you can
express your support for redwoods, workers rights, and for public things --
like schools, media, and national park -- to remain public FULLY CLOTHED)!
IT'S GOING TO BE BOTH POWERFUL & FUN, So JOIN US!!!
Jul 11 (?), Ukiah: DEMO AGAINST BOARD OF FORESTRY!
********************************************************************
The Board of Deforestation is scheduled to meet in Ukiah in
July--tentatively July 11th. Though these AUTOMATONS have proven time and
again to be mere PUPPETS under the control of GRAY DAVIS and his checkbook
politics, WE STILL PLAN TO BE THERE TO GIVE THEM HELL and maybe shake some
life into them!!! Exact time and place TBA.
Jul (TBA): THE WIZARD OF SACTO ACTION!!!!
******************************************************
Unfortunately our Governor prefers campaign contributions from Big Timber
over upholding CA and federal environmental law and far more than keeping
his campaign promises, such as the one to stop the logging of old growth.
The ARROGANCE of this PUBLIC SERVANT is ASTOUNDING, and we plan to
SHAME him AGAIN, and AGAIN, and AGAIN.
THIS ACTION IS GOING TO BE SO SWEET! We hope these adored characters who
have reached mythical heights in the human heart will capture the Public's
imagination once more--this time on their MISSION to SACTO... At the BIG
PRESS CONFERENCE before their departure from San Francisco, down the
YELLOW-BRICK FREEWAY to Sacto, we find out that DOROTHY and her cute little
dog, COHO, just want to go home to the redwood forest, but trees are
crashing everywhere around them there! The SCARECROW, the TIN MAN, & the
COWARDLY LION want to impart a BRAIN, a HEART, and some COURAGE to Wizard
DAVIS (just a skinny old man behind a curtain, after all)...
However, if that doesn't work, the MAYOR of MUNCHKINLAND has a GIANT (12
feet X 12 Feet) SACK 'O MONEY for DAVIS on a flatbed trailer parked right
outside the STATE CAPITOL!!!! ("Is this enough, Wizard Davis?! Is this
enough MONEY?! NOW will you enforce environmental law??? NOW will you keep
our campaign promise??? NOW WILL YOU STOP THE LOGGING OF OLD GROWTH?!")
All the characters, including DOZENS OF MUNCHKINS plan to march right up to
GRAY's Office and present him with HUNDREDS of CHECKS made out for
$1--CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS for the Forest! We literally want to paper his
office with checks!
So, ...WE NEED MUNCHKINS & CHECKS for $1 made out to Gray Davis! To
volunteer, contact me: 415-731-7924 chalicenew@earthlink.net. Send checks to 252
Frederick Street, SF, CA 94117.
Aug 14-17, LA: The DNC Ain't What Democracy Looks Like!
******************************************************************
As most of you know by now, all the evil bills that we were trying to stop
passed: PNTR for China (when 75% of the American People were not in favor of
this!!!), NAFTA in Africa and the Caribbean, a name change for the SOA, and
so on!
***WE NO LONGER HAVE A PARTY FOR THE PEOPLE!!! We Have Two Parties for
Corporations and the Handful of Investors that Profit From Them!!!!!***
SRBG plans to take an affinity group to L.A.--if you want to be part of
it--PLEASE JOIN US for an unforgettable experience in EMPOWERMENT!!!! Our
PLAN is to RECLAIM Our GOVERNMENT from the Corporations, fight for
environmental and social justice, and DEMO AGAINST the GAP and Gray Davis
(who has a house down there, I'm told--HOW BOUT A WAKE UP CALL?)!!! Exactly
how we will go about this is up to the GROUP!!! JOIN US!
Sep 26, Prague: IMF/World Bank Protests!
************************************************
CORPORATE ECONOMIC GLOBALIZATION, coupled with THAT
UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF BEING is drawing us to EASTERN EUROPE!!!!
YES, ALREADY A COUPLE OF US plan to go to join our radical, WONDERFUL Fellow Activists in PRAGUE, where the IMF and World Bank are next scheduled to meet! The "Eastern Block" is a third-world country to these institutions--and the residents have experienced the POVERTY that has resulted from IMF & WB policies.
Arraignment of the Citizens Board of Forestry: Quick Update!
*******************************************************************
The group calling themselves the Citizens Board of Forestry, who were
arrested for speaking the truth for over three minutes at the Board of
Forestry hearing on March 14, after hilarious demos in the street mocking
Gray Davis's checkbook politics and his sell-out of the environment, were
arraigned last Monday (see www.gapsucks.org for pics and articles on the
March 14 protest). Their arraignment will continue next Friday, Jun 2. KPFA
and AP have been covering the event. Please stand-by for what you can do to
help these intrepid Crusaders for the Forest!
Civil Rights Challenge to Sacto County Jail Strip Search!
