Eco-terrorism has no more cachet than snipers shooting at doctors who perform abortions, or bigots who smear swastikas on synagogue doors. One appeal of such criminality is the mindless notion no one will get hurt. No thought is given to trapping a janitor or catching a dozing grad student in the flames. Years of work and research were destroyed by thugs with only the most vacuous sense of mission and outcome. True revolutionaries hang around to argue their point and go to jail if need be.
Civil disobedience is a powerful force for change.
That's quite a gene pool.