Primitivism

Mon, 15 Jan 2007 20:36:28 GMT

in the knowing

oh great and silent earth,
keeper of stories,
mosser of bones
can you tell me what became of
the cedars of lebanon,
the vast emerald forests that held all of europe
with children laughing at their feet?

oh great and silent earth
i plead for witness to the ancient pain:
what bolt of lightning split my ancestors
from their good sense,
drove them to fear the seasons
and guard against them, anxiously,
by leaning on the seed?

what gave their hearts such a shaking
that their roots divorced the wild glades
and sought instead
to tame?

oh dark and secret earth
please! let me into the mystery -
please: tell me, so i may tell the others,
how we got so lost in our very own land,
how we forsook the hunt and took up
the slaughter-block,
how we came to be herders and
horsemen,
the tangled berries giving way
to shocking wheat,

how we labored, to bear famine;
who we sacrificed, to beg rain;
why we drove rickets into the bones
of our children and tore the land
out from under a wilderness who cradled our grandmothers' graves?

what put trembling in our prayers?
hunger on our tables?
a song of doubt on our tongues?

oh careworn broken earth
i am sorry that we have torn at your flesh
for an answer,
blindly,
fruitlessly,
with canary and shovel,
with axe and torch,

forced ourselves into
forbidden valleys,
between foreign ribs and intimate
knees,
in our search for it,

torn our own skin off,
burned ourselves at the stake,
thrown our children into the hungry sea,
our men to smoking fields
our women to pace raw in quiet chains

i am sorry that we have gone to every last island with our affliction
and in our desperate mission to transcend it
have passed it on

oh earth of every elemental power
tell me
why did you let your beauty be driven into the cracks
of even one lonely mountainside?
why did you give up your green dress to the blades
and the burning villages,
let the rocky sutures of your bones be opened
and smashed,
your rivers bloodied, then muddied, then damned?

oh earth!
in your body i feel the ripples of a great shouting
and is it the cry of death,
i don't know
is it the muddy throes, the last
ragged breaths, the deepest possible pain,
your spirit unearthing to depart on the poison winds
i don't know

but please! rend yourself of the secret

so that we both may survive it -

or die,

at rest
in the knowing.

kid's stuff...

Fri, 04 Aug 2006 06:47:08 GMT

I’m 7.5 months pregnant and looking for children’s books, baby’s books, and children’s/baby’s movies/shows that are enjoyable, educational, have good politics, and strong female characters. I’ve already thought of a few but I’m looking to stock up on stuff in the last couple of months before I give birth… any suggestions?
X-posted a lot

Civilization: Its Origins and Collapse- with John Zerzan and Kevin Tucker @ NYU

Fri, 07 Apr 2006 13:49:23 GMT

(Cross-Posted Widely)

Civilization: Its Origins and Collapse- With John Zerzan and Kevin Tucker

Ever think there was something horribly wrong with the way things are?
According to anarcho-primitivists, those social, ecological, spiritual and
political problems that we all face are a part of civilization. The most
basic human needs were shaped and met by the nomadic gatherer-hunter
existence that has defined over 99.99% of human life. Looking back to the
settling of some human societies, to an increased dependency off of stored
and grown foods, through the rise of political power, emergence of work,
patriarchy, warfare, and expansionism, we can get a clearer picture of the
processes at work in our daily lives to keep us domesticated and docile to a
world that runs against our being.

Join anarcho-primitivist thinkers and writers, Kevin Tucker and John Zerzan
for a discussion of the origins of civilization and their consequences from
the beginnings of settled societies through the culture of cities and into
our current globalized modernity. Talk revolves around a critique of
civilization and possible directions for moving beyond it and the short
comings of contemporary resistance movements.

Where: Kimmel Center, 60 Washington Sq S, Rm 909
When: Saturday April 15, 2006- 6:00pm
Brought to you by: Earth Matters, Students for Social Equality, the
Gallatin Student Council, and the Office of the Dean at Gallatin

Free and Open to the Public (Please bring ID)

John Zerzan is an anarcho-primitivist thinker and writer from Eugene, OR.
Having written on the subjects of civilization, symbolic thought,
domestication, and the misery and failures of daily life over two decades,
he has earned his role as one of the most important anarchist thinkers. His
books include Elements of Refusal, Future Primitive, and Running on
Emptiness, edited Against Civilization, and is an editor of Green Anarchy
Magazine.