**************************************************************
As many of you know, after the March 14 action, those arrested were
subjected to a vile violation of our 4th Amendment rights in the Sacto
County Jail. A terrific civil rights attorney, Mark Merin of Sacramento
(Mark was at Attica, Wounded Knee, and recently won a suit that eradicated
the use of the choke chain from San Quentin) has taken up the challenge on
our behalf.
Evidently, the strip search is just the tip of the iceberg of human rights
abuses being perpetrated by the sadistic guards at Sacto County Jail: DENNIS
BERNSTEIN of KPFA Flashpoints fame called me to say he was doing an in-depth
expose of abuses at this jail. He told me about documented incidents of
HORRIFYING CRUELTY, a logical escalation of the treatment we received in
that jail (see March 29 newsletter posted at www.gapsucks.org ).
On the heels of all this, Amnesty International issued a report to the UN
stating that Institutionalized Cruelty in the U.S. is on the rise. If anyone
wants a copy of the news article, contact me.
As our civil suit against the Sacto County Jail matures, we hope to get
Anti-Prison-Industrial activists--especially youths of color--on board!!!
Mother's Day Gap Action: Report-Back!
********************************************
A MOTHER'S DAY ACTION FOR MOTHER EARTH
AND SWEATSHOP MOTHERS EVERYWHERE
The action that the Save the Redwoods - Boycott the Gap Campaign (SRBG)
pulled off on Saturday, May 13, was nothing less than an AWESOME and
MIRACULOUS TOUR DE FORCE!
Starting with the CONCEPTION -- hatched three weeks ago at the A16
report-back at Cell Space in San Francisco by SRBG Core Group members....
...Followed by the REMOVAL of this MAGNIFICENT STUMP through the
AWESOME efforts of two wonderful Mendocino activists: Equipped with
chainsaw, jack, winch, shovel, make-shift ramp, rollers (logs), and
DAUNTLESS HEARTS, they got this two-foot cross-section -- OVER FIVE FEET in
DIAMETER and weighing ~700 LBS.!!! -- of an old-growth (over 200 years)
redwood (cut under protest and then discarded as too difficult to mill by
the Gap Fisher logging company) into the SRBG truck!!! LET'S HEAR IT FOR
MENDOCINO ACTIVISTS -- especially these GREAT RESOURCEFUL FOREST MEN!!!...
...Followed by the BORING of the ARM HOLES: We decided that, rather than
locking around the stump, it would be more powerful and beautiful to LOCK
INTO it (WE ARE THE FOREST!!!). It took MARK and me ALL DAY to find a drill
bit (BIG--4" diameter) and extension to do this! WHAT AN ADVENTURE!
Everywhere we went, the STUMP in the back of the pick-up created an ABSOLUTE
SENSATION! Everyone was IRRESISTIBLY ATTRACTED TO IT, from wonderful
old-timey San Franciscans running tool rental shops South of Market (alas!
these are an endangered species, too, being run out by developers) to the
diners at the place we had lunch!... Boring the holes was a feat in itself:
it took several hours and both of us to keep the MONSTER DRILL from kicking
out of control...
...Followed by the TRANSPORTING of the stump to the Banana Republic: KUDOS
to the INTREPID STUMP TRANSPORT TEAM -- JOHN, CAROLYN, TODD, LON,
& ROSIBEL, under the brilliant direction -- brains and muscle -- of MARK,
greenbuilder extraordinaire!!! This involved lifting the stump from the
truck, putting it onto a cart, wheeling the cart into a trailer, taking it
out of the trailer, carting it up the street to B.R., and lifting it off the
cart onto the (hollow!) sidewalk in front of the store! **And remember that
all the while everything had to be done INCOGNITO to AVOID Discovery and
possible ARREST!** WHEW!!! This was accomplished with the help of a pulley,
a winch, and four upright dollies.
At first, we didn't know what to expect: Could we lift it at all? Could we
control it? Would the stump fly off the cart and go careening through the
plate glass windows of Banana Republic???? There were many hair-raising (and
body-raising--Lon and I were catapulted from our dollies a couple of times
during the lowering process) moments, such as when the stump fell off the
cart in the middle of Grant Street at 8 AM! ...But by the end of the day, we
were old hands at STUMP-HANDLING -- we carted that incredible piece of
redwood from one flagship store to another -- again, causing an absolute
SENSATION: PEOPLE are simply ENTHRALLED by the GRANDEUR of the SEQUOIA, if
only a modest cross-section! -- down the middle of the street, with a POLICE
ESCORT!!!...
...To the ACTION itself: Once we deposited it in front of B.R., people began
to flock over! We -- MARK, ROSIBEL, LON, and I -- immediately locked down.
