The Green Scare: The SHAC7

Because of the in-depth subject matter, this post is the first in a three-part series called "The Green Scare."

We all remember where we were on Sept. 11, 2001. We all remember what we felt -- anger, sadness, disbelief, horror, the need for revenge.

And we tolerated -- and still do -- the longer lines at airport security, the 9/11 fee we pay with our airline tickets, the ban on small scissors and even some tweezers in carry-on luggage. We feel those are small prices to pay to ensure our safety.

Even when it was revealed that the U.S. government was working with the telecommunications industry to tap our phones, I really didn't care. After all, I'm not a terrorist. I'm not doing anything illegal. I have nothing to hide.

But then I began reading about other people who weren't terrorists, who weren't doing anything illegal, who had nothing to hide ... and who are now in prison. I came to realize the importance of protecting our civil liberties.

The SHAC7
Josh Harper, along with five other people, ran a corporation -- Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty USA Inc. -- and a Web site. The six people and the corporation are known collectively as the SHAC7.

Huntingdon Life Sciences, the company that they wanted to shut down, is an animal-testing lab in England and New Jersey. HLS forces animals to consume excessive amounts of chemicals and are then killed and dissected. Among the products that have been tested there are Viagra, Splenda and Olestra. Undercover video has shown workers punching 4-month-old beagles in the face and dissecting a live monkey.

According to shac7.com, the SHAC7 Web site "reported on and expressed ideological support for protest activity against Huntingdon and its business affiliates." For example, if an act of vandalism was committed against HLS, the SHAC7 noted it on their Web site. If activists urged HLS's insurance company to drop them as a client (which happened), it'd be mentioned on the Web site. A few of the SHAC7, including Harper, also were alleged to have faxed black paper to the HLS to keep their fax machines busy and their toner in use. Not exactly the work of terrorists, yet the U.S. government charged this group under the Animal Enterprise Protection Act of 1992, now the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act. Harper was sentenced to three years.

I'm focusing on Harper in this post because of a recent entry on the blog GreenIstheNewRed.com. I've included part of a letter written by Harper below. But please read it in its entirety, while keeping in mind that our government views him as a terrorist -- and has used our tax money to prosecute and imprison him.

Construction in the hills above my building was displacing critters whose homes were falling beneath bulldozers and chainsaws. One of these creatures, a small deer mouse, took shelter in a rock wall next to the Plaid Pantry on 23rd and Glisan. When I first saw her, she was skinny and terrified. She would huddle as far back in the wall as possible. Only occasionally darting out to snatch a bite of bread I would leave for her.

As time went by, she got a little bolder though, until eventually her true personality as the world’s punkest mouse broke through. She started out taking seeds from birdfeeders and graduated to stealing the seed right out of the bags when yuppies came to fill the feeders. She never strayed too far from the wall. I could usually find her when I needed a reminder of the strength possessed by the smallest of us.

Correction (7/24/09): According to Josh Harper, he was not accused of "black faxing." He was accused of talking about "black faxing." I'm sorry for the error.

(Photo courtesy of shac7.com.)