But first a glimpse of the future
I believe that in order to engage positively, people need to understand the seriousness of what is happening. But they also need hope and positive visions of what could be possible *
* this is my understanding of how humans work and I have no references to give you
One person doing this work is Rob Hopkins, activist and writer on environmental issues, and the founder of the Transition movement. He spoke at the recent protests in London, and by sheer chance I was there. It lifted my spirits, gave me a few laughs and reminded me why I was there. Watch my 20 sec video below or skip straight to a video of his talk further down.
Here is Rob’s talk – I hope you enjoy it. The view from 2030 – imagining a world in which the transition has happened. Rob’s website and script/notes here
Massive protest over the weekend … woke up Monday morning and nothing’s changed
A few weekends ago tens of thousands of people, from over 200 organisations, gathered in London from Friday to Monday at “the BIG ONE” protest.
On Friday there were peaceful pickets of 15 government offices/departments.
On Saturday there was a huge march of around 60,000 people. And, when the front of the march arrived back in Parliament Square, under Big Ben, people lay down, silently, in the road, in a mass “die-in” … which then swept along the whole length of the march – tens of thousands of women, men, children, elderly – from Parliament Square / Westminster Bridge, down along the Thames to beyond Lambeth Bridge. Almost a mile of “dead” bodies lying in silence.
It was inspiring, moving and filled me with encouragement.
An amazing 5 min time-lapse video of the entire march
“I filmed the entire length of the protest today” Tamzin
By Monday I had other emotions, as we realised the media coverage had been almost non-existent. The only BBC article over the entire weekend was short, with a lack of information and mistakes https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-65362335 (spoiler: it’s not worth reading).
So where’s the hope …?
In two places.
In some words I recently saw that touched me and resonated …
“My response to the Climate and Ecological crisis varies hugely depending on where I’m at. I’m aiming for a period of deep rest due to illness – but also mindful that for me activism is in some ways really therapeutic for me – especially being with others who feel so similar.”
and a reply …
“I do get that entirely. Even the brutal come-down from the weekend (why didn’t more people come? Why hasn’t it changed anything? What do we do next?) is worth it for the connection and sense of peace that being in action brings, however briefly.”
And in an article I read …
The Big One or the Big Flop?
James Dyke April 24, 2023 Climate Change / UK Politics
https://www.jamesgdyke.info/the-big-one-or-the-big-flop/
By some estimates over 100,000 people amassed at central London over the past four days. Key locations in including the heart of the UK Government were the centres of mass die in, biodiversity parades, drumming, chanting, speeches and much more. This was the Big One, a four day action from the 21st to the 24th April 2023, where people protested against the continued failure to act on the climate and ecological crisis. It was by any measure the largest demonstration in recent years. The media’s response? Practically nothing.
There were no leading stories on BBC, ITV, C4 news or on any of the UK’s national in-print press, and not very much coverage in their online versions. So unless you were there, or are a member of one of the over 200 organisations along with Extinction Rebellion that had collectively organised the series of events, you probably had no inkling of what was happening.
Contrast that with the media frenzy produced by a young man putting harmless orange powder on a snooker table. A direct non-violent protest that in holding up a sport tournament for around an hour produced headlines and endless takes in the UK commentariat.
So the Big One was a failure?
If you measure success in column inches then yes. And that was to be expected the moment XR made public statements to the effect that it would not be undertaking disruptive action. If it bleeds it leads is still an accurate summary of the decision making process of a UK news editor. Drama, jeopardy, destruction, suffering, death – these are the qualities that can elevate a story. But doesn’t isn’t the climate and ecological crisis have all such attributes in abundance? Can you think of a bigger story in such terms?
The brutal reality is that yes you can – if you are a UK news editor. Deputy PM resigns. Sudan in turmoil. Nurses on strike. Interests rate going up. National phone alert system tested. There was always something more immediate, more worthy of featuring higher up in the news cycle than a large number of people doing peaceful things in central London.
But if you measure success in other ways, the Big One was a triumph.
It brought people together, it allowed them to share their concerns and realise they are part of a much, much larger community. Many new friendships were created over the past four days. It brought organisations together and showed them that while they may have very different values and memberships, they can effectively collaborate on large-scale actions. It you measure success in terms of movement building, then the Big One delivered.
Such a movement is not sufficient if it is ignored by media, politicians, and wider society. But I would argue it is necessary. This may because it is a precursor to a moderate flank that includes a much larger fraction of society than XR or Just Stop Oil, or Insulate Britain have thus far been able to garner. It could bring more people ‘on side’ to the cause. The action now required to avert climate and ecological disaster in not just rapid but sweeping in terms of changing many aspects of society. More people are beginning to wake up to the realisation that we are not going to fix our deeply dysfunctional civilisation by simply buying more electric cars. We need more, much more.
None of the main political parties in the UK have much to offer in response. The thinking is there, the theory, but there is very limited ability to put any of it into action. That must change. It will – one way or another. What the Big One showed us, is that sweeping change could come about collectively, peacefully, democratically, compassionately. If these are not core principles in your theory of change, then any success risks being a pyrrhic victory.
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