To take DD to the Extinction Rebellion protest next weekend?

[Rainallnight]

DD is 6, going on 7. Saturday is some sort of family oriented Earth day. I’d like to take her because I think it’s an important historical moment in the climate crisis.

BUT I have no idea if it’s safe, or even whether getting there and back will be a nightmare for small people.

Has anyone taken DC to one of these before? Is it manageable?

This 100 times. ER, don't do peaceful protests. They try to cause as much disruption to the public as possible. I thought the police were going to start arresting them.

There is no such organisation as "extinction rebellion" as such, anyone can go, wave flags and do what they want - so there are no rules, and it can be unpredictable

I have taken my kids to many, it is normally fun and peaceful

and if you dont like the way it is going, you can walk away

This group are like terrorists in my opinion. They absolutely do NOT care if people die as a direct result of their 'protest' and I could not be a part of that.

That aside, I do not think it is a suitable place for a 6 year old child. A peaceful protest would be fine, but ER do not do peaceful protests, purposefully. Their whole game is to be as disruptive as possible and it's usually a dangerous environment.

I wouldn't take her to something where apart from being potentially unsafe, she will see acts of violence, destruction and lawbreaking by people who should know better.

I’ve been on London marches, there are some you could take kids. XR is more unpredictable than others.

It's not going to go as planned, because of the London marathon. Who knows what impact that will have on activities and mood of the demos

Parliament Square (where they say the protest will centre) is directly on the route. And as you cannot cross from Whitehall there at all on race day, people will have to go a very circuitous route road. They claim they will "gather across Westminster" but that's simply not going to be possible.

If you are going, best bet is to take the tube to St James Park (which I think is open normally, IIRC it's only Westminster station which has restrictions)

2023-tcslm-road-closures.pdf

(Birdcage Walk is I think closed today for Coronation rehearsals, will reopen, but then will shut again mid-week next week)

Where are they planning to march and which day/s?

Are we keeping score for most ridiculous panic-post?

Ruin her career prospects 😅

I can't be a part of any illegal protests for visa reasons, but I am a member of XR and CCA, and they have been very clear that illegal protestors will not be allowed and that it IS family friendly. I will be taking my 6 and 11 yo. The 11 yo has enjoyed other family style protests and fgs, it isn't going to affect their future career prospects.

What IS going to affect their career prospects is the mammoth disaster awaiting us.

I agree with the majority of posters here, OP. Definitely don't do it!

I'm sympathetic to the cause of environmental awareness and the need to find solutions -I used to work for an environmental charity. My daughter is practially Greta Thunberg Mk II, but she detests ER. I think they alienate people, distract from rather than focus attention on the cause. They seem attract more than their share of violent, nihilistic rent-a-mob people too.

Apart from the risk of your daughter witnessing violent speech and action, as others have said it might be as simple as getting 'kettled' by the police and say, your daughter not being able to access a loo. And it could be much worse. I don't think the type of people who cause the trouble would care two hoots that a small child is involved. Even for adults this would be scary, never mind a child of that age.

Most people like OP just go along for the day out. Just shows how vacuous, ill informed this ‘cause’ is. No wonder the country is in such a mess. Trendy protests about 1% of global emissions, dudes in dresses insisting they are women, neighbours reporting each other for taking their second walk of the day. It would be funny if it wasn’t so pathetic.

This seems a sensible post from someone who knows about this exact protest.
some are aimed at families. Some are not.

I know you meant well @Rainallnight but I really can't be having anything to do with XR or that puppet Greta T.

At primary school age, anything to do with the environment or politics should be kept in the classroom.

I mean....come on. Thats a stretch,

They are
and do you know what they are about and how much plastic tat they leave behind? I cannot understand why anyone wants to jump on this bandwagon, apart from the "fun" they get from causing trouble.

I wouldn't go, XR and Just Stop Oil have alienated themselves, I've seen other organisations comment that they're more of an embarrassment to the cause due to the destruction and utter chaos they cause.
It is a worthy and important cause, but I'd give these 🤡s a wide berth.

I would t. They are not k won as being peaceful and I wouldn't want to subject a young child to that.

What?
of course it shouldn’t be kept to schools. They don’t even have natural sciences as a gcse yet.
we’ve done loads of organised events since the kids were tiny, wildlife trust, RHS, natural history museums etc proper organisations. ALL of them have taught the children things about ecology and climate change they wouldn’t at school. They are teens now, we’ve done the Houses of Parliament, we’ve watched prime ministers questions since they were little.
school don’t have time or the appetite for it.

Literally taken from the website and email that I received.

Lots of silly replies here from people who haven't bothered to look into this.

I don't support XR tactics over the last few years, but they have been quite clear that this is a very different event. This is legal planned protest, that has been put together working with the police and authorities. It's being supported and attended by multiple well known a reputable organisations including TearFund, Green peace, several parenting organisations and NHS workers say no etc. All those charities will have done their die diligence before risking their brand on this. It's a shame that XR are the lead organisation because that will impact who wants to attend because of their rep.

Of course there is always a risk that events can go wrong, even if very well planned but with so many controls in place it's highly unlikely it will end up like previous XR escapades.

I think you should go, but plan your travel well, stick to the family areas and as previous poster said have a back up idea if it doesn't suit you.

I took DS to one of their big demonstrations a few years ago when he was about 7, it was when they closed Oxford St.
The atmosphere was relaxed and friendly and lots of people stopped to talk to us and encouraged us to speak into the microphone (we declined).
There were some arrests and we saw people being peacefully carried away by the police (they were passively resisting). DS was interested but it was not a scary place at all. I guess you know how your child might react to that sort of thing

Clueless if you believe them, sure.

And this is from Christian Climate Action

Do you mean The Big One?

https://extinctionrebellion.uk/the-big-one/?anref=TwitterAds&twclid=2-3tqw4kcd6y8bbc4l3j57npi2a

I would have no hesitation. I’ve been to a few that are really peaceful and lovely.

XR have recently changed their approach and are moving away from disruptive activities.

@EmmaEmerald I belive the many reputable organisation who are part of organising this. As I said, they will have done their checks before putting their reputation on the line.