Former Chief Troublemaker Dead at 68
by Radagast on 24 March 2001 @ 01:00 PM
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Here's a posting from Brian Fitzgerald: Dear Friends, We've lost one of our elders here at Greenpeace, David McTaggart, and it's just a huge loss to all of us in the environmental community. He was one of the toughest, most relentless of the early Rainbow Warriors, a coldly calculating character who dreamt big and fought hard, lived dangerously and didn't mind who he crossed. In an interview in Time Magazine in 1989, he laid down a typical piece of earthy, no-nonsense inspiration: "Keep the number one thing in mind: You're fighting to get your children into the 21st century, and to hell with the rules."I worked with David for ten years, and I think one of his greatest contributions to Greenpeace and what Greenpeace stands for remains the first action he ever took, when he sailed his tiny sailing vessel, Vega, into the exclusion zone around Moruroa Atoll in the South Pacific, to physically stop the detonation of a nuclear weapon with his presence. That was a movement-founding moment, a testimony to the power of an individual with enough chutzpah and audaciousness to make a stand against some of the greatest powers on Earth. The greatest testimony to his legacy will be to finish the work that he started -- to ensure our future generations are safe from nuclear weapons. Let's start by stopping Star Wars. Like all great individuals, David's life was a gathering of stories. I hope my colleagues will join me here in posting their recollections and testimonials to a man of great humour and warmth and vision. I'm sure we'll also remember to mention that he was a cold-hearted bastard armed with Machiavellian ethics, and that whether we loved him or hated him (and everyone who knew him usually regarded him with a mixture of both) the world is a less interesting place without him.
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Re: A Remembrance of David McTaggart
by Bill Fernhill on 24 March 2001 @ 01:44 PM
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Vale, David McTaggart.
Thank you.
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Re: A Remembrance of David McTaggart
by Anonymous on 24 March 2001 @ 02:21 PM
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What can we say? He was full of ideas, some of them crazy, some of them not so nuts. He bought a boat to set up a base camp in Antarctica to declare a World Park -- protected from oil exploitation -- without asking anybody if they thought the campaign made any sense. He probably had to fight as hard inside the organisation to make that happen as we had to fight outside the organisation to win the campaign. But he was right, and we won it in the end.
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Re: A Remembrance of David McTaggart
by boombarash on 24 March 2001 @ 05:33 PM
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People come and pass away... And leave nothing but silence and emptity after them. But some leave thousands of people remembering... May we all live this way...
God bless you soul, David McTaggart!..
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Re: A Remembrance of David McTaggart
by rogue1 on 24 March 2001 @ 06:16 PM
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Rest in peace, and thanks.
I have always remembered the boat stopping the bomb incident, since I was a baby in 1972.
I really hope I can show as much courage to take me up against that level of malevolence that he was faced with, and to keep it together and win. Mind you, the French Navy took it out on the Rainbow Warrior years later with an exocet missile. Just goes to show how pissed off they were at having their nuclear bomb testing disrupted, and it goes to show the level of danger involved in that protest. Im surprised they didn't drop it on him.
Congratulations on your life!
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Re: A Remembrance of David McTaggart
by bluplanet on 24 March 2001 @ 07:08 PM
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We are infinitely grateful to David and infinitely sad.
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Re: A Remembrance of David McTaggart
by Dimitri Borré on 24 March 2001 @ 07:43 PM
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Well, what can I say??
I'm very sorry he died. I read one of the GP books, the one about the French nuclear tests ...
So I'm aware of his work, and its stupid that such a great man has to die like that.
So, well, sorry ...
-Dimitri
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Re: A Remembrance of David McTaggart
by NZBobGreen on 24 March 2001 @ 08:47 PM
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As a person who has soldiered through 40 years fighting the environmental cause I can identify with the effort of David McTaggart. Whereas I seemed to achieve so little, David moved mountains. My results have been so puny by comparison.
The most fitting action we can collectively do is to run with his inspired dream & make Greenpeace the most effective tool in achieving his aspirations.
Rest in peace mighty warrior - you have earned your place in Heaven.
NZBobGreen
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Re: A Remembrance of David McTaggart
by Anonymous on 24 March 2001 @ 08:51 PM
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Sono molto addolorato per la scomparsa di un'uomo
che ha dato tutto per quello che gli stava più a
cuore avvero la salvaquardia del NOSTRO PIANETA
,cosa che dovrebbero fare un pò tutti.
Ieri se nè andato una persona veramente unica.
ADDIO DAVID Mc TAGGART
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Re: A Remembrance of David McTaggart
by Anonymous on 24 March 2001 @ 09:40 PM
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It's hard to know where to start. I certainly wouldn't be involved with Greenpeace without having met David. For me David's defining strength was his uncanny ability to see what was important, focus on that and then his single minded determination to get there. He was a true leader, and visionary. Having set his goals, he could then delegate and let people get on with it. One of his earliest instructions to me in 1985 was 'go and get the Vega back from the French'. That was it, to a 20 something lawyer.
Even in 1995, David's often infuriating involvement in the Moruroa protest was characteristically enigmatic, determined and effective. I remember the French military officer in charge telling me, after months it was all over, of the impact on the French military when they heard David was coming - 'the great strategist' - and how they responded by bringing in enormous amounts of gear, having planning sessions etc. I'm glad I told David about that last year and we had a good laugh.
David's single minded determination surfaced again after Chernobyl. His frequent trips to Kiev, setting up the medical lab there, contacts with politicians, gifts of whole buildings, all a visceral and effective response in achieved more, in many ways, than the millions of dollars poured in by the agencies. Just seeing the mothers and children made it enormously worthwhile.
Yes, David achieved great things with the Antarctic, FNT, and the USSR, and of course welding together Greenpeace as an international organization, but his legacy for me is his drive, singleminded determination and vision. I was hoping to see him in a few weeks; now it is a farewell of sorts. Go well, David; you are with us in our spirit and energy. Duncan.
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Re: A Remembrance of David McTaggart
by Anonymous on 24 March 2001 @ 10:52 PM
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Patty (Hutchsion) Lichen here. I’ve been recalling several memories of David--here’s one:
I worked in the San Francisco office back during the bad old lawsuit days, when the Vancouver office was suing us for using the Greenpeace name. It was a very tense and ugly time. Friends were chosing aliances against one another, and we were spending our energies fighting other Greenpeacers instead of fighting for the environment. The darkness of those days is hard to describe; all seemed lost. Then, like a knight in shining armor (I’m not kidding), David McTaggart showed up on the scene. He had a vision of Greenpeace International, and he managed to convince our weary, skeptical board that it could happen. Our board members demanded support from all the GP US and European offices. McTaggart guaranteed it. They needed money if we were to fight the lawsuit. McTaggart promised them the other offices would provide it. In that one meeting, he single-handly changed the direction our board (the largest US office) was headed.
My friends and I were jubilant and we took David to a nearby resturant to celebrate. I was sitting next to him while my friends exclaimed over the good news that the European offices were so ready and willing to help us--imagine that! But David was pensive, and I remember my astonishment when he admittted that the European offices were in no way inclined to help us out, and he would have a hell of a job convincing them.
In the end, of course, he did.
MacTaggart was a visionary--he could see/analyze potential outcomes to actions (literally) years into the future. Sometimes the rest of us were numbskulls compared to him. But he was ruthless in pursuing his vision(s). He was charismatic and confounding. I can think of no other person both so revered and reviled in GP. During my six years with GP, David McTaggart was one of the more fascinating people I met (and in an organization stuffed full of characters and interesting people, that’s saying something).
I remember him with great fondness.
Patty Lichen
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Re: A Remembrance of David McTaggart
by Anonymous on 24 March 2001 @ 11:23 PM
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I have known David since 1975 and even though I haven't seen him since the Moruroa Campaign in 1995, considered him a close friend and loved him dearly.
We spent a lot of time together in the early days of Greenpeace in Europe, especially in the late 1970's. He was both charismatic and enigmatic, and incredibly stubborn. He was impetious, irreverend and very sensitive. At times, he found it hard to trust people. Who can blame him!
All my recollections of David invariably bring a smile to my face. I remember when I had organised for him to live in this squat in Brixton, circa 1977, with members of Ian Drury's band The Blockheads. He was supposed to be at an important meeting about the Rainbow Warrior and was nowhere to be found. I went looking for him and found him in the squat, sitting on the floor of his room surrounded by punks and others from the music scene, facilitating some kind of squatter community meeting. He looked so incongruous in this company, in his padded vest and faded jeans, yet he held everyone's attention in the palm of his hand.
David had the ability to communicate with and build bridges between such diverse peoples, from Sultans to the homeless. He felt comfortable being anonymous and would often slip onto the ships and seek out the dedicated volunteer in the far corner chipping away at some rust. A couple of hours later you could guarantee they would both be up to the local pub, the best of mates!