Kevin Tucker is an anarcho-primitivist writer from rural, southwestern PA.
His focus has been on applying anthropological, ecological, and spiritual
dimensions to the anarcho-primitivist critique of civilization, as well as
ways out of it. He is the editor of Species Traitor journal, regular
contributor to Green Anarchy, co-founder of the Black and Green Network,
author of blackandgreen.info, and is currently working on his first book,
Catalyst: the birth and death of civilization.

Hello all

Mon, 31 Oct 2005 16:36:57 GMT

Does anyone have any suggestions for books prior to the mid 1600s dealing with primitivism or the paradise story, or critiques of civilization or essential elements of modern culture. I'm developing my senior project and it has to integrate at least seven texts prior to the mid 1600s, and here's what I have:
1- Genesis (Eden story)
2- Hesiod- Works and Days ("The Ages of Man"- Golden Age)
3- Thomas Moore- Utopia (Longing For a World Not Our Own)
4- Mahabharata (Another Golden Age Story)
5- The Journals of Christopher Columbus (Tales of indigenous simplicity, lack of labor, and European viciousness)
6- __________
7- __________

Any suggestions would be very helpful- thanks!

Sat, 27 Aug 2005 19:41:59 GMT

-CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS-
please circulate...

UNCIVILIZED: A journal of feral living

...A magazine created for the exploration and cross-pollination of
practical, critical and visionary words and images, taking aim at
Civilization in its totality, and celebrating the rawness and realness
found on the journey away from it.

DEADLINE: October 15

Submissions of articles, rants, poems, stories, original graphics and
photos, and any other stabs at the transcription of direct experience are
invited, as well as free classified ads and resource listings. Also, we'd
like book and other media reviews, and reprints and suggestions of
favorite excerpts from books or articles.

Here's a list of topics we'd like to see explored:

-earth-based skills (hide tanning and buskskin sewing, shelter-building,
herbal wildcrafting, wild foods)
-Radical communication and ecopsychology
-mental health and Civilization
-Attachment parenting, raising feral kids, midwifery, etc
-diet and nutrition
-sexuality, polyamory, etc
-primitive skills gatherings
-rejecting symbolic thought/critique of language
-anarcho-herbalism
-personal rewilding experiences and reflections
-interspecies communication
-anthropology: limits and benefits
-starting 'tribal' land collectives
-cultural appropriation
-beyond agriculture: theory and practice
-ecofeminism, gender
-moralism, nihilism, activism
-rewilding cities/urban foraging

Classified ads should remain under 100 words, and limited to announcements
of projects and events, appeals for collaboration, bartering and trading,
and DIY "commerce" like self-published zines & books, music, and crafts.

Submissions (preferably on a CD/disk or via email as a word document, but
snail mail will work too) can be sent to:
feral@riseup.net

Uncivilized
pob 1485
Asheville, NC 28802

Amazon loggers clash with lost tribe (Woot Woot!)

Thu, 26 May 2005 18:55:27 GMT

Amazon loggers clash with lost tribe
(Reuters) -- A Brazilian Indian tribe armed with bows and arrows and unseen for years has been spotted in a remote Amazon region where clashes with illegal loggers are threatening its existence.

Thursday, May 26, 2005

PORTO VELHO, Brazil (Reuters) -- A Brazilian Indian tribe armed with bows and arrows and unseen for years has been spotted in a remote Amazon region where clashes with illegal loggers are threatening its existence.

The tiny Jururei tribe numbers only eight to 10 members, and is the second "uncontacted" group to be threatened by loggers this month, after a judge approved cutting in an area of the jungle called Rio Pardo.

Accelerating rainforest destruction threatens the tribes. Deforestation in 2003-04 totaled 10,088 square miles (26,130 sq km), the most in nearly a decade, official figures show.

"The Indians have had conflict with loggers, who are cutting toward them from two different directions," Rogerio Vargas Motta, director of the Pacaas Novos national park, told Reuters.

He photographed Jururei huts on a recent helicopter flyover of the remote park to catch land grabbers.

One Jururei shot three arrows at the helicopter as it flew overhead, Vargas Motta said.

The tribe's wood huts have roofs of black plastic tarps found in abandoned logging camps.

Indian rights activists are alarmed.

