The person was wrong. The Sierra Club does not do or endorse illegal
actions.

Why do people attribute these kind of actions to us when it is against
our stated policy? I think it is because we are a very effective and
credible organization. One way to discredit us would be to accuse us of
doing things the public and policy makers do not like.

When dealing with the public, decision makers and stakeholders that
promote a development viewpoint, I try very hard to present myself as a
normal, reasonable, law abiding citizen.For some leaders in the club
that may be more difficult than for others. It is not very hard for me
to do being a teacher and a mother. Even though the Club does not
support or condone any action that breaks the law,  we have members that
may give that impression to the other side. Anyone can illicit a
reaction based on stereotypes and they must deal with it. It is not
right but it happens.

Eric G Hurley wrote:

> I was recently at a job interview in North Dakota and was questioned
> about
> my involvement with Sierra Club. The person apparently had the impression
> that Sierra Club was closely related to Earth Liberation Front or Earth
> First and tolerant of membership involvement in eco-terrorism (sometimes
> called monkey-wrenching or ecotage) techniques like spiking trees. Since
> the interview I've heard that Sierra Club Minnesota and North Dakota have
> developed this reputation. Personally, I find the activities of
> eco-terrorism abhorrent and am curious if any of you have heard that our
> colleagues to the north are involved in eco-terrorism or know the
> origin of
> this rumor. Is this something that Sierra Club needs to address since, I
> believe, developing such a reputation would be fatal to the effectiveness
> of our organization.
>
> Any thoughts?
>
> Eric G. Hurley
> Ames
>
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