To wonder if a lot of the Just Stop Oil protesters are not very nice people on a personal level

[HazelSchmazel]

There are a few Just Stop Oil threads around and I've noticed that a couple of posters have stated that the protesters are not very nice people.

Which got me thinking .....

A few years ago, I was in a horrible relationship with a rather unpleasant guy - a selfish, alcoholic, abusive cheater, who treated me like dirt and ended up stealing a considerable amount of money from me. Despite being a daily meat eater, regularly flying, driving a gas guzzler, having children etc. he would regularly pontificate on saving the environment (and would castigate me on environmental grounds for having a cat - even though I'm a childless vegetarian, who never flies!). Needless to say, the whole experience made me very unhappy.

Fast forward to the present, and I gather that he is now a very active Just Stop Oil protester.

Now, I'm bracing myself to be shot down in flames, as I appreciate that of course, it's unreasonable to judge an entire movement based on one bad apple.

But could it be the case, that there is something about JSO that attracts these nasty characters? Just wondering ......

Going to prison for a few years is quite a big hit to take, though. I bet many of us would baulk at that, even if it was for a cause we really believed in.

I agree that Cressida’s mother has done her no favours. The posh equivalent of “My Kaden’s a good boy - he never done it!”

Most of the scornful looking down on people on this thread is from one side

What @ll09sm said is spot on.

Exactly @Allfur

It’s easier to be nasty about people you don’t know anonymously online than to actually get off your backside and do something useful in real life.

Like JSO? Very useful.

I imagine lots of the people on here do very useful stuff. Work in jobs where there have a direct and positive impact on people’s day to day life, volunteer, make life choices based on the benefit of a community rather than themselves etc.

How does that compare to vandalizing national monuments, ripping up grass, throwing paint on art and blocking a road for hours on end leading to people dying, becoming increasingly ill, missing important events etc?

So if you think it’s useful, tell other people about it.

There are lots of more useful things you can do that beat arguing with strangers online or glueing yourself to a road.

For example making an appointment to lobby your MP about accelerating the green transition, and phasing out the burning of fossil fuels as quickly as possible.

Writing to letters to the CEOs of insurance companies requesting they not insure new fossil fuel projects, and to provide favorable terms to green energy projects.

Donating to campaigns that aim to cut the number of children starving to death due to crop failure and climate change. There are some great charities working in rural Africa to help make growing practices more resilient to climate change.

These are just a few examples…

Because not everything useful is about oil or climate change, we can also help people with disabilities, in poverty, those with mental health problems who are suicidal. And we don’t shout about it because this is normal life for us and if we just kept self promoting we’d have no time to do the stuff that actually impacts on people’s lives on a day to day basis.

Likewise the life changes, I don’t shout that I’m vegan, don’t fly, recycle, use sustainable transport where possible, didn’t birth kids in part because of over population because there are things I could do better and this is just my life.

I still maintain that it’s more helpful to society to do all this and just not shout about it than make a load of noise and cause a load of damage.

(and I feel like a twat for saying it all here but your assumption that if people are shouting it from the rooftops they’re not doing anything is just plain wrong)

I'm very sorry, but I just don't agree with this statement at all.
It doesn't stand up to scrutiny, and it's virtually the opposite of my experience.
I guess my politics would be considered progressive. My whole daily code to live by is similar to the Hippocratic one - do no harm.
For this reason, I'm not personally in favour of the actions of JSO. But, I do think the impacts of climate change are infinitely more harmful.
I actually can't bear sneering at those with different opinions. Most of my friends have similar views. Brexit for example - now I voted Remain, but I cringed at all the middle class sneering at Leave voters, and the inability to try to understand why it happened. But, in my experience it wasn't authentically progressive people doing that, it was moreso establishment centrist 'types', and obviously by no means all of those.
I totally understood why disenfranchised people wanted to give the establishment a shock. Totally. I was upset by Brexit, but never ever blamed the voters.
I go about my daily life trying to be a 'goodie' in the classic sense. I'd never want to harm or upset anyone. I'm far from perfect of course. But, my progressive tendencies come from that well-meaning place.
Most progressives I know are genuinely wanting to make the world a kinder, fairer, more peaceful place. In my humble experience 😊

‘Othering’ any group of people, however obnoxious you think they are, is usually not helpful. Negativity expressed online isn’t good for anyone’s mental well-being.

Of course there are lots of beneficial activities that people get involved with in the background. My main efforts are around helping people overcome a specific difficulty that has arisen through no fault of their own. But I did not mention this because that activity, useful as it is, isn’t relevant to this discussion.

The fossil fuel and climate change link is not something that any of us can afford to ignore. We’ve all got to find the time to get to grips with what climate change will do and prepare accordingly.

I don’t agree with the tactics of JSO. But I think I understand where their motivation comes from - it is that peaceful and non-disruptive means of getting politicians to act have failed in the past. Why? Because not enough of the public told them that they must act to vastly scale down and eventually eliminate the burning of fossil fuels. I have signed plenty of petitions and written to my MP. But I and people who have taken similar actions are a tiny percentage of the population.

Now is the time for as many of us as possible to tell these politicians that this is what we want them to support.

