Extinction rebellion protester, ask me anything

[Market1]

I support extinction rebellion protests, ask me anything you like - ( I have a very thick skin, nothing you say will upset me)

Exactly!

Stop buying from China, and they will stop their harmful manufacturing and exporting processes.

China is not solely responsible for the pollution coming from China, everyone who buys from there is

If every person on the planet did the maximum possible, could we actually slow climate change enough to stop disaster?

It's certainly a bit of a 🤔given how often recently there have been calls by a few vociferous posters on various threads here for people to "think not of your holiday, think of the effect of your flight on climate change" (or similar)..and that's just people daring to take a short haul jaunt.

OTOH it may genuinely not be possible for whatever the OP teaches in Africa to be performed on-line or by a local employee so I'm cutting some qualified slack...

The OP has (perhaps unwittingly) that some flying might be more essential than some activists like to claim.

yes! yes we could!

And it wouldn't take everyone doing the maximum, it would take most people ( or governments/ companies, etc) doing something

What subject do you teach?

Don’t be ridiculous @dontjudgemeagain. Most people support the cause strongly. They don’t support the actions of these groups which are having no impact on any case.

Do you accept though, that anything we do in the UK, is just pissing in the wind. So your disruption of lives here is actually meaningless in the global context and therefore just bloody annoying.

I don't know if I am right or wrong to fly to Africa. I think I am right, maybe in years to come I will change my mind.

I normally fly over with large amounts of school equipment donated by local school, and that does include computer equipment, but it is all stand alone, this school has no internet. One computer in the office is supposed to, but normally doesn't.

In fact, there isn't always electricity. More than half the time there is,- I would guess- but not much more than half the time!

I teach a subject that there is no local teacher for, and keep in touch via post in the mean time, and have had several students get through exams and move on in their education, who would not have done so without me ( and many more students enjoy and experience more of my subject than they would have done without my visits)

Evidence for this last paragraph pls @Market1 ?

I understand your frustration, but what is the point of stopping traffic in the UK when most of the world's pollution and fossil fuel use is in the developing world? Even if Britain got to net zero, it would never in any way offset what's happening in China and India and other countries.

The computer equipment you are taking to Africa will have components made in China. You/we cannot just "stop buying shit from China" because most equipment/machinery we use will have something manufactured in China in it.

@Market1 you have not fully answered how a parent of a sick child is supposed to leave their car to talk to the protestors?

Also, evidence that people support ER and similar groups?

I was born on a smallholding in a very rural part of the country. We had no mains drainage, no bathroom, no flushing toilet. I had 3 changes of clothing, we were too poor to go on holiday. We cooked on a solid fuel Aga or Rayburn and that was the only way we could heat our house. Every winter I got chilblains as it was so cold in the house. We ate what we grew/produced.
I'm now 67, I care for 2 adult children both of whom have disabilities. I'm being told by people who have always been more privileged than me that I can't go on holiday by air , which might be my one break from the daily grind. The wonderful government want to do away with new petrol /diesel cars and I can't have an electric due to cost, so no outings for us then. And it will be harder to get to hospital in case of emergency. I can't have a heat pump because my home is Victorian and I can't insulate it, neither could I get a heat pump in my tiny back yard. I bought this house so my kids can live here when I'm gone it's adapted for anyone with disabilities and is big enough to afford each privacy while they can still support each other.
I'm too busy dealing with the NHS, DWP and other agencies to spend my time thinking about how my kids will manage after I'm gone. I suspect that they will live very poorly.
If I sound bitter, I am . Which is why I say I am sick to death of the virtue signalling and the people who protest and stop others going about their lawful daily life.
I don't notice anyone up in arms about the provision for people with disabilities in the UK, or anyone telling me how I'm supposed to live when I really can't have a heat pump or insulate my home better etc. Protesting won't provide the money for me to do any of that. I'll just be going back to my childhood life. Amazing,isn't it? Full circle in 67 years.

The thing about XR is that it’s open to anyone who cares.

