As I read though Wednesday’s article (“April ‘fuel’ prank leaves tires flat,” April 3), I became increasingly angry with the intolerable acts committed against regular people. Not only are these acts highly annoying and costly to reconcile, but they can be very damaging when mistakenly connected to the legitimate environmental movement. These extreme measures in the name of environmentalism serve only to reinforce fictitious stereotypes about environmentalists.
I wish to express the severe disdain with which mainstream environmentalists regard such acts of vandalism. The majority of environmentalists are not “tree huggers.” We are regular people with regular jobs who strongly disagree with extremist tactics. I wholeheartedly ask those of you who read the article and those who had their vehicles vandalized not to confuse the immature actions of a very small minority with the vast majority of mainstream environmentalists.
Those of us actively involved in contemporary environmental issues — who work hard every day to facilitate positive, viable environmental progress — abhor acts of vandalism akin to those that happened on Tuesday. This behavior should not be associated with the vast majority who are well-intentioned environmentalists because it portrays environmentalism as little more than a fringe idea. These actions are in no way representative of the real environmental movement or its supporters and should be disconnected from the rational, well-intentioned environmental cause.
Thomas Wilson
UW sophomore, mechanical engineering