It would help if JSO didn't disrupt the railways too.

Planning a lawful protest is perfectly legal. But planning (conspiring) to commit unlawful or illegal acts is not.

Planning to damage a painting or block a road is illegal because those actions are crimes. And the law treats conspiracy as nearly as bad as doing the act itself. This isn't new or controversial.

And the sentencing remarks made it clear that they didn't 'just' have a zoom call. There was detailed discussion of encouraging and training people to commit illegal acts, they rented 'safe houses' and bought specialist climbing equipment.

Their aim was to create gridlock across TEN motorways in London and the South East. That was only prevented because a journalist was on the call and warned the police. And as the judge pointed out, he's legally required by the Sentencing Code to not only consider 'the harm you actually caused, but also the harm you intended to cause.'

Plus the judge made it clear that while it didn't add any extra time to the sentences, the behaviour of the defendants in court (trying to disrupt proceedings etc) meant that there wasn't wiggle room at all to reduce the length of the sentences. They all had previous convictions so they knew that would be the result.

So I'm concerned about our right to protest being eroded by government after government AND can see why they got the sentences they did.

I totally agree with your entire post. You express it so well 👏

Plenty of time to sign petitions and write to MP's from their cells.

Just to add to my post above, and at the same time echo some of @Lopine 's post. Just as I disagree with the 'othering' of, and sneering at, those who think/vote differently from myself, such as Leave voters. I equally disagree with the othering of those from different socio-economic backgrounds, including posher backgrounds. Literally noone can help their background. I'm not posh! My own background was a mix of working class and lower middle class. I went to state schools etc. I still rent over 40. Whilst I oppose private education and healthcare etc. I would never want to prejudice against someone who grew up in a wealthier household. Not their fault.
People are saying that JSO protesters are over privileged and bored rich people etc. Well, I think their backgrounds are a bit more diverse for one thing; but, I'd also wager that people are getting it the wrong way round. My guess is that Cressida is well aware of her privilege and feels an extra sense of duty to 'do her bit' because of it. Whether people agree with the actions of JSO folk or not, I'm certain that, in most cases, their intentions are genuinely honourable.
I know most on this thread will disagree with me, but that's what I really do think.
In addition, talking of privilege - well, in the western world we're all privileged to an extent. So, we do have a duty to step up in terms of climate justice. I'm not sure what that looks like, but the lives of millions of people, especially in the poorest parts of the global south, are in jeopardy.
I can't bear it, when I think about how horrific it's going to be if we don't act to stop this 😔

Well, I don't have a car, and it's because I can't afford one mostly. I'd love to say it's a sacrifice I've made for the planet; but the truth is that I can't afford to buy or run a car. I walk, cycle and use public transport. Train tickets are ridiculous in this country. But, the amount that I buy still works out vastly cheaper than running a car. Everyone's life is different of course.

Totally. I've been shocked, on this thread, and the others about this, by some of the vicious vengeful attacks on the JSO five. Some so personal and just incredibly unpleasant.
That's totally been one-sided. The posters being more liberal and measured (whether we agree with JSO tactics or not. I don't) have been the civilised ones. I don't mean that in a conceited way. But it is just fact.
Some of the posts have been very upsetting actually, especially the name calling of Cressida and her mum. I think at least some of them are fake troll posts. I hope so anyway. Really worrying if they're genuine 😳

@TryingToSeeTheFunnySide I agree. I have to believe there are some trolls on here otherwise it's just unbelievable.

I’m not a troll - and I still think Cressida is a very selfish clueless girl and her mother needed to engage brain before opening mouth.

I also agree that “plotting” is a crime. What about that bloke who was plotting to kidnap Holly Willoughby? By some posters’ logic, he didn’t actually do it, so he should be let off.

Trains are affordable with railcards of some kind, and often work out cheaper than a car over all

Just had a look, there isn’t a single railcard available for my mother.

Yes, I've got a Network Railcard which takes a ⅓ off. It's great. Unfortunately I can only use it in part of the country. If travelling outside those boundaries, I try to get cheap advance fares. I've had some real bargains. I do think train fares are far too high in this country generally. Far higher than most or all other European countries. Public transport needs to be much more heavily subsidised here; but regardless, for me personally, with my life and the amount of travelling I do, it works out vastly cheaper for me than running a car. I appreciate that's not the case for everyone.

You see, I don't understand the allegation of selfishness. I understand if you think her planned actions were misguided or not thoroughly thought through. But, selfish? No. I'd say the opposite. It can't be much fun standing in the middle of the road, holding up traffic, having furious drivers hurling abuse at you, risking the wrath of the general public, the ire of the police and, ultimately, the loss of liberty.
I repeat again, I don't personally agree with the actions of Just Stop Oil. But, I do think they're pretty altruistic in their motives.
Re her mum - she was probably in shock, poor woman. Wouldn't you be if you'd just heard her child was going to prison? She probably wasn't able to think clearly enough about what she was saying. I feel sorry for her.
Yes, I also feel sorry for those ordinary innocent citizens affected by JSO protests. It's not either/or. I can see both sides, and have dual sympathies.

*your child, not her child, sorry.