We are all guilty of behaving in ways that harm the environment because that’s how our society is built. We use cars because that’s the transport system that has been created. We use plastic because that’s how our food is packaged. It takes governments to change society - our job is to show the government that climate change is a priority.

It’s a neat trick to blame individuals with no power for climate change, when it’s the big money people that have forced us down this road.

It’s my understanding that the hassle they cause means that people are thinking about climate issues, they Google stuff, they watch speeches on YouTube etc and businesses don’t want to be targets so they make choices which are more climate friendly. The act of blocking a road does sweet FA for the planet on the day, but social media and fear of being targeted does have an effect.
If we all just went to speakers corner and had a shout about it, everyone would be too busy and wrapped up in their day to take any notice, hence the need to cause a scene.

True

And a lot of raw materials in tech are "China washed"

They don't come from China, they often come from the Congo, where they are extracted from the ground in conditions of forced labour.

They are imported to China where the origins are obscured, this gets around the boycotts of minerals extracted through forced labour

So I am in fact returning the materials to the population that was robbed of them, in one way

This is a bit of a side track from my original thread!

But back to tech being manufactured in China, yes, you can buy ethically sourced tech, it isn't easy, and it is more expensive, but it is possible,

And of course you can make you tech last as long as possible, rather than repeatedly upgrading phones to the latest model, or you can buy second hand.

All these things help

I’ll ask again as my post was so similar…

Do you think by disrupting ordinary lives at sometimes life changing moments is worth it? The way XR, JSO and IB have conducted themselves has truly alienated me. I can’t have that time again with my mother.

You are not helping the cause. Put effort into the solution.

Also, do you teach in a state school?

So you think it’s appropriate to both fly, and use Chinese materials, on occasions where what you’re doing is more important than sticking to principles.

fine. As it happens I agree. People have to use existing tech while new tech is being worked on. The inventor of the lightbulb used candles, the inventor of the car got around on a horse. I understand driving and flying while protesting.

just own it

fwiw I think you’re very much fighting the right war but the wrong battles

@loislovesstewie you make good points and even die hard hippie eco nuts like me wouldn’t want to see someone in your shoes without transport , without heat, without access to any of the limited support your family has. So for example, if you lived in a big ULEZ city and the needs of you trying to support your kids as you age clearly indicated you needed a car then the government should fund and allow that. Same with your energy- free upgrade to whatever the greenest suitable thing is and good enough benefits to afford that. In contrast, Dave and Sue down the road shouldn’t be looning about in their Chelsea tractors and jetting off to the Maldives every 5 minutes because they’ve invested in shares in ecologically devastating companies, and rent out three ex council flats. I hope among my waffle there you realise that we see the difference and believe your needs should be protected.

How many times have you been arrested?

i live in Westminster. I see the so called protesters running off and trying to dump their stuff everywhere when there is any suggestion that the police are on there way

strikes me as s nice day out with a few sandwiches but no real commitment to actually do anything ?

So is your home self sufficient for energy?

So you know nothing about the Canning Town protest that harmed low paid, minority ethnic workers trying to get to work on public transport at 6am?

How convenient.

And how ignorant you are of something of which you claim to be part.

Basically, huge numbers of people quietly agree with us ( more than 40%), around 20% will say they strongly agree, and around 15% will strongly disagree. I am writing these numbers from memory from the last report I heard.

you say you're a teacher (haha) and you think this a reasonable way to answer a request for evidence - by making up crap from the top of your head?

Those 'African students' that you so selflessly help must be really grateful for that level of educational support.

So I am in fact returning the materials to the population that was robbed of them, in one way

What a load of bollocks really - you taking frequent flights to Africa and polluting the planet. Kind of hypocritical isn’t it? You could have spent one summer training some teachers in Africa instead of taking several holidays (a volunteer holiday is still a holiday). I expect you’ll change your mind about whether it was the right thing to do when you’re no longer physically able to do it - then you can shrug and say “well I was still on my journey”.

the kids in the Congo mining the cobalt for the batteries will be overjoyed that its been repatriated though.