"Unless Brazil acts now to protect uncontacted tribes, they will disappear off the face of the earth forever. The annihilation of a tribe, however small, is genocide," said Fiona Watson, Campaigns Coordinator of Survival International in London.

They blame a lack of political will and a powerful lobby of cattle ranchers and soybean farmers for fueling deforestation and threatening Brazil's 700,000 Indians.

"There's been a grave lack of funding for conservation on the part of the government," said Samuel Vieira Cruz, director of Kaninde, a nonprofit group that works to protect two Indian tribes in the area.
Booby traps discovered

In the most recent scuffles, Jururei Indians set booby traps with spikes, piercing the foot of one logger. Loggers are within three miles (5 km) of Indian camps.

Despite the conflicts with outsiders, Indian experts consider the Jururei "uncontacted" because anthropologists have yet to reach and study the tribe and the government has yet to establish ongoing peaceful communication with it.

Sydney Possuelo, director of the uncontacted tribes department at the government's Indian agency Funai, said it has been years, probably at least a decade, since officials have seen the Jururei.

He said the government's environmental protection agency, Ibama, has yet to formally inform him of the latest sighting, though neighboring tribes routinely mention signs of their existence. In general, Funai avoids making contact with unknown tribes that are ostensibly protected on reservations, so as to avoid altering their lives or passing diseases.

In other cases, the government tries to make contact when Indians are threatened on unprotected lands or when tribes are tiny and isolated, he said.

Possuelo has teams roaming the Amazon trying to make contact with isolated tribes in need of protection, but he is understaffed and many tribes, like the Jururei, are nomadic or move periodically.

"We have great difficulty because the government does not see our needs for human resources and money," he said.

That also makes policing park borders difficult and he said "Indian lands are full of invaders."

Though in 1994 the government mapped land based on evidence of the tribe's presence, the Jururei have run away from government officials during attempts to contact them.

A translator spoke for several minutes with some Jururei in 1986 before they disappeared into the jungle.

Vieira Cruz said there are as many as eight uncontacted tribes in Rondonia state. Vargas Motta thinks there are three other tribes in and around his park.

Vargas Motta's 1.89 million acre (764,000 hectare) park sits inside the 4.61 million acre (1.87 million hectare) Uru-eu-au-au Indian reserve, an area the size of a small European country, with hard-to-police boundaries.

water

Sun, 08 May 2005 03:07:13 GMT

springheel_jack here illustrates the interesting (and obvious) way that socal gets its water.

so what happens to southern california after urban collapse?

has anyone run any numbers on this to develop a likely scenario (beyond "people get royally screwed and die, and warlord fiefdoms form in an all-out war for the new gold, water")?

also, does anyone else know how many other urban centers and major agricultural suppliers receive water in this way (through hundreds of miles of power-dependent pipelines)?

and as an afterthought: where y'all movin' when the rev comes?

Fri, 29 Apr 2005 01:05:57 GMT

how are eyeglasses made?

what is the minimum amount of technology required to make them?

Thu, 28 Apr 2005 23:58:34 GMT

could anyone supply me with some links to solid, factual evidence supporting these primitivist points?

1. prehistoric human life was something better than "nasty, brutish and short."
2. health practices of non-western, "primitive" societies were more advanced and effective that western medicine yet realizes.
3. childbirth in "primitive" societies ("natural" childbirth) was not always life-threatening and extremely painful.
4. human civilization will destroy the earth in a very short period of time.

please, no opinions, abstract theory, or screeds! i'm strictly interested in archeological and anthropological evidence -- just watertight proofs to back up arguments (or change my own hypotheses, if needed).

thank you much.

Fri, 01 Apr 2005 17:15:55 GMT

a tiny stretch of the mind and language and we have here a really important set of feral childrearing ways.

According to Jean Liedloff, [who lived in the Amazon with the Yequana tribe for two and a half years], the continuum concept is the idea that in order to achieve optimal physical, mental and emotional development, human beings — especially babies — require the kind of experience to which our species adapted during the long process of our evolution. For an infant, these include such experiences as...

constant physical contact with his mother (or another familiar caregiver as needed) from birth;

sleeping in his parents' bed, in constant physical contact, until he leaves of his own volition (often about two years);

breastfeeding "on cue" — nursing in response to his own body's signals;

being constantly carried in arms or otherwise in contact with someone, usually his mother, and allowed to observe (or nurse, or sleep) while the person carrying him goes about his or her business — until the infant begins creeping, then crawling on his own impulse, usually at six to eight months;

having caregivers immediately respond to his signals (squirming, crying, etc.), without judgment, displeasure, or invalidation of his needs, yet showing no undue concern nor making him the constant center of attention;

sensing (and fulfilling) his elders' expectations that he is innately social and cooperative and has strong self-preservation instincts, and that he is welcome and worthy.

