Ecoterrorism?

What is ecoterrorism? For an act to qualify as ecoterrorism, don't you have to terrorize somebody? Isn't that the name of the game?

I ask because these "ecoterrorists" who burned these giant homes north of Seattle today are going to face charges far beyond regular arson. I'm not really defending burning giant homes, or SUV dealerships, or blowing up bridges in a classic Ed Abbey kind of way. Although I really don't care when rich people lose all their possessions. Anyway, burning empty homes in not terrorism. Burning SUVs in a car dealership is not terrorism. The Earth Liberation Front and other fringe environmental organizations engaging in such actions have been careful not to hurt anyone.

But they sure scare the hell out of the authorities. The overreaction to these burnings is pretty outstanding. I mean, no one was actually living in these homes. And the only people who lost money was the insurance companies.

If you go to the Oklahoma City Memorial, there is a interactive computer screen where you can touch different states and see what kind of "terrorist" acts have taken place there. There is hardly anything about weirdo right-wing people or organizations like Ruby Ridge and the Freedmen. And there is virtually nothing on racism. But there sure are a lot of these supposed ecoterrorist attacks. Oooh, I know I am scared. Could a bunch of hippies come set fire to my Honda Civic? Will I be able to sleep tonight?

But then, the Bush administration has chosen to define terrorism any way it wants to. Is the US raining bombs down on the Iraqi people terrorism? No, of course not. We are giving them freedom! Yet burning a bunch of empty gigantic homes is terrorism. Totally and completely absurd.

And just to be clear, I have had real problems with the more radical environmental groups for a very long time. I'm not saying engaging in these actions is a good thing. In fact, it is totally meaningless. But to say they are terrorists is to define the word to the point of irrelevance.