CHICAGO - An arson fire that might have destroyed the Morse Theatre on Sunday, August 10 was, by definition, terrorism. Yes, terrorism - I'll explain that below. It was probably gang members who started the fire, 
punched holes in walls, broke out the glass in a sound booth and scrawled hateful graffiti around the theatre's interior. It might not have been gang members; it could have been pretenders who wanted it to look like gang activity.
It doesn't matter. One thing seems clear: Whoever did this is (a) opposed to the theatre (why else try to burn it?); (b) opposed to improvements along Morse Avenue (because that threatens drug sales and prostitution revenue); and (c) believes in sustainable diversity over sustainable growth and improvement of Rogers Park. ARSON? NO DOUBT As reported on The Bench on August 10, the fire at the Morse Theatre was arson. There is no question that it was arson. Here's why:
- None of the electrical wiring was "live" yet in the areas where the fire started;
- There were two points of fire origin;
- Accelerant was used at both points of origin;
- Gang graffiti was left behind, which had not been their prior to the fire;
- A Chicago Fire Dept. official on scene agreed that it is arson.
IT WAS TERRORISM ter·ror·ism –noun 1. the use of violence and threats to intimidate or coerce, esp. for political purposes. 2. the state of fear and submission produced by terrorism or terrorization. 3. a terroristic method of governing or of resisting a government. [Source] Whoever started the fires (plural, remember there were two points of origin, therefore two fires) at the Morse Theatre was obviously using violence. Criminal destruction of property, trespassing and arson are violent acts. The graffiti on the walls indicates an effort to intimidate. The Chicago Tribune reported that "Graffiti scrawled on a wall of the second-floor lobby did not appear to be gang-related, according to the police arson investigator, who asked not to be identified." However, The Bench notes that one Fire Department official on the scene said that it appeared to be authentic gang graffiti. Regardless of whether it was gang graffiti or not, it was meant to intimidate. Undoubtedly, it has created a state of fear (admitted or not) among the business partners behind the Morse Theatre. The graffiti that read, "Fuck da police" was a statement of resistance to the government. The Tribune: "You want war," the graffiti says, written in pencil. "[Come] get uz." The Bench and The Broken Heart posted photos of graffiti that says "Fuck da Police," which is another attempt to intimidate. Is this politically motivated? Yes. "Political" encompasses a lot more than normal politics. An attempt to stop gentrification, or a dam project, or a tract of houses is political in nature, whether it is done violently or through normal channels. War, it is said, is the ultimate political statement, and somebody in Rogers Park has declared war on the parties who are investing money and sweat to improve it. The Morse Theatre was a target on Sunday. Will there be another target? DOMESTIC TERRORISM Eco-terrorism is one form of domestic terrorism, and arson is a favorite tool of eco-terrorists, the "greens" that attack private property in the name of preserving some portion of the local environment. They have no qualms about burning people out of their homes or businesses. Eco-terrorism is one of the top priorities of the FBI. On Feb. 12, 2002, James F. Jarboe, Domestic Terrorism Section Chief, Counterterrorism Division, FBI, testified before the House Resources Committee, Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health about the threat of eco-terrorism. He provided a succinct definition (emphasis added): Domestic terrorism is the unlawful use, or threatened use, of violence by a group or individual based and operating entirely within the United States (or its territories) without foreign direction, committed against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives. [Source] Some of the eco-terrorists, Jarboe said, advocate "monkeywrenching," which he said is "a euphemism for acts of sabotage and property destruction against industries and other entities perceived to be damaging to the natural environment." The Morse Theatre was monkeywrenched. The people who tried to burn down the Morse Theatre were most likely not eco-terrorists. But upon reflection, there are similarities. The "natural environment" that the anti-gentrification terrorists of Rogers Park are trying to preserve is an environment in which it is safe to openly sell drugs on the streets, hook up prostitutes with johns, shoplift, openly drink alcohol, and commit robbery on the streets. This underworld economy is threatened by projects such as the Morse Theatre, which promises to increase the traffic of non-criminals to the neighborhood, thereby making it more difficult for the underworld economy to function. We've already established that the graffiti, indeed the fire itself, was meant to intimidate the Morse Theatre's owners and/or gentrification in general. If the Morse Theatre arson slows down the improvement of Rogers Park, that will make a lot of people in the local criminal underworld happy. (It is curious that no other such act has occurred in Rogers Park despite the occasional flare-up of anti-gentrification hate speak over that past number of years.) THE POLITICAL ANGLE There are political factions throughout the country, all over Chicago, and here in the 49th Ward of Rogers Park that fear positive change. (It is ironic that most of them support Barack Obama, the candidate of undefined "change.") Rogers Park is not unique in being a mix of beautiful, tree-lined residential streets with well maintained homes and blighted areas such as W. Morse Avenue and W. Howard Street. It is also not unique in having political groups that oppose private businesses coming and, in effect, improving the neighborhood by offering local jobs, adding to the tax base and indirectly lowering crime. Alderman Joe Moore is a walking contradiction in this regard. On the one hand, he has a vested interest in maintaining the high numbers of people living near or below the poverty level here. They make up the vast majority of his supporters. Yet, Moore has been a friend to developers over the years as they have brought in more and more condominium projects. Moore has some strange bedfellows, too, such as Jim Ginderske and Tom Westgard. Westgard was Ginderske's campaign chair in the aldermanic race of 2006-2007. Both are openly against gentrification and prefer publicly funded and grant funded socialized projects to private sector efforts. Ginderske and Westgard are now well entrenched within the Moore Regime. Recently, Ginderske and Westgard were seen drinking with Moore and Washington DC political consultant Andrew Sharp after a Cubs game. Ginderske sits on several of Moore's committees. Westgard is encouraged by Moore to write his hateful blog posts against the Morse Theatre. Andrew Sharp is a top advisor to Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky. Sharp's philosophy is stated on his web site. It is borrowed from a Chairman Mao quote: "Politics is war without bloodshed." The full Mao quote is "Politics is war without bloodshed while war is politics with bloodshed." (Sharp says nothing about arson or criminal destruction of private property.) CHEERLEADING THE TERRORISTS One of the harshest critics of the Morse Theatre project, Westgard has repeatedly slandered and libeled theater partner Andy McGhee and the theater itself. Westgard has been the biggest cheerleader of the anti-gentrification terrorists, intentionally or otherwise. His own words may have encouraged Sunday's terrorist arson at the theater by giving them the impression that such an act would be tolerated by the Moore Regime. Alderman Moore has given no indication that this is not the case.