In contrast, a baby subjected to modern Western childbirth and child-care practices often experiences...

traumatic separation from his mother at birth due to medical intervention and placement in maternity wards, in physical isolation except for the sound of other crying newborns, with the majority of male babies further traumatized by medically unnecessary circumcision surgery;

at home, sleeping alone and isolated, often after "crying himself to sleep";

scheduled feeding, with his natural nursing impulses often ignored or "pacified";

being excluded and separated from normal adult activities, relegated for hours on end to a nursery, crib or playpen where he is inadequately stimulated by toys and other inanimate objects;

caregivers often ignoring, discouraging, belittling or even punishing him when he cries or otherwise signals his needs; or else responding with excessive concern and anxiety, making him the center of attention;

sensing (and conforming to) his caregivers' expectations that he is incapable of self-preservation, is innately antisocial, and cannot learn correct behavior without strict controls, threats and a variety of manipulative "parenting techniques" that undermine his exquisitely evolved learning process.

Evolution has not prepared the human infant for this kind of experience. He cannot comprehend why his desperate cries for the fulfillment of his innate expectations go unanswered, and he develops a sense of wrongness and shame about himself and his desires. If, however, his continuum expectations are fulfilled — precisely at first, with more variation possible as he matures — he will exhibit a natural state of self-assuredness, well-being and joy. Infants whose continuum needs are fulfilled during the early, in-arms phase grow up to have greater self-esteem and become more independent than those whose cries go unanswered for fear of "spoiling" them or making them too dependent.

Here are some excerpts from the book which define the continuum concept:

...It is no secret that the "experts" have not discovered how to live satisfactorily, but the more they fail, the more they attempt to bring the problems under the sole influence of reason and disallow what reason cannot understand or control.

We are now fairly brought to heel by the intellect; our inherent sense of what is good for us has been undermined to the point where we are barely aware of its working and cannot tell an original impulse from a distorted one.

...[Determining what is good for us] has for many millions of years been managed by the infinitely more refined and knowledgeable areas of the mind called instinct. ... [The] unconscious can make any number of observations, calculations, syntheses, and executions simultaneously and correctly.

...What is meant here by "correct" is that which is appropriate to the ancient continuum of our species inasmuch as it is suited to the tendencies and expectations with which we have evolved. Expectation, in this sense, is founded as deeply in man as his very design. His lungs not only have, but can be said to be, an expectation of air, his eyes are an expectation of light... [etc.]

...The human continuum can also be defined as the sequence of experience which corresponds to the expectations and tendencies of the human species in an environment consistent with that in which those expectations and tendencies were formed. It includes appropriate behavior in, and treatment by, other people as part of that environment.

The continuum of an individual is whole, yet forms part of the continuum of his family, which in turn is part of his clan's, community's, and species' continua, just as the continuum of the human species forms part of that of all life.

...Resistance to change, no way in conflict with the tendency to evolve, is an indispensable force in keeping any system stable.

What interrupted our own innate resistance to change a few thousand years ago we can only guess. The important thing is to understand the significance of evolution versus (unevolved) change. ... [The latter] replaces what is complex and adapted with what is simpler and less adapted.

There is no essential difference between purely instinctive behavior, with its expectations and tendencies, and our equally instinctive expectation of a suitable culture, one in which we can develop our tendencies and fulfill our expectations, first, of precise treatment in infancy, and gradually of a (more flexible) kind of treatment and circumstance, and a range of requirements to which adaptation is ready, eager, and able to be made.

pp. 22-27, The Continuum Concept, Revised edition ©1977, 1985 by Jean Liedloff, published by Addison-Wesley, paperback, 20th printing.

http://www.continuum-concept.org/cc_defined.html

Security through resource management

Tue, 22 Mar 2005 02:45:05 GMT

This article by noncognosco may initially seem too political for this community; however, I think the moral of the story is germane.

