Editor’s note: This op-ed is by state Sen. Joe Benning, of Lyndonville, who represents the Caledonia-Orange District in the Vermont Senate. He is the Senate minority leader and a cosponsor of S.30.
Recently I was publicly called to task by Julia Barnes, newly elected chair of the Vermont Democratic Party. She contended I was “desensitizing” the horrific act of sexual assault by using the word “rape” when describing the tragic destruction of a fragile ecosystem atop Lowell Mountain. She has demanded an apology using an official party press release. Her press release mirrored an earlier blog essay, written by an anonymous blogger who seeks relevance through savagery with acerbic wit. The resulting backlash has led many to become angry. Personal attacks are now being made against some of my Senate colleagues. This is a good opportunity to state that anger isn’t necessary.
Ms. Barnes, as a lawyer I’m well aware of the impacts of “sexual assault,” the term that long ago replaced the word “rape” in our criminal statutes. I represented one of the first altar boy plaintiffs molested by a priest.
Stripped of all hyperbole, my position regarding the way industrial wind came to Lowell Mountain is easy to describe. Dynamite blew off millennia-old rock formations and bedrock from atop Lowell Mountain. Heavy machinery carved a channel across the ridgeline and 135 acres of mountain forest was removed. Seven miles of road was cut though the wilderness, half along the spine of the mountain’s ridgeline. Concrete, rebar and unknown tons of crushed stone were used to build 21 platforms along the ridgeline. One platform features a 100-foot tall flat-topped pyramid that is 180 feet across at the top. The 21 industrial wind machines now strung across the ridgeline stand approximately 40 stories high. These machines have a life span of about 20 years, provide intermittent power and have virtually no effect in reducing Vermont’s carbon footprint. They bring overly priced power that is partially offset by “renewable energy credits” sold to out-of-state brown power producers.
When I saw that destruction and recognized what we were getting in return, one word immediately came to mind. Webster’s Third New International Dictionary defines “rape” as follows: “1. The act or an instance of robbing or despoiling: violent seizure.” Of particular note is the dictionary’s sample sentence: “The rape of the region’s forest.”
Ms. Barnes, as a lawyer I’m well aware of the impacts of “sexual assault,” the term that long ago replaced the word “rape” in our criminal statutes. I represented one of the first altar boy plaintiffs molested by a priest. I’ve lost count of the number of sexual assault victims I’ve represented in juvenile and divorce proceedings. I’ve served on the Caledonia County Task Force on Domestic Violence and as chair of Vermont’s Human Rights Commission. I’m not insensitive to the tragedy of sexual assault, but raping a pristine ecosystem has nothing to do with sexual assault. As I see it, no other word in the English language more appropriately describes what happened at Lowell. With all due respect, your demand for an apology is unwarranted.
Let me close with a special request to those who have been writing my Senate colleagues in anger over their votes on S.30. As human beings I know every senator struggled to do the right thing as they saw it. Please do not use personal attacks when expressing your frustration. Grace and civil discourse are much better tools.
