mim3@mim.org (Maoist Internationalist Movement) says:
 
I have yet to find any environmental philosophy that is "biocentered" in
the sense of being able to avoid speciesism.
 
The Earth First! website http://www.enviroweb.org/ef/primer/Problem.html
says the following: "It is our decision, ours today, whether Earth
continues to be a marvelously living, diverse oasis in the blackness of
space, or whether the charismatic megafauna of the future will consist
of Norway rats and cockroaches."
 
Whether it be "beauty," "charisma" or an unconscious defense of
oxygen-breathers or "native" species, some humyn always has something
against some species. What is wrong with Norway rats or cockroaches?
What is that if not the ultimate speciesism?
 
 
mimist3@geocities.com wrote:
: I have yet to find any environmental philosophy that is "biocentered" in
: the sense of being able to avoid speciesism.
:
: The Earth First! website http://www.enviroweb.org/ef/primer/Problem.html
: says the following: "It is our decision, ours today, whether Earth
: continues to be a marvelously living, diverse oasis in the blackness of
: space, or whether the charismatic megafauna of the future will consist
: of Norway rats and cockroaches."
:
: Whether it be "beauty," "charisma" or an unconscious defense of
: oxygen-breathers or "native" species, some humyn always has something
: against some species. What is wrong with Norway rats or cockroaches?
: What is that if not the ultimate speciesism?
 

I think it is clear that they were attempting to use
a literary metaphor for the destruction of wild habitat
replaced by conditions where species thrive that often
multiply around the filth of human society. Or something
like that. To read into it that EF! is bigoted against
various species is kind of funny, but it also gives
political correctness a strange twist. Trust me on this
one, EF! does not discriminate against Norway rats or
cockroaches. Or something like that.
 
Subject:  Re: Earth First! 's speciesism
Date: 24 Jan 1999 22:25:23 GMT
From: mimist3@geocities.com
Reply-To: mim3@mim.org
Newsgroups: talk.politics.animals, alt.politics.greens, alt.org.earth-first

dg wrote:
 
> > Whether it be "beauty," "charisma" or an unconscious defense of
> > oxygen-breathers or "native" species, some humyn always has something
> > against some species. What is wrong with Norway rats or cockroaches?
> > What is that if not the ultimate speciesism?
>
> What is wrong is that removing so many species from the planet impoverishes
> us all.
 
mim3@mim.org: Right. I agree with that. Your reference point is "us all" and
you would be called "anthropocentric" by the anti-speciesist folks. If we were
left in their hands, we would have no basis to stopping nukes or tree-felling.
 
> Norway rats and cockroaches are not bad in themselves but they
> just represent that in the future only the most adaptable, lowest common
> denominator species will be able to survive. Will we be one of them?
 
mim3@mim.org replies:
Exactly the right question to ask.
 
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