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Re: A Remembrance of David McTaggart
by Anonymous on 24 March 2001 @ 11:54 PM
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I remember, after we had bought the Sir William Hardy and were transforming her into the Rainbow Warrior, David suddenly appeared down at the docks after having flown in from somewhere. He appeared rushed and somewhat impatient. We had already had a 'difference of opinion' over the direction of the organisation. I remember we almost had a shouting match walking over one of the London bridges as he gesticulated up towards some tall building on the skyline saying that's where he wanted to see the name Greenpeace in large neon letters."Why the hell are you painting goddamn rainbows all over the place?" he said, down at the dock, dancing from one foot to the other "And what's with this stoopid name Rainbow Warrior? Goddamn waste of time if you ask me. Just get the goddamn boat and get out there. Forget about the makeup"!!!!!!!Over some wine many years later here in Auckland, David denied ever having said that, of course. But he did! The Maori have a saying when a great chief dies:Ka hinga te totara i te wao nui a Tane. (The totara tree has fallen in Tane's great forest). Thank you, David, for the work you have done on behalf of the planet, and for your unrelentlessness, and for never taking No as an answer. Tane's forest is a poorer place with you gone.Haera ra. Haera ra. Haera ra.
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Re: A Remembrance of David McTaggart
by Anonymous on 25 March 2001 @ 03:30 AM
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David was somehow larger-than-life, and when someone like that dies, they leave a big hole. First of all, many condolences to those who knoew David far better than I, most especially his family and loved ones.
David was a person whose life made a difference to the world. Hardly anyone does that on the scale that he did. Without David's vision, the global organisation of Greenpeace may never have come to be. Without his unrelenting drive, Greenpeace may never have taken on the project of saving an entire continent (who ever heard of such a thing?). And without Greenpeace I don't think Antarctica would be a world park.
Vision, commitment and a burning ambition to save the planet. Take on few campaigns and throw everything you've got at them. Unconventional, stubborn, iconic. A thorn in the side, a pain in the butt and a twinkle the eye. That was David, and he'll be missed.
Jo Dufay
Canada
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Re: A Remembrance of David McTaggart
by Anonymous on 25 March 2001 @ 06:48 AM
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Buon Viaggio, David e Grazie
(Good Trip, David and Thank you)
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Re: A Remembrance of David McTaggart
by Anonymous on 25 March 2001 @ 01:39 PM
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Grazie David,
per averci fatto crescere
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Re: A Remembrance of David McTaggart
by Anonymous on 25 March 2001 @ 04:15 PM
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Grazie per quello che hai fatto.Lo staff di www.morganaweb.com
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Re: A Remembrance of David McTaggart
by Anonymous on 25 March 2001 @ 04:39 PM
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David's epic voyage in '72 with Vega has certainly inspired me to join the good old Fri on her voyage to Moruroa in '73 and lead me into Greenpeace. We were 2 months in the security zone at 12 miles from the bomb site. The military must have been very agitated that after they finally got rid of us David and his crew on Vega showed up. It might explain why he got so seriously beaten up. I will never forget you David. If there are any pubs up there, save a seat for me and we have a good one
Martini
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Re: A Remembrance of David McTaggart
by Anonymous on 25 March 2001 @ 05:10 PM
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Like others, I hardly know where to begin – David the symbol, David the guy who ran the show, and David the friend….
David the symbol – If I think of every passion, dream, ideal I had when joining Greenpeace as a volunteer in 1982, he embodied it, and accomplished 100 times more than I ever dreamed of. He was someone I awed and admired, a personal hero. In losing him, I think I’ve lost a little of my own youth. Yes, he left us with Greenpeace, an organisation that I’m still proud to be associated with, but things will never feel quite the same.
As for the David who ran the show, Kieran’s and Patti’s messages ring so true. He had an amazing capacity to get people to do things for him: I have to laugh now when I remember him getting me, Pat Herron and Campbell Plowden to go to Japan in September 1984 to document the anticipated sperm whale hunt in violation of an IWC ban. He wanted us to get a photo of a whale being brought in, with a Greenpeace banner in the foreground. We were to pose as tourists, travelling all over the country trying to figure out which of four possible whaling stations was being used. Three inconspicuous gaijin on holiday, one guy with a huge beard and giant backpack, another guy with an outboard motor slung over his shoulder, and a tall, red-headed woman with a knapsack. A whacky plan, and I wonder if anyone else could have convinced me to do it…but six weeks later David had his photo. More seriously, I am eternally grateful to him for talking me into taking over the Antarctica campaign in late 1997 – I was involved in setting up another project at the time which I really wanted to pursue. Typically David, he said, “oh come on, just for a year” knowing full well I wouldn’t drop it once I’d started. (And then of course he tortured me relentlessly on more than one occasion when we disagreed on strategy…)
As for David the friend, the last time I saw him (a year ago now?) I had a feeling that I might not see him again. I told him that he probably didn’t even remember the thing I will always love him for the most (he didn’t): In 1988, I went to the Greenpeace Annual General Meeting. My daughter was five months old, and I’d undergone surgery recently. I was pale and thin, generally not doing very well, and on top of that jet lagged. Here he was, one of the leading figures participating in what was always a rather high-stress event. He took me aside and said, “Listen, if the baby wakes you up in the middle of the night and you need to get some sleep, come knock on my door. I’ll take a turn walking her for you.” And I think he meant it.
Kelly Rigg
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Re: A Remembrance of David McTaggart
by Anonymous on 25 March 2001 @ 05:56 PM
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Dear Friends:so its my turn to say something about David and the difference he made in all our lives. I have never met, before or since, a single person who was so challenging, so demanding and who touched me so deeply. There seemed to me no end to the depths of his feelings for the planet and yet he had so many personal demons that drove him. I was fortunate enough to know him on an intimate basis. He swept into my life and demanded a great deal of my attention. He constantly pushed me to do things that were impossible. He inspired and enraged me in equal measure. Yet I have never experienced as much grief as I have with the news of his death. I never expect to meet anyone of his calibre again. He was truly a warrior who seemed, the more I got to know him, to be sent on a mission on this earth. His contributions will take years to recognise. But it is clear that without his courage none of us would have taken the step to actually get involved in the way we did. He cared for us all like his children. His compassion reached out around the world. He is one of the finest people I have ever met and I am privileged to have spent so much time in his company. He taught me so many things and I am proud and privileged to have known him. And also sad beyond belief at his passing. It helps to be able to write these words and I hope that we can all find a way to fully acknowledge what he meant to us all. I will remember his beautiful singing voice and those dangerous blue eyes. How he would constantly turn up unnannounced and then drive me to distraction. He would hate it if we romanticised his image. He never lived to see his true legacy recognised. Fortunately history will take care of that. David was one of the key figures in creating environmental awareness in this world. He thus joins an illustrious but small band of figures - Rachel Carson, David Brower et al. He was a true pioneer who has marked so many people's lives forever. Most of all I miss him as my friend. It has helped reading all your messages and I hope we can celebrate his memory by redoubling our efforts. john may
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Re: A Remembrance of David McTaggart
by Anonymous on 25 March 2001 @ 08:05 PM
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I wonder how David spent this first week-end out there with Pompidou, Mitterrand and Charles Hernu.
I met David for the first time in 1975, in Paris when he was there to fight his court case against the French Navy. I have not left Greenpeace since. So, like for so many others, my feeling this weekend is similar to those of a father loss (including the mixed feelings that all difficult relationships entail ; some regret/guilt for not having spoken to him since 1995, etc).
If it had not been for David I probably would not have abandoned my Law and English studies at the Sorbonne. I embarked in Greenpeace and on the Rainbow Warrior with him. In September 1978, after the first RW voyage, on the way to a restaurant in Paris, I told him I should return to my study. He said « Come on, you wont learn half as much at University !». So instead of a Phd, I got a Nla (for Nasty Little Agitator). David was a good teacher. I owe him a lot. He shaped my life, he helped me grow strong (including when he infuriated me).
David used to say that the first Greenpeace office started at that time in Paris. That was one of these stories of his own making, of course. Because the couple of second-hand desks and old typewriters we were using in a squatted warehouse could hardly be called an office. And the truth is that there were more old typewriters in Vancouver, San Francisco and London, which were the other Greenpeace nerve centres at the time. But it is true that at the end of the 70s and beyond, the real nerve centre of the “organisation” was wherever David happened to be.
Un mot pour les Français maintenant: David a souvent été diabolisé par l´armée, les pouvoirs publics et la majorité des médias français. Certains aspects de son personnage pouvaient heurter effectivement certaines sensibilités françaises bien ancrées à l´époque. Toutefois, je voudrais dire aujourd´hui que David savait aussi s´effacer, et que les Français ont à plusieurs occasions applaudit et appuyé sans le savoir des initiatives dont le moteur principal était David. Je pense au moratoire sur la chasse baleinière commerciale au début des années 80 et au Protocole de Madrid de 1991 établissant le moratoire sur l´exploitation des ressources minérales de l´Antarctique.
