Wednesday, November 17, 2004
Here's an example of leftist-enviro-dickheads.
The 57-year-old former Friends of the Earth activist now works for Rio Tinto and is fielding complaints about another massive project: a proposed mine in Madagascar. The mine would extract 750,000 tons a year of ilmenite, a whitening agent used in paint and toothpaste, for the next 60 years. Mr. Burke champions the economic growth the mine would bring, but his former allies say it could destroy the subsistence lifestyle of largely illiterate villagers who live off the forest and ocean (WSJ 11/17).Destroy the lifestyle by giving them jobs and improving their lives? Who the hell are you to say that these people shouldn't work for a mine? The mine is not forcing them to work, they still have the option of trying to scavenge for food in the forest. Perhaps that is what the villagers want? Oh, I forgot, they are not able to make their own decisions. I wonder if Friends of Earth considers these people closer to children, or to animals, who need their patronizing protection. This is a glaring example of the poorly concealed racism coming from the left. In another context, some "dumb" guy called this "the soft bigotry of low expectations." I personally think he was being kind, but I guess I must be an idiot also. I'd like to force these environmentalists to forage for food in the forest for a couple of months, instead of hanging out in the coffee houses and salons drinking mocha lattes and debating which tribe of people to screw over next.
