Anti-consumer-choice extremists are on the run. Opinion Journal‘s Kimberley A. Strassel writes, “The indulgent world in which these groups had operated collapsed on Sept. 11. Most found themselves floundering for a message and scratching for funds; all are facing the realization that a decade of shenanigans may be over.”
Strassel argues that an era of “full bank accounts” and “no real worries” fed support and funds to animal rights and environmental extremists, but now, “no one can argue anymore that trees, suckerfish or lab animals are worth more than people… Perhaps one of the most important changes will be a long-overdue crackdown on fringe groups that have wantonly practiced violence in America. Americans are going to start re-evaluating ‘eco-terrorism.'”
But the threat is not yet gone. In Britain, directors of Huntington Life Sciences (HLS), which researches crop production improvement and other issues, may get special government permission to keep their home addresses private, out of fear of attack by eco-terrorists. It’s not just abroad; an anti-HLS group in the U.S. vowed to “annihilate” its foes in New York City earlier this month.