X-posted on _sustenance_, gentlesurvival, not_quite_rural, sustainability

Derrick and Ward

Mon, 10 Jan 2005 01:51:26 GMT

some of y'all maybe interested in this: http://acre-c.com/equality/share/

It's Derrick Jensen and Ward Churchill talking in Devnver.

So far it's really good.

Tue, 28 Dec 2004 08:46:55 GMT

I have created a syndication of Treehugger.com a site that I love, you can find it: treehugger_feed

a gathering in the spring

Wed, 22 Dec 2004 01:49:57 GMT

Greetings.

We would like to tell you about a conference we are creating called The Earthbound Gathering. This letter is an attempt to get other interested people involved and to gather support.
Our intention for the gathering is to bring together Native and
non-native people who share concerns about the Earth. We have seen and
experienced strength in coalitions between Natives defending their ancestral lands and traditions, and young people, often of European descent like us, who feel a tangible connection to the earth and a strong need to defend her/it. We believe there is much to be gained by deepening these relationships and creating new ones.
In this gathering, we hope to address cross-cultural issues and
dynamics, strategize, and foster unity. Toward this goal, we hope to find our similarities and differences, focus on our strengths while working on our weaknesses, learn from the past, and build for the future. Earthbound will take place in Northern Minnesota this May. It will be free to all, and we hope to be able to provide travel stipends for elders and others who may need it.

Some possible workshops/discussion topics that we would like to see included are:

Racism, cultural appropriation and white guilt

Traditional/Earth based skills and crafts

Cultural genocide attempts, info and experience sharing

Techniques for reconnecting to each other, the Earth, and ourselves

Presentations of strong coalitions created in the past

Current resistance campaigns

These are times when mutual respect and understanding are desperately needed to help ourselves, each other, and ultimately all living things. We can support each other in new ways, not only to make a new world, but also to save the old. Please contact us if you want to stay informed, attend, present a workshop, donate resources, be involved with organizing, fundraising, or to help out in any way. Please pass this letter along to anyone you think may be interested.

Hope to see you this spring.

-The Earthbound Collective
email: earthboundcollective@hotmail.com
v.mail: (866) 758-9634

Lamentations of a Primitivist

Fri, 17 Dec 2004 16:42:01 GMT

It’s sadly ironic that we think of symbolic culture as necessary to alleviate the anxieties we experience in modern life. Symbolism is the fundamental cause of our anxieties. Language, art, music, science, time, number: as artificial accounts, they converge to form a barrier that blocks the world from the mind. They create a mock-up and a virtual existence that cannot satisfy the human psyche.

We used to experience the world directly and unified through our senses. Touch, smell, sight, and sound connected the world to the mind, which evolved in coordination with its surroundings like the bee co-evolved with the flower.

Prior to the division of labour, as it is with hunter-gatherer’s today, counting things is bad luck. But with domestication came the counting and naming of things, which is the first step in control, and the first stage in the demolition of the human mind through civilization.

Art and ritual emerged to communicate the newly manifest ranks, roles, and positions in society, as well as new representations of the natural world. Controlling came to supplant experiencing. Domination came to supplant living. Technology came to supplant the world and the mind.

Thomas Cole: The Course of Empire

Tue, 07 Dec 2004 05:10:53 GMT

uh... you guys... this is like my love:

has anyone ever seen this!?! The painter is named Thomas Cole.

"At the outset is "Savagery." Human figures are small; they made little or no impact upon the environment. Note how small the typees at the lower left are.

Next comes the "Pastoral" or "Acadian" stage. The human figures are larger' there is a temple near the center of the canvas. Meadows and cultivated fields characterize the environment although towering peaks in the distance still speak to an untamed portion of Nature.

The third stage represented the full flowering of civilization. Nature has disappeared from view. Human activity dominates.

Can human grandeur endure? No! Humans violently destroy their own civilization.

"
The end of empire is "Desolation."

Im in love!

Mon, 06 Dec 2004 05:33:39 GMT

hi. im looking for some good books on foraging and maybe a website that has a list of edible plants in my region (oklahoma). does any one know a good place to start on this topic?

Scott.

New Green Anarchy FAQ

Mon, 22 Nov 2004 17:50:27 GMT

http://www.greenanarchy.info./

Jared Diamond: The Worst Mistake

Mon, 20 Sep 2004 05:21:03 GMT

Jared Diamond on agriculture -- an old article but I thought I'd post a link in case there's anyone who hasn't read it who would like to.

