Protestors climb on train

[omikron]

What on earth to ER hope to achieve this morning?! Such arseholes

@LakieLady, it stopped being a peaceful protest when the ER protesters climbed on top of the tube train. I don't agree with the aggression that followed, but I can understand how the frustration of the commuters must have been at tipping point.

I agree with pp that ER are scoring own goals with their handling of the protests in front of media. Yesterday it was "Mr Broccoli" on GMB who was just gormless. Today they asked a representative of ER how it served their purpose to disrupt the greenest form of transport in London and he just bleated out the same few lines about the disruption being nothing compared to what will come in future years if no action is taken. That doesn't console the people who have been made late for work, those who couldn't get to hospital appointments or to other important meetings. If they want to restore some credibility and get the support of the people, they need to have a better strategy.

What on earth to ER hope to achieve this morning?!

Being electrocuted presumably?

I've just seen the video and found it shocking. Someone is going to get killed if XR carries on using the same tactics..

I wonder how many people delayed getting to work will be sanctioned by their employers for being late? Will be in trouble for being late and not opening up offices / buildings on time? Will have missed transport connections and then have to buy new tickets they can ill afford? Extinction Rebellion seems to be the most privileged of groups with no insight into the needs of those who need to work for their living?

This is absurd. I work in central London. Commuters are delayed every single day by people driving into London, one person to a car, when they don't need to. (Usual MN disclaimer: yes, there are people that need to. These are not those people.) Commuters are also delayed every single day by a million other things: roadworks, cancellations, short staff on TLR, and half the roads being blocked because some high-end bloody shop is having yet another refit and has paid a bazillion pounds to the council for the privilege of blocking half the bloody street to put their building works gubbins on.

All of those things delay workers (including me) getting to work. But everyone accepts that as "business as usual". But it's business as usual which has got us into this godawful mess.

Who has "privilege" here? Individual people putting themselves on the line, or the big businesses who have got us into the road to catastrophe in the first place?

Agree archeryannie.

but I’m saddened the majority of posters on here have no problem with the mob of angry commuters beating up a protester. While two wrongs don’t make a right, I think that the lack of comment on the reaction of the commuters is just proof that the entire message has been lost now and that people are sick of having their lives disrupted by people who don’t actually know what it is they’re protesting for.

I think the authorities need to start hitting back hard now. Stop their benefits if they’re on them, Don’t allow them to have benefits if they’re sacked by their employers (I would sack any employee who represented this mob and I’mm Sure I’m not alone), Actions have consequences, and those consequences don’t just apply to people who don’t turn vegan or who travel by public transport.

o. (Usual MN disclaimer: yes, there are people that need to. These are not those people.)

TBF, you can’t tell that by looking.

I'm laughing so much at this. I was at Heathrow a few months ago when they had planned a protest in the tunnel. It didn't happen because there were more police than protesters and they simply gave up on the idea and filtered back to the city. Anyway, we were following the situation closely, mainly because we knew we needed to go through the tunnel that morning. The person who put around the email actually told them to get the TRAIN from central London to reading and then bus back to bath road, Heathrow!!

Agree with Penners99 that tactically they chose the wrong target. A lot of people at Canning Town at that time of day don’t have alternative ways of getting to work and aren’t in jobs where there is flexibility if they are late.

They chose badly in going to Canning Town

As a former resident of the East end I had quite a few lols when I read they’d tried it on at Canning Town.

It's just the usual rent a mob left proving all the stereo types

This is the founder of XR:
medium.com/@plaosmos/extinction-rebellion-isnt-about-the-climate-42a0a73d9d49

XR has a race problem:
medium.com/@copwatcher_uk/it-is-not-just-a-bunch-of-flowers-bc5078b899e4

I personally get the impression that these protestors don't actually understand anything.

They have a relatively clear, but simultaneously nebulous, goal, and that is "why don't we just fix everything" considered a reasonable answer. But beyond that they don't know how, who or what.