Rémi Parmentier
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Re: A Remembrance of David McTaggart
by Anonymous on 25 March 2001 @ 11:02 PM
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I never really knew David that well, even though I ostensibly worked with him for a number of years during the early days of Greenpeace. David was my first encounter with a charismatic, enlightened despot. I always respected him, even though we frequently disagreed. Usually, though, David pulled the strings of his puppets, so I didn't have much direct interaction. I left Greenpeace a decade and a half ago when I couldn't stand dealing with some of the incompetent twits allegedly running the organization and their vicious petty politics. (Why were Greenpeace politics so vicious? Because the stakes were so low.) I went to Greenpeace's Internet site to see what the apparatchiks had to say about the demise of the man pulling the levers behind the curtain. I saw a hyperlink that suggested, "Click here for a testimonial to David McTaggart," so I did. There, I read an unsigned piece that contained the following "testimonial." Some of his closest colleagues will still describe him as a cold hearted [sic] bastard, and when David retired from active leadership of the organisation in 1991, there were those who breathed a sigh of relief. How very Greenpeace, to anonymously trash a dead colleague while the body's still warm. It's sad to realize that David will never again buy me another drink, and that I’ll never see him prowling the corridors at another IWC meeting. And it's also sad, but not surprising, to realize that when Greenpeace is behind you, it's inadvisable to bend over. Thanks for everything, David. David Rinehart
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Re: A Remembrance of David McTaggart
by Anonymous on 26 March 2001 @ 12:06 AM
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Of all the people who have influenced my life, I would guess that McTaggart would be in the top ten. When I started working with GP in the late 1970s, David was already a mythical figure; his voyage to Moruroa a legend that inspired audacious planet-saving behavior in young activists. While working on local issues in the 1970s in Seattle, I never thought I would be in a position to contribute to something so monumental as sailing a boat into a nuclear test zone.
But David had a way of tapping people and pushing us to do things we would never have thought to do on our own. He phoned me in Seattle early in 1980 and asked if I’d help him find Vega. He wanted to sail it to Moruroa again, he knew it was somewhere in Seattle, and was searching for the current owner. Of course I said sure. I had no idea how much that one phone call would change my life. My best memory of David was when we located the boat (which had been sitting idle in Lake Union for years), found the caretaker and went down to take a look. After selling it years before to pay for his court case, this was David’s first sight of Vega, and it was a precious and riveting moment. He was in love. Excited. Overwhelmed. I was nervous as hell. Before us was a neglected heap of wood, random parts, broken rigging, rusting mainstays, moldy sails. The masts were rotten and full of water. The chain plates were coming apart from the hull. Below, the cabin was a mess. The engine had been removed god knows how long ago, and was in parts, strewn from one end of the boat to the other. David saw beauty, he saw history, he saw potential. We sat in the cabin and drank a bottle of rum, David reminiscing. “I built this table; I put in that stove, but it never worked well… I built this bunk, the head; Jesus! Isn’t this just a beautiful boat?” All I could see was a mess of broken parts and unfathomable obstacles to overcome.
David could be so aggravating that you’d want to throttle him. So contentious and provocative and sexist and downright duplicitous that you could not imagine working with him one more minute. But he had faith in people and he challenged us to be tough, to take on the big things. He trusted me to get him his boat back and so I did. Months later, after we had negotiated the purchase of Vega, found and organized volunteers, sailmakers, mastmakers, mechanics and boat restorers and painters; after arguing with him about everything -- the idiotic dutch skipper, the lack of a viable crew, the fact that we had no navigation equipment to speak of, and for god’s sake the rainbow that volunteers had painted on her bow (“it didn’t have one when I owned her before. I don’t want one now!!) -- David finally got his crew together and took Vega out to sea. When he radioed me from the middle of the Pacific ocean on his way to Moruroa to tell me he loved the boat, I thought I would never have a better moment. My god, I learned so much. I can’t imagine ever having a more incredible chance to do something so useful for someone so brilliant.
The world is a better place because he knocked so many of our heads together and told us to just get on with it. I’ll never forget you, McT. Rest in peace.
Kay Treakle
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Re: A Remembrance of David McTaggart
by Anonymous on 26 March 2001 @ 03:13 AM
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First time I ever encountered David was in Madrid at an Antarctic Treaty meeting - along with Janet Dalziell, Paul Bogart, Lyn Goldsworthy among others. This was about 1991 pre-Antarctic
Treaty and the US delegation was stymie-ing the negotiations for a World Park. David was so pissed off, so angry, so wild that he called a crisis meeting to come up with a way to get at the Yanks. His idea was to go find the biggest phallus we could find in Madrid (we're talking over 10 metres high), placing it outside the conference hall with
a message to the US: "You're fucking the world". A few of us liked the idea. It never went ahead but the following year, the world agreed to a 50-year moratorium on mining in Antarctica.
Vale David. Long live the passion.
Elisabeth Mealey
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Re: A Remembrance of David McTaggart
by Susi Newborn on 26 March 2001 @ 05:50 AM
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I have known David since 1975 and even though I haven't seen him since the Moruroa Campaign in 1995 considered him a close friend and loved him dearly. We spent a lot of time together in the early days of Greenpeace in Europe, especially in the late 1970's. He was both charismatic and enigmatic, and incredibly stubborn. At times, he found it hard to trust people. Who can blame him! All my recollections of David invariably bring a smile to my face. I remember when I had organised for him to live in this squat, circa 1977, with members of Ian Drury's band The Blockheads. He was supposed to be at an important meeting about the Rainbow Warrior and was nowhere to be found. I went looking for him and found him in the squat, sitting on the floor of his room, surrounded by punks and others from the music scene, facilitating some kind of squatter community meeting. He looked so incongruous in this company, in his padded vest and faded jeans, yet he held everyone's attention in the palm of his hand. David had the ability to communicate with and build bridges between such diverse peoples, from Sultans to the homeless. He felt comfortable being anonymous and would often slip onto the ships and seek out the dedicated volunteer in the far corner chipping away at some rust. A couple of hours later you could guarantee they would both be up to the local pub, the best of mates!I remember, after we had bought the Sir William Hardy and were transforming her into the Rainbow Warrior, David suddenly appeared down at the docks after having flown in from somewhere. He appeared rushed and somewhat impatient. We had already had a 'difference of opinion' over the direction of the organisation. I remember we almost had a shouting match walking over one of the London brdiges as he gesticulated up towards some tall building on the skyline saying that's where he wanted to see the name Greenpeace in large neon letters."Why the hell are you painting goddamn rainbows all over the place?" he said, down at the dock, dancing from one foot to the other "And what's with this stoopid name Rainbow Warrior? Goddamn waste of time if you ask me. Just get the godammn boat and get out there. Forget about the makeup"!!!!! Over some wine many years later here in Auckland, David denied ever having said that, of course. But he did!The Maori have a saying when a great chief dies.Ka hinga te totara i te wao nui a Tane. (The totara tree has fallen in Tane's great forest). Thank you, David, for the work you have done on behalf of the planet, and for your unrelentlessness, and for never taking No as an answer. Tane's forest is a poorer place with you gone. Haere ra, haere ra, haere ra.
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Re: A Remembrance of David McTaggart
by Anonymous on 26 March 2001 @ 06:44 AM
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Vale McTaggart
It’s too soon to write but what the hell, he always shot from the hip.
As for most of us, he totally changed my life. I still cannot really believe that he has gone. There is no one who could come close to taking his place.
For me, his impact was as the ultimate inspiration. Not in the sense of being someone you aspired to be like, god knows he had his unpleasant side, but in the sense of making you realise at first hand that one person really can make a difference. That one person, through bloody hard work, determination, focus, courage and sheer will power could move a nation, and even the world. I believe that when the history books are written, the Vega voyages of 72 and 73 will be seen as catalytic moments of the twentieth century.
He had incredible energy. When he was wound up and firing I swear you could feel, and almost see, a pulsing electric field surrounding him. The world is not just emptier without him, it has gone a little flat.
He could work harder than anyone I ever met but was the best drinking companion you could ever hope to share a beer with.
Although to many of us he was almost superman, he did not win the war. But he did show us it could be won.
Mike Bossley
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Re: A Remembrance of David McTaggart
by Anonymous on 26 March 2001 @ 11:22 AM
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From time to time your life is brushed against by one of those people who, though you don't know them, inspire you to things you never thought possible. David McTaggart was one of those people.
During my years with Greenpeace Ireland the actions he took long before I'd ever heard of Greenpeace were a subconscious booster in those moments when all logic said to give up.
I met David only once, and then briefly, but his persona and his spirit loomed large at all times. For that I,we can only be eternally grateful.