The action was made all the more WONDERFUL through the efforts and presence
of these other **G-R-E-A-T** ACTIVISTS: MARGOT for the Mother's Day banner
("Fishers of Gap, Inc, A Mother's Day Gift for Mother Earth: Stop
Logging!"), MARY PJ for the press release, and our WONDERFUL FO-FO and CORE
GROUP ACTIVISTS -- including Jean (our terrific photographer, responsible
for most of the great pics at our web site), Chad, Sam, Steve, Deana, Tara,
Ryan, Moira, Pablo, Aaron, Amy, Alex, Dax, Victoria, Andrea, Thrush,
Quentin, Mike M, Amaya, Raven, Sarah, Joseph, Yvette, Rachel, Sprite, and
Mike S. -- who donned funny costumes (our foam trees & SRBG sashes and
shirts from A16), sang and danced their hearts out, leafleted and educated
the public, and even managed to convince a Banana Republic employee to QUIT
ON THE SPOT and join FoFo!!! LET'S GIVE IT UP FOR THESE INCREDIBLE
ACTIVISTS!!!!
We sang and danced to "We Are Family!" (many times over with the help of
Sister Sledge on the boom box) with slightly modified lyrics: "All People,
wildlife and trees! ...We are family! There's no room for meanness and
greed!" We also sang "Old Man Fisher" (from May Day), and "Springtime for
Davis and Forestry" (from the March 14 action in Sacto). SAM led us in his
fun anti-Gap song. STEVE, DEANA, and others also spoke and led CHANTS.
At about 12 noon, we released ourselves from the stump and marched down the
middle of the street WITH THE STUMP and a POLICE ESCORT to the Gap flagship
at Powell and Market for another demo --the tourists LOVED it!-- and to
intercept the INCREDIBLE MUMIA MARCH -- many thousands of people rallying
for an end to the death penalty, institutionalized racism, and social
injustice!!!
The COPS, by the way, decided to be completely BENIGN, much to the media's
chagrin! There were no arrests, which was a pleasant surprise for us. WHAT A
DAY!!! It was recorded by the media: photo and story in the SF Chron Sunday
paper--front page of Metro, KPFA, KGO TV, the San Diego Union Tribune, among
others.
May Day Celebration: Mini Report!
**************************************
Between 1 and 2 thousand people gathered to celebrate May Day in Justin
Herman Plaza on Monday, May 1st. Please visit our web site for GREAT PICS of
this JOYOUS OCCASION, one of the highlights of which was the INFERNAL NOISE
BRIGADE (alias "Anarchist Marching Band"), who came all the way from Seattle
to lead our PARADE!!! It was great to see them in their summer uniforms
(unfortunately their drum majorette was recuperating from broken limbs).
What a group--they were STUPENDOUS: ALL HEART, NO ATTITUDE, despite their
utterly cool style!!! Please visit www.gapsucks.org for more on this
wonderful event.
Letter-writing Tips!
*********************
Soon we are going to put up a Letters Page at our web site for people to
take a form letter and personalize it and email it, quickly and easily from
the site! The personalization step is important: On April 14, we met with a
legislative assistant to our US Senator, Dianne Feinstein, who told us that
a personal letter to Congresspeople is far more forceful than a form letter,
and that email is just as effective as a snail-mail letter, and that both
are more effective than a phone call!
Remember, when personalizing your letter, it is important to emphasize your
role as an "opinion-maker," i.e., mention the groups you head or belong to
and so on. This gives them more weight.
In the meantime, I will continue to write letters to my reps and blind-cc
the portions of our network to whom they apply (such as everyone in the US
when it pertains to a federal bill/issue or everyone in CA when it pertains
to a state bill/issue).
_________________________________
This campaign is ESCALATING -- WE ARE reaching CRITICAL MASS! And the
Fishers are FEELING IT in plummeting Gap profits. They CANNOT ignore the
WILL OF THE PEOPLE!!! They will eventually do the right thing. WE WILL NOT
STOP until the Fishers put this forestland into a conservation land trust
and they start treating their workers with respect and paying them a living
wage -- or until every shopping man, woman, and child equates the Gap,
Banana Republic, and Old Navy logos with outrageous environmental
destruction and human misery. May they be an example to ALL the CORPORATE
DESPOILERS -- such as HAWTHORN and HURWITZ!!!
PLEASE Help Stop the Final Decimation of Our Redwood Forests: Contact me to
be part of one or more of these protests or find out what you can do to
promote the Gap boycott and an end to redwood deforestation!
With many thanks!
Mary Bull
Save the Redwoods/Boycott the Gap Campaign
252 Frederick Street, San Francisco, CA 94117
chalicenew@earthlink.net 415-731-7924 www.gapsucks.org
_________________________________________
Other Contacts/Information Sources:
----------------------------
Mary Pjerrou, Redwood Coast Watersheds Alliance
707-877-3405 pirohuck@mcn.org www.elksoft.com/gwa
----------------------------
Mark Hilovsky, Builders Action Network
415-550-6850 mhilo@aol.com
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Gap Labor Exploitation URLs:
http://sweatshops@globalexchange.org
http://www.globalexchange.org
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/1999/01/14
/MN19190.DTL
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/1999/01/20
/MN49132.DTL
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/1999/01/22
/MN49806.DTL
http://www.house.gov/resources/105cong/democrat/cnmifin.html#contractlabor
----------------------------
"God bless the Ground! I shall walk softly there..."
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