We also see the typical left-leaning incoherence. Half them tell us that shareholders are parasites who don't contribute anything to the businesses they invest in; the other half tell is that selling our BP and Shell investments will somehow immediately stop all fossil-fuel exploitation.

It doesn't make sense. Not only are those two positions completely contradictory, they're both wrong. It's not very often that a group can be diametrically opposed hypocrites and not even touch upon the truth by accident somewhere in the middle.

TottieandMarchpane yes, thank you, as someone who has an invisible condition, I know that, duh. But if you believe that most of the people driving alone in their car in central London are mobility-impaired, well, I have a lovely bridge to sell you.

@ReanimatedSGB Brilliant post. Other groups have criticised XR for being too white-centric and ignorant of the struggles of indigenous peoples, or the fact that racism in the police force is a real problem and encouraging POC to get arrested is not a good idea.

I support the main cause of XR, addressing the climate change emergency, and the right to peaceful protest, but this is a spectacular own-goal. Tactically a huge mistake to disrupt public transport and inconvenience and annoy commuters. It alienates people.

I am disturbed though, by the number of people on twitter etc who condone the protester on the roof of the train getting beaten up on the floor.

Take them off the roof? Yes. Give them a kicking afterwards? No.

XR are a really diverse movement, and have attracted some idiots, but to characterise all people associating themselves with XR as workshy crusties is silly. Many are hard working people, professionals, academics, MEPs, religious leaders etc.

The tactics at Canning Town were wrong and stupid, but mob violence is not right either.

You could always cycle.

There was an ER protest in the area I live in but only about 50 turned up and it lasted no time at all. I guess we're too out in the sticks for them and won't gain them much media coverage. Thankfully.

Why are people presuming these protesters don't have jobs? Quite a lot of them are working people, actually, protesting by using annual leave. The Mumsnet school of thought does make me laugh at times..

But to address the main point, yes it is a dickish thing to do with the trains etc. I agree with some others that there are other approaches they could take.

TottieandMarchpane yes, thank you, as someone who has an invisible condition, I know that, duh. But if you believe that most of the people driving alone in their car in central London are mobility-impaired, well, I have a lovely bridge to sell you.

Well, on sheer numbers, of course plenty of able bodied people do it. (Which just goes to show that the congestion charge doesn’t work, except to discriminate financially.)

But saying “These are not people who need to drive” is suggesting you can tell by looking. Which is stereotyping (we don’t have our blue badges on permanent display). So if you’re in a position to know better, don’t do it.

Basically a load of spoiled private school kids who are used to getting lots of attention and don't have to worry about money (aren't most of them being paid to do this anyway?) or work, so they think they'll disrupt some plebs ability to get to work for high jinks.

XR are a really diverse movement, and have attracted some idiots, but to characterise all people associating themselves with XR as workshy crusties is silly. Many are hard working people, professionals, academics, MEPs, religious leaders etc. I disagree. If people are genuine they won’t want to be associated with this lot. Set up another group to address the real message if you’re that dedicated to actual climate change. But continue to associate with this mob and you are just one of those as far as I’m concerned.

Other groups have criticised XR for being too white-centric and ignorant of the struggles of indigenous peoples

I didn’t realise it was the same organisation internationally. Are lots of capital cities being treated to the same behaviour?

Like others, I applaud the broad aims of XR and wholeheartedly support the official aim. Gangs of trustafarians raving; random, ill-thought-out stunts on tube trains; and self-aggrandising professional protesters having the time of their lives? Not so much.

@TottieandMarchpane In the US, yes. Don't know about anywhere else.

Also, not everyone works a 9-5. I work from home - I'm a freelance translator. I don't do protests though, they're a huge panic attack trigger.

TottieandMarchpane don't be silly. I was making the point that the vast majority of people driving alone in London do not need to drive at all. I also noted that there are exceptions. You haven't added any useful information at all.

but I’m saddened the majority of posters on here have no problem with the mob of angry commuters beating up a protester.

What about the protestor on top of the train kicking the guy in the face that tried to get him down?