Saturday, December 1, 2012

First They Came ...

Some Trojan Heron readers may be acquainted with the text of a statement by Martin Niemöller that describes the methods of totalitarianism witnessed in his native Germany. It was a simple formula: pick on specific groups one at a time and count on the silence of all the other groups. For Godwin's Law reasons, I try to avoid all references to the Nazis, but the Lunny situation (see previous post) makes me think of a Critical Areas Ordinance (CAO) variation of the Niemöller text:
First they came for the rural inhabitants of King County, and I did not speak out because I did not live in King County. 
Then they came for the country people of Eastern Washington and the Olympic Penninsula, and I did not speak out because I did not live there. 
Then they came for the farmers and fisherman of my County, and I did not speak out because I was not a farmer or fisherman. 
Then they came for the homeowners, and there was no one left to speak out for me.
Niemöller's original statement was published in a 1955 book by Milton Mayer, They Thought They Were Free, based on interviews he had conducted in Germany several years earlier

To avoid Reductio ad Hitlerium, I have to clearly state that, no, we are not fighting Nazis, but some of the eco-bureaucratic tactics and reactions by The People can be viewed in a similar light. My Niemöller-style text is but a poor attempt to convey some instances of this for the CAOs. I am sure that Trojan Heron readers could come up with much better versions.

2 comments:

  1. It will be very interesting to see who files for the 3 positions in the new permanent Council. Is it possible to form a new coalition of concerned citizens to elect some competent and responsible representatives? Or can we expect, as John Evans has written, to see the Democrats get behind another slate of Eco-Godwins and perpetuate the madness of the current Council?

    Are they coming for us again?

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  2. The positions are non partisan and we should immediately castigate any candidate strays off that mandate. We have proved we can do it, because we just did.

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