The Worst Mistake in the History of the Human Race by Jared Diamond, Discover Magazine, May 1987

Ditch your insecure Internet Explorer!

Sat, 18 Sep 2004 00:59:42 GMT

Tired of Microsoft? Don't know of alternatives? Get Firefox! Firefox is no loser application. Forbes, USA Today, Business Week, and Wall Street Journal have all come out to support the security and popup blocking of this browser. Firefox has caused consistant drops in IE's usage and market share. Firefox is compact, beautiful, powerful, and as expandable as you care to look and improve. Tuesday, Mozilla released Firefox 1.0 Preview Release (PR). Get that sh!t.

Sat, 18 Sep 2004 00:10:56 GMT

http://www.informationweek.com/story/IWK20010618S0001

Radio-frequency devices promise to make it easier to monitor the flow of inventory across the supply chain
By Cheryl Rosen

Tulsa, Okla., is the site of this summer's most innovative experiment in inventory management. A group of retailers, manufacturers, and vendors-dubbed the Auto-ID Center-is wiring the entire city with analog radio-frequency gear that can track packages equipped with microchips.
The system will make it possible to track inventory as it moves from point to point across the city. "We're putting RFID [radio-frequency identification] chips on everything that moves," says John Balboni, VP of E-business at International Paper Co. in Stamford, Conn. The group is still configuring the network design and determining how many radio-frequency receivers to install and where.

the sad thing... i live there.

I thought this shit was funny as hell!

Fri, 17 Sep 2004 22:57:17 GMT

Obviously, I will never win tour de france or anything like that, but, I definitely will try running next half marathon.
Igor, forgive me for being a smart a--, but I don't think you'll win a Tour de France by running
no matter how much protein you eat! :)

Mike W.

(Paleolithic Eating Support List)

Tue, 14 Sep 2004 02:30:54 GMT

*if this isn't pertinent to this community...i apologize. please feel free to delete it*

I am writing because an activist named Geoff Kerns who was a big name in the Animal rights/activist movement, recently testified before a Seattle Grand Jury and provided information about other activists.

This information came to light because Allison Lance Watson is being charged with perjury by the same grand jury. During the discovery process of her trial she was able to get Geoff's transcripts. During his testimony Geoff admits to stealing from Eric Ward's parents house, identifies other activists in pictures, and speculates as to who might be responsible for illegal activities. Geoff further states, "I am betraying people who trusted me."

I am posting this information here because many of you know Geoff and I want people to know what kind of risk they are taking by being associated with him. Grand Jury Transcripts can be found behind the cut. And after reading it please take a moment to look at notes about SECURITY CULTURE within the activist movement.

If you have ever worked in the Salt Lake City,Utah or Southern CA activist community and know this guy.. please be careful.

Geoffrey Kerns Talks

On February 23, 1999 Geoffrey Kerns was arrested at Brainard’s Fur Farm in Snohomish Washington, along with four other activists for allegedly participating in an impromptu daylight raid on the mink farm. Eventually charges against the activists were dismissed when the government refused to reveal the identity of a key informant. Despite this early warnings about the dangers of informants, and later comments attesting to his supposed dedication to the animal liberation movement Kerns subsequently provided information to a Federal Grand Jury in Seattle on March 10, 2004.

In the session he was shown pictures and identified activists, revealed the name of someone he suggested was in the car with him on the way to the mink farm protest (at which he was arrested for allegedly freeing mink), stated that between fifteen and twenty people participated in the mink release (only five people were arrested), and gave the grand jury the name of an activist he claims could reveal the identity of everyone else who participated in freeing mink during the protest, claiming that this activist told him "that [the activist] drove to pick them up, ..knows who they are," and that any questions about the identies of the activists who got away should be referred to this person.

Kerns went on to make it clear that he is no longer a member of the animal liberation movement - in a large part because he's become ostracized for stealing from activists and their families. He indicates he's moved on from animal rights and says, "I am trying to be honest here, clear all this up, and move on with my life. I am not involved with any animal rights group right now. I am working for a medical company trying to improve my life. I am giving you guys names..."

He does acknowledge that the information he's provided makes him a snitch and expressed concern that word might some day get out, stating "...if you do something like what I am doing now, this is the general rules, snitches get stitches."