May he rest in peace.
Ronan Fox
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Re: A Remembrance of David McTaggart
by Anonymous on 26 March 2001 @ 11:30 AM
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I heard the news about David's passing today, when I returned from the GPI AGM.
Words can't describe the man. He was larger than life in every respect, and to think that life has been extinguished is almost incongruous beyond belief.
We all have our memories of David, and without exception, they are vivid memories, strong memories of one of the most unforgettablepeople any of us are ever likely to meet. We've all on occasion disagreed with him and have experienced the full force of his personality; we've all on occasion been grateful to him beyond bounds.
On the deepest level we all have the utmost respect for him being the person who made Greenpeace the organisation that it is today, theperson who on several occasions saved the organisation from self-destruction
As we mourn, we also celebrate a superlatively visionary, creative and productive life focused on the preservation of our planet. He wasunique.
Best regards and condolences to all
Roger
Roger Wilson
Chair, Greenpeace New Zealand
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Re: A Remembrance of David McTaggart
by gillo on 26 March 2001 @ 11:49 AM
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Sono passati un bel po' di anni dalla prima volta che ho visto David, ricordo ancora la soggezione che ebbi incontrandolo, una figura quasi mitologica per un giovane attivista come me allora. Ma sin dalla prima volta quello che mi colpi' di lui fu il fatto di essere si' un po' mito, ma anche un po' (molto) uomo, persona. Uno schietto chiaccherone tra gli ulivi della campagna umbra.
Ed e' forse questo che manchera' piu' di lui, la sua compagnia, le sue risate, il suo carattere burrascoso. Ciao David, hai combattuto tutta la tua vita, adesso puoi finalmente riposarti tra i tuoi ulivi. Gillo
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Re: A Remembrance of David McTaggart
by Wladimir Zalozieckyj Sas on 26 March 2001 @ 11:55 AM
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I remember well the first time I met David. It was January or February 1986, I was new to Greenpeace, attending my first international meeting, the Ocean Ecology meeting in a youth hostel in Fort Newhaven, UK. It was freezing cold, both outdoors and indoors. The organization was pretty small then, we were just some 12 odd people around the table. The second day when we discussed the whale campaign David joined us. His determination, the sense of urgency and his believe in the power to turn things round changed the atmosphere of the entire meeting. We were still freezing, but he had
I remember another occasion, it was 1988 I believe, at the AGM in Alpbach, Austria, when David wanted Greenpeace to buy a Soviet satellite to monitor pollution, ocean dumping, logging of the rainforests etc. from above. Nobody was very much in favour of the idea, too many risks and open questions, no experience in the organization with spacecraft. David tried hard: there was this small inn at the end of the valley, where every day for lunch he took a number of trustees to lobby for this project. In the end he did not get the project approved, but he did manage to change quite a few opinions with his vision. The idea of doing something no private company, no NGO had ever even envisioned before, did not sound crazy any more but appealing; after all, that was what Greenpeace was all about, to do things nobody had thought of before. - Communicating a vision David could! Whenever I think of the term charisma it is David who comes into my mind, first of all.
Reading all your stories and memories of David I realize that his energy, his vision and his ideas are still there, did not leave us.
David, I am very glad that I have had the chance to meet you.
Servus,
Wladimir
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Re: A Remembrance of David McTaggart
by eXeQ on 26 March 2001 @ 12:17 PM
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No tengo palabras para expresar la pérdida que significa el fallecimiento de David. A pesar de haber estado en Greenpeace por menos de 1 año, tuve la oportunidad de conocerlo la semana pasada, cuando estuvo de paso por Amsterdam. Una persona que, a pesar de sus sesenta y más años, tenía una energía increíble. Greenpeace no sería lo que es hoy sin su contribución invaluable.
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Re: A Remembrance of David McTaggart
by Anonymous on 26 March 2001 @ 12:21 PM
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"Oh Captain! My Captain!"
Dearest David.
My heart is breaking. He was a truly generous and deeply caring man who not only moved the worlds mountains to save the planet but moved the unworldly ones for individuals as well -- in a very intuitive and quiet way.
There were loving jokes made at times about his Scottish descent. I remember one of the first harvest seasons, David, Rowan, Brian and I returned for lunch from the fields, drenched from the rain and exhausted. Well, at least I was exhausted. Those boys were infatigable. Anyways, we had a tasty stew going but on this particular day it got scorched and David stirrrrrrred it up well, served it up hot, and somehow convinced us it was still edible. I'm not sure how many days it took us to persuade him that pasta would make a nice change. The years living and working on his olive farm is a period in my life I cherish. The highs, the lows, encapsulated into an incredible experience that I am so grateful for.
The last time I saw David was at the farm almost a year ago. We didn't have any meaningful verbal conversation, but he took mine and Brian's 1 1/2 year old son's hand and walked off towards the
olive trees in the sunset. That conversation meant the world to Brian and I. One more gift to add to the countless ones he gave to us over the years.
Sogni D'oro in the Dream Cafe`, David.
Love you, Martha
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Re: A Remembrance of David McTaggart
by Anonymous on 26 March 2001 @ 01:01 PM
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Good by David.
I`ve met you on your sailing yacht Vega in front of Muroroa. You`ve managed gales and french frogs and it`s hard to hear that you`ve died in a car accident.
I remeber you first of all as a good sailor.
Farewell and have a nice trip
Peter Gottwald
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Re: A Remembrance of David McTaggart
by Radagast on 26 March 2001 @ 01:07 PM
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David retired as chair of the International Board shortly after I joined the staff of Greenpeace in Canada at the end of 1990, and I never met him face to face. Nevertheless, I still have a vivid memory of one encounter with him in cyberspace.
Support for the environmental movement, especially outside of Europe, dropped considerably after the recession began in 1991, forcing Greenpeace to cut back on programs and lay off staff. There was a lot of bitterness and infighting, in North America in particular. It wasn't helped by a seemingly unending series of media attacks by anti-environmentalists.
Finding it difficult to deal with the attacks and the dwindling media attention, a number of Greenpeace campaigners argued that Greenpeace needed to broaden out from its core peace and environment issues and tackle other issues such as human rights and labour issues. Given that Greenpeace's real target was destructive corporations that manufactured weapons, extracted oil and scoured the planet for fish and timber, it made sense to adopt a broader anti-capitalist agenda, they argued. The labour movment, in particular, was a "natural ally".
It was a compelling argument, especially because corporations laid off millions of people, and kept laying them off even as the recession came to an end. There were intense e-mail discussions among campaigners all over the world in the early 1990s about a new direction for Greenpeace that would put the organization more firmly on the left.
Finally, David could not stay out of the debate any longer. Although retired to his olive farm in Italy, he came back swinging. In an e-mail message that was distributed to almost all Greenpeace staff he argued that:
"Greenpeace has no natural allies, but will work with anyone who supports our goals."
In one brilliant phrase, he stressed the difference between NGOs and political parties. Our goal was not to be popular, it was to fight for a green and peaceful planet, using any means available, and working with anyone, regardless of ideology. Preserving Greenpeace's independence has always been one of David's key goals, it seems to me.
As it happens, we took David's advice. We still work on our core campaigns on peace and the environment. And we are still seeking ways to work with anyone, rich or poor, who will help us achieve our goals. By not taking funding from business or government, and not engaging in political alliances, we have largely preserved our independence, and our sense of pragmatism, which was one of David's greatest gifts to Greenpeace.
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Re: A Remembrance of David McTaggart
by Anonymous on 26 March 2001 @ 02:36 PM
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I met David in Paciano, when I followed my just met future husband to Umbria to help with David's olives harvest, soon after the accident between the MV Altair and the French navy.
What a thrill that was for a volunteer like me at the time, meeting a living myth.
He was friendly and funny...told me I should forget about learning Dutch, I should instead work hard on my Russian because Greenpeace Ukraine needed people. He woulld find a place for me, he said!
The living myth was indeed a man. A man with a big, generous hart and incredible passion for the mission he had chosen for himself; a man who could make you feel extremely confortable in his own house and then wreck your nerves in meetings.
I hope Greenpeace will never forget the lessons David has taught us, the passion and the determination he has put in his fight for a better world, the spirit and the humour and the stubborn consinstency with the Vision.
Arriverderci David! Sono sicura che avrai giá trovato qualcosa da fare dovunque tu sia. Con affetto e rispetto. Angela
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Re: A Remembrance of David McTaggart
by Anonymous on 26 March 2001 @ 03:11 PM
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I have never met a person that could inspire me like David did. He had a way of channelling his energy into another person, whether it was to communicate (a mild word for it) his own point or to get others to achieve remarkable things.
I remember working with him in the Soviet Union in the mid 1980's. He got into his head that he needed to see a high ranking official in the Kremlin. I suggested he needed an appointment and that this would take time - but no. He called one of the many friends he had established a close relationship with, and managed in a couple of hours to get his meeting. Of he went, stormed in through the gates of the Kremlin leaving me to calm the guards down.
