Doug Couchon at the Gates of Crestwood
Feb 4, 2015: Fathers and Grandfathers Blockade
Happy fathers’ and grandfathers’ day! Welcome fathers and grandfathers to the gates of Crestwood where we find ourselves dumbfounded by a corporation which values money over the health of our families by Crestwood which seeks to store explosive and poisonous fracked gasses in unstable salt caverns beneath the banks of beautiful Seneca Lake.
Welcome dads to this stand we take at these gates to protect our families and communities. We are used to playing the role of protector. It’s what we do.
We would not stand by and allow an immediate threat to harm a family member. We would put ourselves in harm’s way to protect our loved ones. We have done this before.
And now we do it here. Crestwood’s actions and intentions present a clear and present danger to our wellbeing and that of our families and communities. And we will do what it takes to eliminate the threat. And we will do it peacefully and nonviolently. We will do it with our good minds and strong hearts working together. We will do it with love leading the way. And we will win the battle at these gates. And we will witness Crestwood’s retreat.
We’ll join forces with the mothers and grandmothers of this region whose passion for protecting all that we love matches our own. No corporation can prevail over the determination of us parents to avert harm from befalling the people and environment we care about.
A father senses a duty to assess any danger that threatens his family. Dads – are our families in danger here?
There are other ways a father protects his children. We do so by building their self-esteem, confidence, and life skills. We do so by fine tuning their decision making and problem solving skills, and by strengthening their judgment so they can protect themselves and their own families down the road.
We provide loving leadership intended to foster responsibility and competence in adulthood. And we teach values such as respect for all forms of life in nature, and the expectation that when others threaten to destroy what is good about life we stand up and say NO.
In society’s view, a successful father is a lifelong leader and teacher. His lessons about right and wrong live on in the lives of his children long after they find their own way, and long after he has passed from this life. A great father never stops being a father. He lives on as a great man in the hearts of his children and friends.
So dads, a father’s job is never done. Here we are again, setting the example…this time for an entire region.
Men let’s go forward today and block us a truck, shall we. And if no trucks should appear, we stand up and send our message to Crestwood nonetheless: Go home to Texas. There will be no gas storage here!