Geoff Kerns' Seattle grand jury testimony states, in part:

"AUSA: So it's your testimony that you don't recall anyone involved? You don't recall any person involved in any animal rights or anti-fur protest or activity--
GEOFF: I recall seeing a couple of people. Just people that I recognized from L.A.
AUSA: Who did you see?
GEOFF: I saw [BLANK7]. S/he was at the protest. And I don't remember specifically seeing them there but I would imagine [BLANK8] was there.
AUSA: Who is that?
GEOFF: [BLANK8]
AUSA: Who else did you see that you knew?
GEOFF: I believe maybe [BLANK]. I think s/he might have been there.

... AUSA: Ready to resume?
GEOFF: Actually, some of the questions that you have asked, as of now, have brought some things up that I didn't recall at first...
GEOFF: Yeah. See, at the hotel, there's one other activist I can remember specifically. And that would be [BLANK9].
AUSA: What do you remember about [BLANK9]?
GEOFF: I just remember that s/he was there, actually with [BLANK10].
GEOFF: If you could go over some of those questions again.
AUSA: Let's focus on, anyone else that you recall being involved in the fur exchange protest?
GEOFF: [BLANK11]. S/he's also from Los Angeles.
AUSA: Anyone else?
GEOFF: [BLANK11], [BLANK7], again, [BLANK8], and [BLANK1].

AUSA: Do you remember any of them driving up to the mink release with you?
GEOFF: I believe [BLANK1] might have been in the car with me.
AUSA: You said you were in the back?
GEOFF: Yeah
AUSA: Where was [BLANK1]?
GEOFF: If it was her/him, it was next to me.
AUSA: You knew her/him from Los Angeles, right?
GEOFF: I had met her/him a few times. S/he was kind of a not friend.
AUSA: What did you talk to her/him about on the way up to the protest?
GEOFF: Everybody was kind of silent. There was music on in the car, I think.
AUSA: Do you recall that s/he was the [person] next to you?
GEOFF: Not clearly. It might have been her/him. I could say with a decent amount of certainty that it was her/him, but I wouldn't want to bank a perjury charge on it.

... GEOFF: Look, I am trying to remember these things. A lot of them are things that I intentionally try to block out. I am trying to be honest here, clear all this up, and move on with my life. I am not involved with any animal rights group right now. I am working for a medical company trying to improve my life. I am giving you guys names, telling you, I mean.
JUROR: It just seems like you are protecting these people. You are protecting certain individuals that you shouldn't be. You are too bright for that.
GEOFF: I am telling you who was in the car with me.

... GEOFF: I don't remember how other people were dressed. I don't remember if anybody had a mask. Like I said, I remember that [BLANK1] was in the car, and that is it. I am trying to think about conversations I had with [BLANK2].
JUROR: There was a protest going on as well as the mink release?
GEOFF: Right.
JUROR: Do you know how many people were involved in the mink release part?
GEOFF: I would estimate 15 or 20.

... GEOFF: ... [BLANK2] told me that s/he had driven to pick those people up that had all run into the woods and later caller her/him. So, I mean, if s/he had gotten away with the rest of them, s/he I mean, I don't think s/he would have done that. I mean.

... GEOFF: ... And it was the police or the FBI that ended up arresting me. Seriously, there were a lot of things I can't recall about it. I do know [BLANK2] told me later on that s/he drove to pick them up. S/he knows who they are.

... JUROR: Had you ever heard [BLANK2]'s name before coming up here?
GEOFF: I think I heard her/his name. I think [BLANK3] were friends of hers/his.

... GEOFF: ... As I said, wanted to really start living my life and not just living unquestioning the way that everyone taught me to. We were taught to spout off statistics that we didn't know were true. We were taught to, you know, embellish things to make things look more tragic than they already were.
JUROR: And when you are saying that you were taught things, who was teaching you? Who was giving you the statistics and telling you what to say?
GEOFF: I mean, just everybody. Mainstream animal rights groups, they don't say where they get their statistics or anything like that. And, you know, people just say, you know, if you make things seem more extreme than they are, people aren't going to research it. They are going to believe it. And I don't know. It's-- the whole thing. I mean, you've got to understand, I have had all this stuff drilled into my head all the time about, you know, don't snitch, don't name names, don't say things. And you have to understand that the vagueness and all that comes from a deep sense that I am betraying people that I loved. This is so hard for me.
JUROR: That is the believable Geoffrey. That is what we wanted to hear.

