Cat Bytes - Earth First

Earth First! boot camp
The trainers and trainees
The non-violence code
A bit of history
A soldier's role
A mock confrontation
Jail ... and it's worth it

Training for the Front Lines
A soldier's role

After learning how decisions are made, we learned the different roles Earth First!ers have when carrying out a mission. On the front lines there are two kinds of soldiers - arrestables and non-arrestables. Arrestables are the people who carry out the action and the person who gives them direct support. The direct support person has the duty of feeding and scratching the backs of the blockers, whose hands are locked in boxes. Direct support also has the job of dealing with the cops and loggers when they arrive on the scene.

The other front line soldiers don't go to jail, but they are still important. Runners protect film from being destroyed by the police so Earth First! will have proof of the protesters' conditions at the moment the cops arrive. Drivers are also considered front line because they drive onto private property to drop off the arrestables and pick up the runners.

For every front line action there has to be a group at headquarters that knows the protest is happening. Jail support keeps the list of people getting arrested, holds their identification cards, informs the police of any medical conditions and contacts friends and family of the protesters if that is needed. Legal support works to keep their incarceration to a minimal amount of time and watchdogs the police while they're locked up. A media person informs the press of actions and the reasons behind them.

As a journalist, I thought Sleeper's explanation of why activists on the front lines shouldn't talk to the press both comical and enlightening.

"Reporters will come up to you and try to get you to say the stupidest shit. Like, 'do aliens speak to you and tell you to save the trees?'" I didn't take offense to his characiture of the media because it reminded me of certain TV news reporters whom I also find annoying.