He stormed out one hour later with yet another small victory, looking at me with one of his success smiles and his blue-blue eyes.
Thank you David for seeting an example and showing me that the seemingly impossible is only a matter of time and will-power.
Energy cannot be lost, they say. I hope that is true - I'll be looking for you.
Jakob
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Re: A Remembrance of David McTaggart
by Anonymous on 26 March 2001 @ 03:40 PM
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I never met David.
And that's the strange thing.
Because I wouldn't be supporting Greenpeace now if it wasn't for him.
A true inspiration....for so many people all over the planet.
Bless you David.
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Re: A Remembrance of David McTaggart
by Anonymous on 26 March 2001 @ 05:25 PM
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We all hear or read about great people - those whose power and ability shape the field in which they work. David was one of the greats. He had an extraordinary ability to focus, coupled with an ability to see problems before they emerged and were evident to others. And he was immensely charming when he wanted to be - he was the best company that I've ever had.
It's a bit risky to generalise from a sample of one, but the great are not always easy to work with. As well as the best, David has been the worst company I've ever had. And there was no development, however small, that escaped his detailed scrutiny or efforts to control it. [Anyone who has eaten with him will recall his frequent practice of ordering people's dinners for them.] He was inspiring, he was infuriating and always, he made things happen.
David did not like to lose. In every situation, he wanted to be the winner. It's the good luck of the environmental movement that he was drawn to us and exerted his gifts on our behalf. His contributions to the moratorium on commercial whaling, the moratorium on Antarctic mining, the Southern Ocean whale sanctuary and the end of nuclear testing in the Pacific are part of his imprint on the world.
He was one of a kind.
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Re: A Remembrance of David McTaggart
by Anonymous on 26 March 2001 @ 05:31 PM
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The world can ill afford to lose such a buccaneer. I worked with David many years ago and I must say the ride was exciting and maddening. I was lucky to know him.
Vickey
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Re: A Remembrance of David McTaggart
by Anonymous on 26 March 2001 @ 05:52 PM
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I met David in Paris in the early 70's when he was taking his cases through the French courts and I was a cub reporter for Reuters. My editor sent me along because he thought there might a feature in it for our Canadian clients. As it turned out, there was a lot more than that.
I was in court with David when it finally became clear he'd won, though at first it required a lot of interpretation, in every sense, to draw that conclusion. We went for a beer [several, inevitably] in the café opposite the Palais de Justice.
David and I had become friends but we went our separate ways. Years later he called me to ask for help in finding someone to do a media job for Greenpeace, and I ended up working there for four years.
He was an extraordinary man and he achieved an incredible amount. He changed my life, as I know he did for many people who met and worked with him. If he'd been a drug, he'd have been illegal.
Best wishes and love to all
Martin
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Re: A Remembrance of David McTaggart
by Anonymous on 26 March 2001 @ 06:10 PM
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Il tuo soggiorno tra gli ulivi di Paciano ci dava ieri forza e speranza, la tua mancanza oggi ci induce a sostenere quelle tue idee della cui bontà non abbiamo mai dubitatociao David ritorna ancora qualche volta tra gli olivi.....giacomo e alfonso del buono
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Re: A Remembrance of David McTaggart
by Anonymous on 26 March 2001 @ 08:44 PM
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I am deeply saddened by the news of David Mc Taggart death. His shrewedness, intelligence and commitment, made a deep impression on my own commitment to nature conservation. Earth will mourn his death, but will forever be thankfull fot his efforts
Glenda Medina
Venezuela
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Re: A Remembrance of David McTaggart
by Anonymous on 26 March 2001 @ 09:12 PM
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Like so many others, I have spent a lot of time thinking about David since Friday. He always had a place in my heart but I did not realise quite how big a place until now.I have known him since joining Greenpeace in the late seventies and I can say with certainty that without him Greenpeace would not have become an international organisation capable of campaigning on a global scale.For me, David's essential quality was his shining life force.David made a difference."Those who persevere have direction.Those who maintain their position endure.And those who die and yet do not perish, live on."
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Re: A Remembrance of David McTaggart
by Anonymous on 26 March 2001 @ 11:20 PM
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potrei ricordare.... si, qualcosa forse... ma la cosa veramente incredibile è la forza e la convinzione che hai saputo dare a tanta gente prima che a me.... non ce la farò, David, per gennaio del 2002... ma con qualche mese in più.... te lo prometto! and " ...if Valerio does not - the shit will hit the fan".
Addio David, grazie.
Valerio ....bacco
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Re: A Remembrance of David McTaggart
by Anonymous on 27 March 2001 @ 12:48 AM
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For me, the classic David moment was at the International Whaling Commission meeting in Kyoto in 1993. It was a tense and difficult meeting, the second at which the IWC was considering adoption of the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary. I arrived at the hotel, having barely stepped off the plane, to be confronted by David, ready to give me a briefing on the situation. His briefing was, of course, a completely incomprehensible mix of expletives, exhalations, furtive references to the likes of "our guy on that European delegation," or "the ones who owe us that favor," and exhortations that if we didn't go ahead with "that plan we talked about" then everything would rapidly go "down the tubees." I looked at him blankly, and he stared at me in disbelief. "Jesus," he exclaimed. "You don't get a word I've just said, do you?" The next day, by the time I'd managed to translate what he'd told me, the plan had, of course, changed, and the original plan was "bull****." But each plan was, of course, totally appropriate for the situation at the time, and that was one of the most brilliant things about David: an extraordinary ability to think on the fly, and adapt immediately to changing political dynamics.
David was probably the single most exasperating, infuriating, obnoxious, obstinate man I ever met, and probably also the single most brilliant, charming, energetic, and charismatic. My over-riding memory of working with him is of constantly having to clean up the mess he left behind, but doing so with a smile, and a shake of the head. As much as he sometimes seemed to regard details as an irritating irrelevance to be ignored or trampled over as appropriate, his overall strategic vision was outstanding, and his political antennae were remarkably acute.
Having David McTaggart in your life was like living in the path of a tornado. You knew the storm could blow along at any time, but there was never enough time to reach the storm cellar; before you knew it, your life had been turned upside down and inside out, and by the time you had caught your breath, he had moved on to something else. But it was an incredibly exhilarating ride, and I for one consider my life blessed and immeasurably improved for having experienced it.
Farewell, you old bastard. I'd never admit it to your face, any more than you would to mine, but I'll miss you.
Kieran.
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Re: A Remembrance of David McTaggart
by Anonymous on 27 March 2001 @ 01:08 AM
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David was gentle, brilliant, touching, brave, an idealist but no fool, stubborn, at times angry, not perfect (but then nobody is perfect, as David would reply to journalists pointing out his chain-smoking), and... he was genuine - he meant it and did it.
Burning the candle from both ends, he was. But hey... this is way to soon.
Lots of love, David.
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Re: A Remembrance of David McTaggart
by Anonymous on 27 March 2001 @ 04:02 AM
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It isn't often that in a life time of a man or woman that so much material wealth comes to such people. It is even more rare to have such a person give it all away to follow one's own hearts passion. David Mctaggart was one such person, and his story was one of my greatest inspirations. It kept me working for Greenpeace at times when motivations and agendas were clouded and it gave me courage to take some action of my own.
I gave up all my savings three times to try to get on a ship and volunteer and would have continued to do it over and over again until I succeeded. I did succeed and now I realise it was because I did it from my heart.
In my life he was a role model and a hero, and has left the world with much hope.
He made the Green activist movement an international body and in my opinion this was really great act! A necessary one.
