Protestors Have Small Victory With Highway I-69

It is the mantra of activists everywhere, “Deeds not words.”

It is the “deeds” or actions of several people in Indiana that led to the delay of the construction of I-69, the super-highway, approved by NAFTA to go from Canada through the United States, to Mexico. The construction of this highway would lead to the destruction of 7,000 acres of land and 400 homes. The driving force behind several protests of this super-highway was CARR, Citizens for Appropriate Rural Roads. The organization believes in peaceful protesting, such as the use of bumper stickers and yard signs.

The example of the I-69 protests is one of several examples that University of Georgia Geography Professor Nik Heynen used in his lecture on anarchists and social movements given on Friday, November 14, 2008 as part of the Friday Lecture Series sponsored by the Women’s Studies Department to a crowd of about 50 people.

“Many people see protesters as crazy people. Yet more often than not, these individuals are highly educated and very intelligent people. The problem is that they read a lot and speak in a way that it not very accessible to the average person. The majority of the time, the anarchists are indeed fighting for what most of the people want,” Heynen said. The fact that when polled 94 percent of the citizens of Indiana were opposed to construction of I-69 and the petition that CARR had signed by 140,000 individuals clearly illustrates this.

“Back in the day there was no system to work with; individuals could only protest and often times, protests took a long time to organize and coordinate.” Currently protestors can create a law or bill and find a senator or congressperson to back it. Also with the internet, advances with organizing protest have been made and “it is easy to do things [protests] very quickly.”

According to Heynen, “No one method works the best; it’s about a portfolio of tactics.” This use of “a portfolio of tactics” has proven successful with the delay of at least one year, to the construction of highway I-69, but it has not come without its cost. In fact, for letting the air out of the tires of a construction truck, the group was pinned with a $27,000 fine for property damage and many members were arrested. Heynen says that, “the definition of domestic terrorism was made to cover eco-terrorism. “The term eco-terrorism makes many individuals nervous but more often than not, the term refers to individuals participating in peaceful acts of protest, such as tree sits.”

Despite the obstacles faced, many activists have not given up and do not intend to anytime soon. When asked during the question and answer section following the lecture whether or not he personally thought that the construction of I-69 would proceed, Heynen said, “[They are] gearing up for more direct action [and there is a] good chance [the] highway will not take place.”

When addressed about the constant battle between the anarchists and the government, Heynen said that as he sees it, for now an “agreement to disagree has emerged.” Activists around the country may be making slow progress but it is the tiny victories that keep the protesting going; “even delays like pushing back construction for a year are seen as small but significant victories.”