God bless these United States of America! The rule of law is on the University of California’s side for a change and against the treetards. I am talking about the treetard occupation (*protest*/*sit in*) taking place on the western side of Memorial Stadium in Strawberry Canyon on the University of California, Berkeley campus. My hat is off to Judge Miller, who wrote a decision that both sides could claim as a victory and therefore defused a potentially explosive situation. The oaks in question (injunction?) get a stay of execution but it is only temporary while the University provides the additional requested information (technical issues with the plan submission which the judge has indicated may be legally revised). It provides ample time for the University siege and blockade to starve out the treetards so that when the court gives the full green light the oaks can be whacked with extreme prejudice and without further human intervention.
Of course, there was more to the ruling than just treetards, who, it should be noted, have now LOST two rulings and are breaking the law by remaining in the trees. The case, if you will remember, was brought by three separate plaintiffs: the treetards, the Neighborhood Association, and the city of Berkeley. Well, on NPR this morning I heard the mayor of Berkeley (you remember him, the thief republican) asking the University to come to the table to discuss mutually agreeable terms for the construction to go forward. Ouch! Sounds conciliatory. The University went to the city before the injunction was filed and made a financially kind proposal for the city in regards to the University’s plans for the new facility. The offer was conditional, the city would have to not join the other plaintiffs on the injunction or continue efforts to delay commencement of construction. The city scorned the offer and joined the injunction against improbable odds. Now that the city, the treetards and the neighborhood association have lost-and clearly they have lost-the city wants to line its pockets with University money. Phat chance! As a taxpayer I can only hope the University tells the city to stick it where the sun does not shine (you know, at the intersection of Ashby and Sacramento). As for the Neighborhood Association? I feel really bad for all those people in their multi-million dollar homes with their excellent views (can we install permanent lighting at Memorial Stadium. NO!). But really, if they cared about the neighborhood, would they allow people to live in the trees and fling feces at police? I mean, come on. You chose your allies and if you make bad choices don’t be surprised when you lose.
So, back to the treetards. I love trees. The coastal oak is probably my second favorite tree on this earth (sequoia). I love to climb trees. I have had an epiphany while lazing high on the branch of a true old growth oak in the Davis Creek valley of northern California. I breathe the oxygen trees produce. I enjoy the shade they provide. I believe trees to be an integral part of the urban environment. Trees are good. Groves of trees are better (especially in urban areas). That is why I respected the “Save the Oaks Foundation” and their concerns about these trees. I just could not come around to their side on the subject. As much as I love and value trees there is no way I could chose a tree over a human life. The actions of the treetard protestors has endangered the lives of tens of thousands of people. Let me explain.
Memorial stadium was built on an active fault line and is in dire need of earthquake retrofitting. Almost 100 people have cramped offices inside the stadium and their lives are put at risk daily. If the big one strikes-as we all know it eventually will-while these people are in their offices they will likely be killed in the collapse. If the quake happens on a given Saturday in the fall, tens of thousands of people could die. So, the University came up with a plan to retrofit the stadium and, in conjunction, build an athletic facility adjacent to the stadium that would be a benefit to ALL student athletes and athletic department personnel. The facility would be conveniently built next to the stadium where a grove of oaks (planted by the University) now stands. Could the facility be built at another site? Potentially. The University performed studies on where the best site for the new facility would be. Guess what it found? No matter where they proposed to build, a tree would likely have to be cut down. Traffic and parking in the selected neighborhood would be impacted. Noise would increase. Everything you would expect for a facility of this size. The best site is next to Memorial stadium. Send in the treetards.
The treetards claim the trees to be old growth oaks. Really? Planted by whom and when? (answer: the University, in 1923) So, the treetards decide to sit in the trees to protect them. Eventually, a judge decides, hey wait a minute, actually, the treetards actions are illegal and, if the University wants, it can have them removed. The University, in all its wisdom (fiat lux) opted to let the protestors stay in their trees until the courts decided the fate of the site. Now the judge has ruled. When the Univeristy responds and completes its obligations, construction can begin. Of course, it can only begin if the treetards are out of the trees. Which brings us to the University’s latest actions of removing the support structures and cutting off the supplies to the treetards? The treetards claim these actions have endangered their tree-tardedness (their lives). This is certainly true. The recent actions by the University to remove the treetards peacefully has endangered the lives of treetards, ground level protestors, arborists and police alike. Basically everyone involved. The treetards blame the University and the police but they should really point the finger at themselves. The treetards are the ones who put themselves (and the arborist, police) in this position by ILLEGALLY living in the trees. Think about it for a second: the University would not cut the trees down illegally. Therefore the voluntary treetard occupation is symbolic at best and dangerous for certain. As we head to the endgame in this spectacle it is nice to know that rationality has once again defeated ignorance.