A real Rainbow Warrior
May he rest in peace,
Yours Sincerely
Matthew Smith
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Re: A Remembrance of David McTaggart
by Anonymous on 27 March 2001 @ 05:22 AM
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"To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow; a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing."
a cynical lament from the bard but, as always, evocative of deep-seated feelings each of us carries yet few say out loud, even if we had the voice. we have, within us, akashic memories that move behind our thoughts and within our hearts that words will never describe but are as hard as flint and as real as life itself, and as cold as death. but sometimes something happens to stir those unutterable feelings and draw us inside ourselves where we are forced to reflect and to dwell, for a moment, in that inner place, held there like in a dark cloud lit with white hot lightning. last friday was such a day for me. it came in a four-word headline on page six of the post. "Crash kills Greenpeace founder." david mctaggart, founder and chief architect of greenpeace, had died on an italian road. of course, because i was at work that night, i saw the headline before you did. and i saw it again, and again, in my mind as i drove home through the darkness. and, because i have been a greenpeace supporter for nearly as long as david, himself, i was aware of the controversy that swirled around this man and knew him, not as a saint or even a legend, but, simply, as someone who made a diffence -- someone who left all of us behind in a world made better because he had shared it with us. he was the quintessential master of publicity and used all of his wile to shine that bright light on the causes he championed. he used the media like yo yo ma uses his cello. and, in course, that beam was reflected back on him and, often, revealed him to all of us in an unflattering light. but, in the end, critics and admirers alike must recognize that he caused great change. great change seldom comes from timid men or through idle repose. he was neither timid nor idle. but when you cast aside the sound and fury of david mctaggart's personality you will see a fire that burns, still, in the darkness of a world where the light grows dimmer each day. and we can give thanks: thanks that whales swim in the oceans; thanks that nuclear bombs no longer explode in the air, thanks that radioactive waste is not dumped in the sea, thanks that there are no strip mines or oil derrecks on the seventh continent; and thanks that the light of greenpeace shines upon a future where forests grow and oceans swell and all the earth's creatures are left to live the life God granted each of them in His time and in His way. http://www.stellers-park.com/webjournal/welcome.html
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Re: A Remembrance of David McTaggart
by Anonymous on 27 March 2001 @ 12:30 PM
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"Die Irrtümer eines großen Geistes sind belehrender als die Wahrheiten eines kleinen". Oh David! I miss you already. I am one of the truly privileged who had the chance to work with you. You have been my inspiration ever since.I will miss chatting with you, at heated meetings or under shadowy olives trees, will miss dreaming the impossible with you. "Ask the impossible to achieve the necessary", you taught me. I promise, I'll keep on thinking the unthinkable: to change our world, in order to keep it. I listened to your stories for many, many hours. And learned the most simple explanation ever, about the miracle behind the success of Greenpeace: "We are on the right side!" No one else I ever met was so strongly convinced to be on the right side. I guess, for most of your time, you indeed were. Thank you.Inspiration, where are thou?Wolfgang Pekny, friend and colleague, Austria
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Re: A Remembrance of David McTaggart
by dees on 27 March 2001 @ 04:52 PM
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Few individuals epitomize the Good Fight for this precious mud ball as did David. Sure, he fought dirty, but the ends clearly justified the brilliant means. I was proud to have known him. I admired and genuinely liked David, and, as Brian so eloquently put it, for some reason, he liked me. We both shared a predilection for scotch that would (after stealing away from office folk) have us out in SF drinking and telling wanker tales until the wee hours when we would be satisfied that we’d saved the world for the evening. I appreciated his honesty and no-nonsense, straightforward vision.He was a great man and I’ll miss knowing that he was there.Fair winds, David. This one is for you.Love to all,Cat Dees
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Re: A Remembrance of David McTaggart
by Anonymous on 27 March 2001 @ 06:17 PM
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With David McTaggerts death, the world has lost one of its most
energetic and determined advocates for world peace and preservation of
the environment. Greenpeace has lost a driving force. I hope we can
all reflect on this tragic accident and take heart and continue with
dedicated vigour, the struggle to protect our earth, our home, from
those who would destroy it. McTaggert would expect no less.
Keith Swenson
Ulaanbaatar
Mongolia
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Re: A Remembrance of David McTaggart
by Anonymous on 27 March 2001 @ 07:51 PM
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It is great reading the postings from old friends and colleagues. I will miss David and his rare combination of grit and charm. His vision, his schemes, even some of the treachery, helped give us a fighting chance to save some of the life on this planet. My guess is that he would grow impatient with remembrances, swear under his breath at us and then suggest, just a little more sweetly, that we get on with the goddam job. Jon Hinck, friend and colleague.
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Re: A Remembrance of David McTaggart
by Anonymous on 27 March 2001 @ 08:27 PM
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We first met David in May 1990 when we paid the first of a number of visits to Paciano over the following ten years. During this time we saw him, with characteristic determination, drive and hard work, transform houses on the estate from near ruins to places that were as beautiful inside as they were outside. He had a vision of how he wanted them to be and his good taste, attention to detail and the choice of building materials and fittings revealed his appreciation of quality and appropriateness. Likewise he transformed his land into a highly successful organic olive farm which not only produced top quality oil but also influenced the approach of some neighbouring farmers. Every visit left us with indelible memories of the most charismatic man we had ever met. He was able to be the most caring, warm and sensitive person and at the same time to persue issues at home and internationally with a clear vision and unswerving determination. He had a marvellous sense of humour and (particularly after a few drinks) was a raconteur par excellence - such astonishing stories which hardly seemed credible were it not for the evidence of their truth. We saw him buoyant when times were good and down when they were bad. At the end of a hot day working on the farm he would stagger in, “Phew, jees, huh! - come and sit on the patio and have a cool beer”. He was great company at all times but particularly when having a meal out - has anybody ever succeeded in paying the bill before he found some devious way of beating you to it? To Rowan he was employer, colleague and much valued companion and they succeeded in getting on with each other for over eleven years. He will be missed enormously. We remember David with admiration, respect, affection and a degree of awe. It was a privilege to have known him and it is so difficult to realise that we shall not see him again. John and Denee Holloway, with Daniel, Crispin and Michelle and family.
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Re: A Remembrance of David McTaggart
by Anonymous on 27 March 2001 @ 09:28 PM
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well, there isnt much to say after all that...but i liked the comment, ''congradulations on your life', david. i was in grateful dead chat, telling the sad news...and people were sad with me, and one said david got alot of folks caring about the envirionment. and that is one very important thing, making many aware. thank you
ben
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Re: A Remembrance of David McTaggart
by Anonymous on 28 March 2001 @ 03:18 AM
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David McTaggart
An icon, a beacon, a true Warrior of the Rainbow. You and your peers are my inspiration. I never met you but felt your spirit and mana. I feel privileged and humbled to be part of the family you helped define and create.
Watch carefully over us.
Adam Laidlaw GPNZ
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Re: A Remembrance of David McTaggart
by Blair on 28 March 2001 @ 06:53 AM
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It was an honour to have had the chance to know and work with David over the 11 years I've worked with Greenpeace.
I'll never forget how, the first time I met him as a very green press officer at the IWC in San Diego in 1989, he gave me his card, jotted his home number on it and told me to call him if I had a problem any time, day or night.
From the moment you met him, you knew he was a visionary. But he also had a way of making untold numbers of strong headed individuals, myself included, loyal to him, to Greenpeace and to environmental issues.
May he continue his good fight where ever he goes from here. He will be greatly missed by all of us who knew him and those who were inspired by his unwavering commitment.
Blair Palese
collegue and friend
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Re: A Remembrance of David McTaggart
by Blair on 28 March 2001 @ 06:54 AM
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It was an honour to have had the chance to know and work with David over the 11 years I've worked with Greenpeace.
I'll never forget how, the first time I met him as a very green press officer at the IWC in San Diego in 1989, he gave me his card, jotted his home number on it and told me to call him if I had a problem any time, day or night.
From the moment you met him, you knew he was a visionary. But he also had a way of making untold numbers of strong headed individuals, myself included, loyal to him, to Greenpeace and to environmental issues.
May he continue his good fight where ever he goes from here. He will be greatly missed by all of us who knew him and those who were inspired by his unwavering commitment.
Blair Palese
collegue and friend
Sydney, Australia
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Re: A Remembrance of David McTaggart
by Anonymous on 28 March 2001 @ 07:18 AM
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It was 1985 or 1986, fully two years or so since I had left seven or so raucous years within the organisation behind me, that I got an unexpected early morning phone call from David.
I hadn't spoken to the guy in two years and our last conversation had centered around what I was considering to do next with my life (a consideration I should be making, at his suggestion, following a national meeting concluded earlier in the day, I might add.). The gist of it was that I was going to go into tile and stone setting with a former crew member of the R-Dub who had been on the Siberian/Driftnet campaign in 1983.
So here it is, a couple of years later and too damnned early in the morning when David, who happened to be in San Francisco at the time, calls asking "So, are you still doing the tile thing?". I mumbled in the affirmative and he went off: "Well, ya gotta get ahold of Don McDonald and...yadda yadda..." gave me a host of contacts in the Bay Area to get in touch with and a solid rap about "If you're really going to make this work you gotta..."!!!
Ran into him one last time a number of years later. After several drinks at a pub and getting thoroughly pissed talking over the old days and hearing about the new, David asked "So, are you still doing tile?". I wasn't, and told him of my plans for getting into ecotourism in Hawaii. And, again, he went off: "Well, you've got to get in touch with so and so....and if you're really going to make this thing work you gotta..."!!!
Never followed up on any of his suggestions. Which probably explains why our history didn't evolve beyond those impossible early years of GP.
Yeah, I guess to most, his legacy is Greenpeace as it exists today. But, I can't help wondering how many people he touched anonymously outside of it. The man had bandwidth and a broad TO DO list that he followed up on.
Via con Dios, David. Ya done good, Cowboy.
