Requiem for an activist
by sonya hammond
At a point in time when it would almost seem that nothing could further outrage us, suddenly and pointlessly something does.
With the whine of a foulmouthed logger's chain saw, a redwood tree crashes where it should not, felling another tree and with it a young man who had put his life on the line to protest the clear-cutting of residual ancient forest on Pacific Lumber Company land. On September 17, within minutes, activist David 'Gypsy' Chain, 24 years old, lay dying with a crushed skull, the victim of what appears to be a deliberate campaign of violence toward environmental activists.
Pacific Lumber Company, logging its way through Grizzly Creek Redwoods State Park in northern California, immediately published a press release, expressing sadness at the tragic "accident", and maintaining that their work crew had no knowledge of the "trespasser's" existence, his identity, or how he happened to be on their property.
"The crew did not see anyone in the area. All of the customary safety precautions were taken. And the workers were not aware that anyone had been injured."
The following day, John Campbell, President and CEO of Pacific Lumber Company called on environmental groups to "stop endangering their members' lives in the wake of an accident in which a protester was killed by a falling tree on PALCO property ... this was a shattering experience for our work crews ..."
At a September 18 press conference, EarthFirst! released a video tape taken by activists at Grizzly Creek on the day of 'Gypsy's' death. It contradicted without question the contention by both Pacific Lumber and the Humboldt County Sheriff's office [a department currently being sued in federal court by EarthFirst! activists whose eyes were swabbed with pepper spray last year during a nonviolent sit-in] that David Chain's death was an accident.
A complete transcription of the video tape documents the exchange between nonviolent activists and the hostile loggers who confronted them, including the violent and threatening verbal attack of the logger [identified only as 'AE'] responsible for felling the tree that killed David Chain.
A portion of the tape, from which no expletives have been deleted, follows:
AR: "Get the fuck out of here! You've got me hot enough now to fuck!"
Activist: "We don't want to cause you any problems."
AE: "You already have! So get out of here you cock suckers! I mean it!"
[After a further exchange between 'AE' and the activists, 'AE' becomes even more angry, threatening ...]
AF: "Get outta here! Otherwise I'll fuckin', I'll make sure I got a tree comin' this way ... Ohhhh, fuck! I wish I had my fuckin' pistol! I guess I'm gonna just start packin' that motherfucker in here 'cause I can only be nice so fuckin' long. Go get my saw, I'm gonna start fallin' into this fuckin' draw!"
Shortly after this exchange, the activist was chased out of the area by a logger and falling trees.
Nonviolent activists who were present in the forest when David Chain was killed, verified that the loggers were aware of their presence, since they had engaged them in conversation throughout the day. The protesters were using a technique called 'cat and mouse' in which forest defenders confront a logging crew, engage them in dialogue, and urge them to stop cutting. Often the aim is simply to make loggers aware that there are humans in the immediate vicinity, which typically causes the fallers to stop cutting because of the risk of injury.
They reported that the logger who felled the tree that killed David Chain had repeatedly threatened them with violence, chased them, and purposely felled other trees in their direction, causing them to run for their lives. They also pointed out that 'Gypsy's' death was not an isolated incident of violence ... in the last several months, trees had been intentionally fallen at nonviolent activists at the Luna tree sit and in the Mattole watershed in Humboldt county.
EarthFirst! activists who witnessed the tragic death of David Chain will cooperate with a full investigation into the incident and its causes. A memorial is planned, and EarthFirst! will continue to protest Pacific Lumber's illegal logging in Grizzly Creek in David 'Gypsy' Chain's name.
It is not a name that should soon be forgotten.
©sonya hammond, 1998