Response to Redwood Summer Justice Fund
9/1/99

Open letter to the "Advisory Board" of the Redwood Summer Justice Project

It's dangerous and unfair to second guess someone elses motivations and having been on the receiving end of such unfairness I will at this point keep my suspicians to myself. I would, however, like to respond to the latest information update and fundraising appeal sent out by the Redwood Summer Justice Project. (August 1999)

No one quarrels with the alleged intent of this group which is to pursue a lawsuit against the FBI--a government institution long known for its dirty tricks against activists from both the left and the right. No one quarrels with the fact that the FBI which initially blamed Judi Bari for carrying the bomb that blew up her car in 1990 deserves to be exposed for its decades of COINTELPRO tactics. A victory in court against this Goliath would be a victory for all peace and justice activists.

So why was it necessary to include near the end of this fundraising appeal a crudely crafted and dishonest accusation against fellow activists (without naming them) implying that they are engaging in a campaign of "disruption and disinformation". The authors are well aware that the growing number of people calling for an investigation by the new Mendocino District Attorney is based on NEW developments in this decade long unsolved case and the fact that no one puts any hope in the FBI doing its job. Why would the very people who are pursuing "justice for Judi" be opposed to examining any new evidence in this case?? All anyone has called for is an examination of all the theories in this case as put out by Steve Talbot in his 1991 documentary, "Who Bombed Judi Bari". Why would anyone be opposed to this??

Several of the people involved in a recent three year examination of this case are old friends of Judis and were deeply involved in the aftermath of the bombing. The current "staff person" of the RSJP was not even in the country at the time of the bombing, was not in touch with Judi and was unaware of the situation in her marriage and in her life at the time. Ed Gehrman's article which appeared in FLATLANDS MAGAZINE the A.V.A. and the SONOMA COUNTY FREE PRESS makes a good case for a fresh look at this tragedy. A proposed new investigation has no bearing on the lawsuit and should be welcomed if one is truly interested in truth and justice. Implications that our intentions are anything but in good faith are unfounded and disrespectful.

Even more questionable than the dishonest swipe that some of us are "........... attempting nothing less than to rewrite the theory of the bombing" is the sudden appearance of an "Advisory Board" on this particular letter which includes many well known names that lend credibility to its contents. Do the people whose names were used know the entire background of this sad and sorry saga? Assuming that their sole intention was to lend support to the lawsuit against the F.B.I., were they aware that this letter would contain a vague section of disinformation against people who have a longstanding and sincere interest in this case? Were they asked to read the letter before it was sent?? I did contact three people on the "Advisory Board" that I happen to know and the answers to those questions was no.

At best this act by the staff at RSJP was a thoughtless thing to do to people who are very busy and unable to pay attention to everything and at worst it was manipulative and underhanded. The "left/progressive/liberal" community already has enough infighting and misunderstandings that have held us back for years. The only solution to this longstanding sorry state of affairs is to communicate honestly and be willing to talk to each other. It's destructive to spread inaccurate, incomplete and misleading information and I ask all members of the "Advisory Board" to please consider this.

For anyone willing to put in the time you can locate background information on several websites including www.sonomacountyfreepress.org A particular article worth noting is "How to Deal with FBI Infiltration in Our Communities".

Thank you for listening.

Mary Moore
P.O. Bx. 298
Occidental, Ca. 95465
707 874 2248