Eddie Chavies
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Re: A Remembrance of David McTaggart
by Anonymous on 28 March 2001 @ 10:17 AM
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When I heard about Davids accident I was shocked and sad. I feel that the global environmental movement has lost an extraorordinary visioner and an outstanding charismatic personality.Personally, I haven't had too many occasions to talk to David but remember one night in Amsterdam very well, when he finally found out that I was in charge of GP's affairs in Russia and the Ukraine. At that time I was the CEE co-ordinator.The next few hours we did not only empty a bottle of whisky but did also discuss GP's business in the region. Actually, we discussed David's ideas about this business which were slightly different from GPI's ideas. Discussing is also not the right expression, he actually pushed very hard for what he wanted me and GPI to do. Half of his not ending monologue this evening I couldn't understand because his language was always mysterious to non-native speaker. At the end I felt both fascinated and scared. Fascinated of the energetic power and strong personality of that guy and of some fucking good activities he proposed, scared that if GPI would not agree he would act on his own - what he finally did!. Whatever he did, he wanted to go for results. Now, although he is dead, he again seems to have a "hidden agenda" as so often in his life: Is it not wonderful that people such as Blair, Wladimir and some others who left GP some years ago and many others of the old guys show up? Is it not fascinating that David seems to network us again and center us around some real important questions of the future of the planet. Shouldn't we just go ahead and finish the job, he and others started?Looking very much forward to meeting and talking to you again. Dorit.
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Re: A Remembrance of David McTaggart
by Anonymous on 28 March 2001 @ 10:48 AM
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Since the accident David has barely been out of my thoughts, and countless
memories are flowing back in glorious technicolor.
Myself and those who spent time with him in Italy will doubtless remember a man
hellbent on ensuring that all those in his company were having a great time
'getting into trouble' even if that wasn't always what was entirely needed at the time.
I knew David only as a friend, never having worked with him, but his friendship over
the last eight years will remain a major influence throughout my life, and that
of my children. And the countless testimonials to his overwhelming charisma are undoubtedly true.
At times he could be terrifically funny, even if humour wasn't always
intended. My children and the daughter of his great friend Helen, would
sometimes, when he was off on an expletive peppered rant about something or
other, call him Rupert - a nickname which to their great amusement he never
seemed to notice.
And I recall him once having me weep with laughter over a self-effacing story
concerning the picking up of an award for Greenpeace in Germany. A fancy
ceremony had been organised and as he was invited to approach the podium, a hail
of fireworks were set off and half a dozen ropes dropped from the high ceiling.
Down these ropes absailed six Greenpeace activists to great applause from the
audience. As they dropped to the floor David realised with panic that he didn't
recognise any of their faces let alone know their names. Desperate not to hurt
the feelings of colleagues, and after a moments dilemma, he decided to bluff it.
He approached all six in turn, making much of them, grinning, bearhugging and
clapping shoulders, asking how they'd been.
Later that evening, still somewhat unnerved by his seeming memory loss, he
confided his small deception to one of the organisers who informed him that the
absailors were in fact, six local circus performers hired on a one-off contract
for the occasion.
David, how I'll miss you.
Goodbye old buddy,
Adrienne.
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Re: A Remembrance of David McTaggart
by Anonymous on 28 March 2001 @ 12:26 PM
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When I met David for the first time in 1994 in Hamburg, I understood at once that he was the father of Greenpeace's confrontation stragety that went beyond the flower power protest methods of the 1970s. His actions against French nuclear testing became a synonym for courage in the fight against environmental crimes. No rik, no success. Today, one can see hundreds of "David McTaggards" all over the Greenpeace world. David, you are still alive.
Fouad Hamdan
Colleague from Greenpeace in Germany
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Re: A Remembrance of David McTaggart
by Anonymous on 28 March 2001 @ 02:01 PM
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Dear David!
Such people like you never desapeared from life. I do not believe and I do not understand why that happend in life. Why the bests go first. You still live in the harts of people who love your. Remine, moment when you came to Kiev, how you opened Greenpeace Ukraine office, how we were glad that we are a part of Greenpeace yet. Your dream is became tru ( Chernobyl Power Plant was closed at least ). I have never forger your last visit to Kiev and your words of support. Even our office was closed you helped me to understand it. We will support Greenpeace always. You are the best I have in life. I know you are whith us so I try do not be sad. We will meet...
Natasha Vishnevskaya, friend,
former activists of GP Ukraine, Kiev Ukraine.
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Re: A Remembrance of David McTaggart
by Anonymous on 28 March 2001 @ 02:09 PM
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I saw David as someone with seemingly infinite capacity for compassion. He was sensitive, perceptive and receptive. One of the things I most admired about David was his tenacity and his refusal to be thwarted by powerful obstacles. David inspired me to think big and he encouraged me to persist in my attempts to catalyse rainforest restoration in Madagascar when funding fell through time and again. His positive impact on this world must go way beyond those things he was directly involved in, and will continue even though he is no longer with us. Thank you David.
Love from Louise Holloway
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Re: A Remembrance of David McTaggart
by Mia on 28 March 2001 @ 02:52 PM
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I had the honor of working with David and Brian for one year , closely, and for four years at a distance, an unforgettable period of my life for which I am very thankful.
Reading these testimonials it strikes me how deeply David touched each one of us.
He was both very complex and very simple, walked in a straight line and created complicated labyrinths for any situation. How he confused us first and then yanked us out of where we were stumbling around blindly, into the brilliant sunlight showing us with disarming simplicity where it was that he wanted to take us.
Who doesn't remember how he could spellbind any audience using his unintelligible language in a speech - "Jeez, hey man, wheeew, and the BAM, nononono!, wow, wheew yeah, you know…"(and then when Brian's written translation came out everyone said "Oh, sure that's what he said!")
I like to think that right now David is sailing a beautiful 30 ft. ketch on a clear blue ocean with whales and dolphins swimming alongside, keeping him company, gratefully.
Farewell, David, keep sailing.
Mia
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Re: A Remembrance of David McTaggart
by Anonymous on 28 March 2001 @ 08:46 PM
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dammit David, I TOLD you the resurrection would be the hard part. Stop screwing around and get on with it. You've got 3 more days, then we go to plan B with or without you.Don
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Re: A Remembrance of David McTaggart
by Anonymous on 28 March 2001 @ 09:28 PM
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YOU change my life... YOU change life of millions people around world...
May be you never realize what you really did... May be WE only start to realize what YOU really did for all of us...
THANK YOU BRAVE HEART!
Evgeni Drobkov, Greenpeace Ukraine fundraiser
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Re: A Remembrance of David McTaggart
by Anonymous on 29 March 2001 @ 12:58 AM
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I've not met anybody since David who could be up all night with his various entourages of characters (staff included) and then be first in the Lewes, England office to be interviewed by, say, "The Guardian" or first to emerge from a Moscow hotel in the freezing air, growling, "Where the hell is everybody?" I think the deal with the former Soviet Union's Melodya music company to produce the Greenpeace album with a reply card in it was brilliant. I wonder now, is direct mail in Russia a regular thing?
There is the eternal debate in nonprofits on where to draw the line on needing to operate on a consensus, fair representation basis versus the need to give the leaders the ability to move, and move fast, at a moment's notice. Seemed like David was often the cause of these debates within Greenpeace, and I thank him for pushing the envelope (to put it mildly.)
David, I've got your "Greenpeace III" in my lap as I write this. It will be a reread tonight with a glass of Italian wine. Good voyages. Dorothy Houston
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Re: A Remembrance of David McTaggart
by Anonymous on 29 March 2001 @ 05:55 AM
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David, I never met you, though I wish I had. Judging from what your friends are saying, it is my loss.
Some peple make the world more special just by being in it, and that I understand,you have done.
