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Mitsubishi & Haiku



>Sir,
> You may be missing the point...........(not a personal attack)..........the
>buyer
>is never the problem. If Mitsubishi is gone tomorrow ,another will take
>it's place. Totally misdirected energy but......personally satisfying.I would
>almost...........put money on it that you are under 35 years of age.


"Mister Ken",

Tim Keating, here. I apologize for putting this on BurmaNet, but
the issue was raised here (your posting was to the net, not private)
, and I would like to also comment on Mr. Tanaka's arguments.

Although I wholeheartedly agree that the demand must be cut in order 
for the forests to be saved (in fact, that is my reason for living, 
and also my main point of contention with the movement as a 
whole), I humbly submit that you, too have missed an 
important point. (Truly, no personal attack meant). 

I believe that attacks on the "buyer" are necessary
AND effective: 

1) by shaming or otherwise making less profitable one buyer,
one discourages others from venturing into similar waters;

2) most often it is actions on the part of the corporate raiders that "enable"
the locals to sell. Perhaps this is not the situation in Thailand, but 
Mitsubishi 
logging 24-hrs/day by floodlights on land traditionally used by the Penan 
is more indicative of the norm. The Penan were not out to sell anything, and
would not conceive of doing so, with or without Mitsubishi. In effect, this
corporation invaded land that did not belong to it, under the guise
of the local (Sarawak) and national (Malaysian) governments -- not the 
people residing in the forests at all.

The Lubicon, Penan and many other forest area dwellers are NOT selling their
resources. They are being forcibly taken.

Over and over we see peoples taking over other peoples' resources and land.
Whether it be oil under the surface of Ogoniland, Nigeria or Hauorani territory,
Ecuador, or gold in the rivers of Yanomami-habitated Amazonia, there is a
dual causality: demand for the materials and products of the destruction, and
the profit motive that drives the production. Neither of these should go 
unaddressed. We must employ ALL tactics available to us.

If people are offended, they have started the war, not us. By this, I do not 
mean
Mr. Tanaka, who, I believe has responded to something based on feelings
regarding tactics, and this I find quite honorable -- but I do mean 
Mitsubishi and other destructive corporations, and all their enablers and co-
conspirators, such as the people who continue to consume one or two 
pairs of disposable chopsticks a day, wear gold or use oil or its by-products 
(as I do -- yes, I too, am involved, but actively seeking to non-participate).

While it is absolutely IMPERATIVE that we completely stigmatize disposable
chopsticks, disposable plywood pouring forms, paneling, hollow-core doors,
pulp and paper made from virgin forests or their replacements, it is also
IMPERATIVE that we stigmatize the "reasoning" and practices of those that
begin and carry out the exploitation.

We must do this any way we are able. I suspect that this is the first Mitsubishi
action that Mr. Tanaka has been witness to. He seems to not know about the 
four years of demonstrations, lock-downs, banner-hangings, letter-writing,
postcards and negotiations that have transpired. He seems not to know that
the idea of using haiku is a new one, simply one more strategy in a long line
of strategies. He seems not to know that the Mitsubishi campaign is not haiku,
but that that is but one arrow in the quiver. He seems not to know that there
has been an on-going worldwide boycott of Mitsubishi products for years.
But that does not invalidate Mr. Tanaka's opinion, merely show the need for
us to work harder. If Mr. Tanaka does not know about these, then that means
there are many others who do not either. We must remedy that.

Even as we CONCURRENTLY create a boycott of every one of the enabling
reasons for Mitsubishi and other timber giants to invade the world's forests.

We must boycott disposable chopsticks, and every restaurant that uses them.
If need be, perhaps we must re-think restaurants in general.

We must boycott paper made from virgin forests, and the plantations 
into which they are turned. If need be, we must rethink paper in general.

We must boycott all mining products from operations that kill forests. If
need be, we must rethink mining.

I humbly suggest we all pick up this torch quickly, while there are still 
forests somewhere in the world. Let's stop pussy-footing around with 
individual targets, when the reality is that overconsumption, the corporate 
construct and capitalism are the real problems. According to the New 
Webster's Dictionary: "cap-i-tal-ism, n.  an economic system in which 
the means of production, distribution and exchange are privately owned 
and operated for private profit." 

After all, what did we expect?

I apologize to Mr. Tanaka, and to all Japanese people, if they were 
offended by my joining in the Haiku d'Etat. However, I do not yet regret 
doing so because Mr. Tanaka's arguments were not convincing. I have 
personally participated in numerous actions aimed at Mitsubishi to 
highlight their shameful practices. I feel I and everyone else using all 
means at our disposal (short of violence) are justified. 

After all, we are all -- the Japanese included -- complicit 
in Mitsubishi's imperialism whenever we use any product of global 
capitalism. If I offend them, I am sorry, but my main concern is 
stopping the senseless slaughter and rape of the Earth and all it 
wondrous life, not whether I offend some in the process. (Please excuse 
me if this is offensive to anyone, but) if your mother and sister were 
being raped and slaughtered before you, how important would it be 
to not offend the rapists?

If, on the other hand, anyone can point out that ANY of these tactics 
are not just offensive, but actually COUNTERPRODUCTIVE, then I will 
listen intently. Nothing Mr. Tanaka has said has convinced me that 
the use of the Haiku D'Etat was counterproductive or ineffectual, 
but merely offensive to some Japanese that are unfamiliar with the 
rest of the Mitsubishi campaign.

I do not believe that the use of poetry is ineffective at shaming 
Mitsubishi just because Mr. Tanaka says so. 

In Burma, the SLORC generals flaunt and appropriate 
Buddhism to achieve their shamelful ends. I feel free to use their 
Buddhism against those ends. If this offended some Buddhists, 
I would apologize to them, and continue.

I think all of us involved in the Mitsubishi campaign would welcome 
ideas for additional arrows to add to our quiver. These strategies 
would be well-considered and perhaps adopted by a large number 
of people participating in the Mitsubishi campaign, as was the use 
of haiku.

"The best way to have a good idea is to have lots of ideas." -- Linus Pauling

Tim Keating
Rainforest Relief
New Jersey/New York City, USA