BURNING RAGE OF A DYING PLANET: THE ELF INTERVIEW

By Claudette Vaughan

From its inception in 1997 to September 2001, 33 year old Craig Rosebraugh was a spokesperson for the Earth Liberation Front(ELF) and the Animal Liberation Front (ALF). In 2003, Rosebraugh co-formed Arissa as a non-profit organisation, to build a revolutionary movement in the United States (see www.arissa.org).  He also runs his own organic, vegan restaurant called Calendula situated in America's most radical and steak-hostile city, Portland, Oregon. He is an accomplished vegan cook. He disdains a prevalent view that, as he expresses it, “if you're for world change, you have to live in sloppy squalor.” He sees elegance, in fact, as consistent with ELF's sabotage – as a matter of “pride and dignity and caring.”

Here he speaks to the Abolitionist-Online about the stresses of being a spokesperson for the ELF, on his politics and the fallacy of fighting for single issues without taking the larger picture into account.

How did an ordinary all- American boy wind up being the ELF and ALF spokesperson for so long?

In 1996, after being involved with political activities here for six years, I began to understand the logic behind the ALF and ELF activity. At that time I was involved in a local political group that heavily focused on animal rights causes. As I began to support the ALF and ELF further, I started declaring this support publicly through published articles in small movement magazines and newspapers nationwide. As a result, I was contacted in 1997 by the ALF who was taking responsibility for a mink release thirty miles from Portland - where I live. After briefly considering the matter, I decided to forward the message to the news media in the form of a press release to allow the press and public to understand the motives behind the action. From this point on I was looked upon as someone who could be counted on to forward communiqués for the ALF and the ELF to the news media and the public.

What is the guiding philosophy of the ELF?

The ELF believes the earth is being destroyed for the sake of monetary gain, greed, and selfishness and all attempts, especially in the United States, to stop this destruction thus far have been unsuccessful. The group uses direct action in the form of economic sabotage to force a few different outcomes. For one, is it used to persuade guilty parties (whether corporations, governmental agencies, or individuals) to stop acting in a manner that is unhealthy for the environment and life on this planet. Secondly, the tactic is employed to educate the public on the atrocities committed by the guilty parties - atrocities that often are neglected by the mainstream media here.

How stressful was it representing the ELF?

It was fairly stressful at times, but then stress, like anything, is relative. There was one level of stress that came with just keeping up with the media interviews and public inquiries from around the world. There was another level of stress that came with realising that the majority of the media consider the group to be terrorists and therefore are extremely hostile in interviews. Then there was the stress of being faced with the repression from all levels of law enforcement for representing the group. From Federal Grand Jury investigations, to Congressional hearings, to physical threats against my life and physical attacks, to having guns stuck in my head as federal agents searched my home on a couple of occasions - these are just a few examples of the many types of stress that came as a result of speaking for the ELF.

What comprises legitimate reprisals for you?

The term ‘legitimate' is very relative.  Legitimate in the sense of society at large or the legal system often means something completely different than my definition. And I don't know that there always is a clear definition of what is legitimate and what is not. What is a correct action to take and what is not? I do know that people have a right to self-defense. I believe people have the right to defend themselves by any means necessary if they are attacked and threatened. So part of my definition of legitimacy pertains to threats on one's life. In the sense of the ELF, I believe many of their actions were legitimate for the very reason that they were attempting to stop the destruction of the natural environment that we all rely on for our existence.