I shall be supporting Greenpeace in memory of, and because of you.
sincerely,
Pernell McFarlane
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Re: A Remembrance of David McTaggart
by Anonymous on 29 March 2001 @ 11:39 AM
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http:// DAVID MCTAGGART AND THOSE F****** OLIVES
http://
http:// A few years ago David joined us on the RW in the Med. After being on board for a little while he took me to one side and said "Dave we have to talk." I suggested my cabin to which he readily agreed. There were three reasons why he agreed to this. First, my cabin was the only smoking cabin on the ship! Secondly he'd got wind that I was the only remaining possessor of a particularly fine brand of vodka we'd all purchased samples of whilst in Ukrania! So with Marlboros lit and glasses charged we move to the third reason. By now I'm really excited as I await the details of a daring and secret mission that David was planning. So I was just a little disconcerted when he said "Dave I hear you're getting off the RW in a few days in Italy, why don't you come and pick olives?"
http://
http:// Anyway to cut a long story short he managed, in his usual inimitable manner, to somehow convince me that picking his olives would be for the good of humanity! Before arriving at his place I was on holiday with my then future wife and he agreed to drive 30 kms to pick me up. I should have smelled a rat then. David just didn't drive 30 kms to pick somebody up - he'd convince somebody else to do it! So the next morning I'm out there with Brian, Martha and Rowan picking olives. It was cold and it was definitely NOT a labour of love. Every so often David would come by pick a few olives and then go off for some earth shatteringly important phone call. But not before he'd say "don't stand on the f****** olives" about 15 times. He seemed to aim these outbursts at me in particular. A typical example:
http:// "Dave, don't stand on the f****** olives."
http:// I reply, "I'm not standing on the olives."
http:// McT, "OK, but just in case, don't stand on the f****** olives."
http:// Once more I reply , "Look, I'm not even standing under a tree how can I be standing on an olive?"
http:// McT, now walking away can't resist the last word , "Yea, that's good but don't forget….
http:// (I jest not about David's use of the f word. As all others who knew him will confirm, his language was, to say the least, colourful.)
http://
http:// I can only attribute his nervousness about me stepping on his f****** olives to an incident that had happened a couple of years earlier. He'd invited some of us to his flat in Rome (I have a strong suspicion Mario Damato was there too). There he had the model of the first RW that had been used in the arbitration against the French. It was complete down to the hole in the side. After we'd finished admiring it we walked away and suddenly, without any apparent outside influence, it fell over. He was convinced I'd knocked it over.
http://
http:// Anyway, fortunately, after a couple of days I had to drag myself off to a boring GP Med meeting. Oh, what joy no more olives to pick. I vaguely remember David (or was it Brian) contacting me the next year to come and pick olives again. Alas, I had prior arrangements!
http://
http:// Finally, David, I cannot lie to you anymore. I did NOT knock over your f****** model. And finally, save a drink for me, you owe me - for the vodka AND those f****** olives.
http://
http:// Dave Roberts, colleague and friend
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Re: A Remembrance of David McTaggart
by Anonymous on 29 March 2001 @ 03:38 PM
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SOME MEMORIES OF DAVID
I got to know David as a friend, at a time when he was under personal attack by our opponents. They had chosen to undermine Greenpeace's credibility by questioning his honesty and integrity. I know that he was hurt by these allegations, but throughout the many months of media attack, his concern was not for himself, or his reputation, but for the effect that these slanderous allegations would have on his family and friends. He also cared deeply for the impact that they were having on Greenpeace as a whole, which was also under serious attack from corporate vested interests through-out the world.
During this difficult time in Greenpeace's history, I spent many days in Paciano working with him, and a few close Greenpeace friends, on a strategy to counter the allegations. As I got to know him better, I saw a very different man from the public image that he chose to portray. I saw a highly sensitive caring person, capable of very deep feelings. A man who saw issues in terms of black and white, right and wrong. A man with a sense of mischief and a wonderful sense of humour. A man with such charisma, that it was impossible not to like and support him.
Of course at times he could be impossible, as those who have worked closely with him know only too well! He was not one for consensus management. He had a vision, and nothing was going to stop him from implementing it. He was a leader not a manager, and I very much doubt that Greenpeace would be the organisation that it is today, were it not for David's strong leadership. At times he could be quite ruthless if he thought that some part of the organisation was moving away from from the principles that Greenpeace was founded on. David was not a comfortable man to work with, but in many ways that was another one of his strengths.
But on a personal note, I doubt that I would have survived the initiative to move Comms from London to Amsterdam as long as I did. David knew the pain I was going through, as friends and colleagues I had recruited, left the organisation. His regular supportive e-mails gave me the strength to continue, and I shall forever be grateful for his friendship at this time.
I am proud to have had the privilege to have known him. For me, the two most significant movements of the 20th century for social change will always be the American civil rights movement, and of course Greenpeace…and for me David has the right to stand alongside Martin Luther King, and other visionary leaders As I watch the images of Greenpeace activists, bringing the nuclear waste train to a standstill in Germany (from my olive farm in the south of Turkey!), I know that David would be happy to know that Greenpeace is still on track. That campaigns, and not internal politics and management structures, are what Greenpeace is all about.
So I would like to say goodbye to a true Rainbow Warrior, not with sadness in my heart, but in the secure knowledge that his spirit will live on, and act as an example to all those who will follow him in the future.
Richard.TitchenFormer Executive Director of Greenpeace Communications.
rtitchen@accord-pr.com
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Re: A Remembrance of David McTaggart
by Anonymous on 30 March 2001 @ 07:53 AM
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When I met David, it was in Italy. I didn't even know who he was. I had been discussing an upcoming Tom Waits concert in Florence and he was sitting at the table with my two friends. He went on to tell me that he had made a deal with Tom Waits himself to sing "Tom Trubert's Blues" at his funeral. I found this strange old man humorous and laughed but played along asking him I could be put on the guest list for his funeral. I sat with him and my friends and we talked until the bar closed. David, of course, buying all the drinks.
I saw David a number of times that summer and he would come sit with me and my friends. He would continue to tell me crazy stories of the ferocity of Badmitton and how it ruined his knees and elbows. I wanted to not believe any of the stories he told me, and David had a million seemingly tall tales. As much as he may have exagerated some details in the name of good story telling, they were still all true! And the ones he didn't exagerate were even greater.
David was larger than life. He was and probably will be the closest thing I will ever see to the character Hayduke from "The Monkey Wrench Gang". Even being in his pressence he was almost unreal. He was bigger than life and some one I could only hope to be like in both his good and bad traits.
I never knew him in the Greenpeace sense. I saw him around and about town during the summer of 99. He became one of those familiar faces i enjoyed seeing. I knew he valued his privacy and never tried to pry to far into his past. But anyone who ever drank with David would be subject too his past anyway.
Thank you David where ever you are! You were an amazing person and even if you never knew it your kindness and generosity will always be remembered. I don't know if Tom Waits ever did make it to your funeral but I just hope this will suffice:
Wasted and wounded, it aint what the moon did
I got what I paid for now
see ya tomorrow hy Frank can I borrow
a couple of bucks from you, to go
Waltzing Matilda, waltzing matilda, you'll go waltzing matilda with me
I am an innocent victim of a blind alley
and I'm tired of all these soldiers here
no one speaks english and everythings broken
And my Stacys are soaking wet
to go Waltzing Matilda, waltzing matilda, you'll go waltzing matilda with me
now the dogs are barking
the taxi cabs parking
a lot they can do for me
I begged you to stab me
you tore my shirt open
and I'm down on my knees tonight
Old Bushmills I staggered
you burried the dagger in
your sillhouette window light to go
waltzing matilda, waltzing matilda, you'll go waltzing matilda with me
now I've lost my St. Christopher
now that I've kissed her and the
one armed bandit knows, and the
maverick Chinaman, and the cold blooded signs and the girls down by the strip tease shows go
waltzing matilda, waltzing matilda, you'll go waltzing matilda with me
no I don't want your sympathy
the fugitives say that the streets aren't for dreaming now
manslaughter dragnetrs and the ghosts that sell memories
they want a piece of the action anyhow go
waltzing matilda, waltzing matilda, you'll go waltzing matilda with me
and you can ask any sailor
and the keys from the jailor
and the old men in wheelchairs know
that matilda's the defendant, she killed about a hundred and she follows where ever you may go
waltzing matilda, waltzing matilda, you'll go waltzing matilda with me
and it's a battered old suitcase
from a hotel some place
and a wound that will never heal
no prima donna the perfume is on
an old shirt that is stained
with blood and whiskey
and goodnight to the street sweepers
the night watchman flame keepers
and goodnight matilda too.
words by Tom Waits
goodnight, David, goodnight
Tyler
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Re: A Remembrance of David McTaggart
by Anonymous on 30 March 2001 @ 02:51 PM
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I am deeply grieved at the news of David McTaggart sudden death by car accident.
I listened to this news of his death after came back to Tokyo for taken photograph in the Kashiwazaki's Kariha Nuclear power plant when the transport ship of plutonium MOX arrived from Europe,.
We lose a suit into the judgment of asking to stop the use of the MOX fuel by 23 days when he died.
It was September1995,that he had me. We are together Four-hour flight by airplane from TAHITI to Tureia Island in the east of Moruroa atoll.
He wrote down some plans in his notebook at how to use protest fleet's for prevent a French nuclear test.
The figure which always thought something plans was impressive.
At the lastly, together with our friend, Martini, "If there are any pubs up there, save a seat for me and we have a good one"
KLU
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Re: A Remembrance of David McTaggart
by Anonymous on 31 March 2001 @ 02:47 PM
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I feel very privlaged to have been of service to an organisation that, without David would not have achieved anything like what it has managed now. I was skipper of Vega for a couple of years in the late 80's. It was an honour for me to stand in David's shoes for awhile, but who could ever fill them? When my crew and i had our day in court David flew half way round the world to support us. To me David will always be the Late Great Vega Skipper, thanks for being an inspiration in my life.
Chris Bone.
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