... Geoff: ... I really don't remember her/ him driving up there. The only person I remember was [BLANK1], and s/he was sitting next to me...
AUSA: Do you want a minute before we go on? I have put a stack of pictures in front of you. And they are labeled Grand Jury exhibits GK 1 through 13. Can you take a look at each one? If you know who the person is, tell us the name.
GEOFF: This one looks familiar. I don't know who s/he is.
AUSA: Is that GK1?
GEOFF: GK1.
GEOFF: This is the only one that looks familiar, I don't know where I've seen him before. It was probably at the protest. This one looks familiar. I might have seen him in Salt Lake. GK5--

... AUSA: Do you know [BLANK3]?
GEOFF: No, I don't, not personally.
AUSA: Okay.
GEOFF: [BLANK4], GK9.
AUSA: That's the next one that looks familiar after GK5?
GEOFF: Yeah. GK10 is [BLANK1]. GK11, I think, is [BLANK5]. GK12 I don't know. So these are the only ones that look familiar.
AUSA: Let me hand you three more exhibits... Can you take a look at each set of pictures and tell us if you recognize the person in that?
GEOFF: It could be [BLANK5]. I don't know though.
AUSA: There's four pictures. So take a look at the four.
GEOFF: Oh.
AUSA: I believe you told us earlier that you recognized her/his build.
GEOFF: Definitely her/his build. I can't recognize the face though.
AUSA: Which exhibit is it that you are talking about?
GEOFF: It's GK14.
AUSA: What about GK15 and 16?
GEOFF: 15, I don't really remember. Is that [BLANK6], actually?
AUSA: Who is [BLANK6]?
GEOFF: My old friend, [full name].

... AUSA: Would you look back at GK14 for a minute. That's the one I think you thought was [BLANK5].
GEOFF: Could have been, yeah.
AUSA: Could you take a look and tell us if you think it is?
GEOFF: I think so, based on the build, but the face is really blurry.
AUSA: You believe it's [BLANK5] based on what you can see?
GEOFF: Yeah. I think [BLANK5] wears glasses. And based on the build, the lack of any fashion sense. That's serious.

... AUSA: Are these people expecting to hear from you as far as what you have said here to the Grand Jury?
GEOFF: [BLANK1] told me to talk to her/him about it. I have not talked to her/him in the past couple of weeks, but--
AUSA: But s/he asked you to tell her/him what happened here. Are you planning to do that?
GEOFF: No. I was thinking about that last week.

... GEOFF: Which organization?
AUSA: The animal rights organization that you were involved in.
GEOFF: I was involved in a number of them. But in general, with activism movements such as that, if you do something like what I am doing now, this is the general rules, snitches get stitches.
AUSA: Then there are consequences for you?
GEOFF: If anybody finds out, yeah.
AUSA: For example.
GEOFF: I don't know. Get beaten. Get hurt really bad.
AUSA: Had you heard that before, had somebody said if you do that, this is what's going to happen?
GEOFF: I mean, not specifically, not relating to this. But in general, that like I said, snitches get stitches. I mean, shit, I kicked this kid in the face for doing the same thing in Long Island.
AUSA: So you do have some fear for your safety because of what's happened here at the grand jury?
GEOFF: If anybody finds out, I don't know what happens. If they do, yeah.
AUSA: If it's any consolation to you, you haven't snitched on anyone.
GEOFF: I have talked about [BLANK5].
AUSA: No, you haven't. People showed you pictures of [BLANK5]. And you said, yeah, that's [BLANK5]. And you said you heard s/he had picked up some people after the mink release. We already had that information.
GEOFF: It's still snitching. The thing you got to understand, you don't help them put people in jail. And if they didn't have a use for it, for me coming up here and doing that, then they wouldn't be bringing me up here.

... GEOFF: Right, but I picked her/him from that. I am not trying to protect her/him. If s/he was driving the car, why would I say s/he was not driving the car but pick her/him out there?"

***NOTE: The identities of the individuals identified or discussed by Geoffrey Kerns have been concealed for privacy purposes and an absence of commentary should in no way be perceived as accepting Geoffrey Kerns' testimony as being remotely accurate or truthful.***