Close the fur shops Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit source - "Joost van Steenis" Close the fur shops This is not an political analysis but an idea about what people possibly could do when they have analysed a certain situation. By this ongoing direct action pressure is exerted on some individuals who are involved in the fur trade. The article will be included in the series "The elite under fire" ( http://members.ams.chello.nl/jsteenis/eliteunderfire.htm ) though the attacked persons at best belong to the lower echelons of the elite. The elite is indirectly attacked because the closing of fur shops deprives some members of the elite of goods only they can afford to buy. On the site (in Dutch) http://adl-nl.enviroweb.org Fur Free Amsterdam asks sympathisers to join a weekly picket line (since the end of December) in front of a fur shop in the centre of Amsterdam. During this action flyers are distributed about the use of fur of animals that should wander freely in the wilderness. In Holland the use of fur is not widely spread. The country has only ten fur shops and a few fashion designers that use fur though many ordinary shops sell clothing with fur lining mostly made from the furs of rabbits or foxes. The activists block the entrance to the fur shop and approach all possible clients of the shop and also all passers-by who wear fur clothing. During the demonstration of March 23 some activists were arrested and only released at the end of the day when the shop had already closed. In addition they got a fine of forty euro (dollar). Nevertheless the activists vowed to continue their action till the shop owner stopped selling furs. The picket line is not the only activity. Sometimes the words 'murderer' and 'fur equals murder' were written on the shop windows. Occasionally business signs were demolished and shop windows broken. The shop owner had to sell his car because time and again his tires were punctured or paint was thrown over the car. This happened even when his car was parked in front of his private house. Frequently the shop owner was at night by phone remembered of his attitude towards wild animals. In this action the private life is disturbed of some people who are involved in an industry that makes dead fur from animals that should be alive. The events could be seen as an example of an action method in which a small alternating minority of involved citizens puts such a pressure on leading individuals that these members of the elite will understand they cannot always disregard the wishes from people who belong to the masses. Joost van Steenis http://members.ams.chello.nl/jsteenis New ways to break the power of the elite ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org e-mail: nyt@blythe.org ================================================================= nytrad-04.22.02-19:08:11-5101