Extinction Rebellion

[Socrates11]

This YouTube video was put on Twitter yesterday. A funeral in Frome to highlight the species driven to extinction - usually by human demands on the environment.

It starts off all solemn, as you do but finishes on a really creative community high. Good on Frome for coming together and shouting about this issue.
There is hope. We do need to #riseup though!
#extinctionrebellion

I just came on to see what kind of presence XR has on MN, and am so glad to find this particular clip

I sympathise with Extinction Rebellion but unfortunately the environmental message is all mixed up with some pretty left-wing politics. That’s a pity because it halved their potential support.

We need more activists like this. I can't believe that the majority of people don't seem to care that this could make life extremely difficult for their own grandchildren.

I can see it looks like that Unrelenting but I think for the most part they are promoting a simple factual message that we can't continue to endlessly "grow", using up the earth's finite resources and in the process destroying the planet. If this leads to people calling for an end to capitalism in this context, it's not because of political views but because of ecological facts.

When the Bank of England governor gets on board about the problems climate change is bringing...just hope it's not too little too late #sixthextinction

Little clip in the article about Extinction Rebellion.

www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/apr/17/mark-carney-tells-global-banks-they-cannot-ignore-climate-change-dangers

Yup ...capitalism is the problem....it needs to go ( sadly probably won't in a hurry).

I’m part of the way through Naomi Klein’s This Changes Everything and am reading about the overlap between the kinds of changes we need to make to avert the impacts of climate change (collective decision-making and enforcement of environmental regulations, more equitable sharing of resources etc) and the left-wing, anti capitalist agenda. As such, the motivations of organisations like XR are always going to be viewed with great suspicion by free-market capitalists even if they accept the scientific consensus on CC (which many of them now do). They will never accept what they see as socialism in disguise.

'Grow'

That's the tricky bit, isn't it? Growth and getting richer is all too often assumed to be the ight and natural state of affairs.

But for any real change, the developed world needs to forego Stuff, and in the process some things might become more expensive, or less obtainable. And we're a long way away from the community spirit of wartime generations (though that spirit has grown considerably in myth status since the event, but I don't think anyone seriously thinks it was less then, in face of common enemy, than it is now)

Been quite a few actions over the last few months across the UK. This four day closure of Deansgate in Manchester shows XR commitment is still going strong. Twitter has more reports and updates.

Still people who don't believe the science though. Shame as there are a lot of different indicators, all pointing to the fact we are in deep doo doo

www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/environment/2019/aug/30/extinction-rebellion-protesters-block-deansgate-central-manchester

I was getting a bit upset and annoyed about responses to ER, on Mumsnet and other Media outlets, some really negative, nasty and patronising comments. The same nasty comments I read under clips of Greta Thunberg speaking.
Then I remembered the contemporary response to the Suffragettes, they were dismissed as cranks, naive, neglecting their families, proof that women were not deserving of a place in the political discourse, unstable...the lot...
Similar response to Ghandi...
I do realise there may be a few people involved who are quite extremist, as there were in the Animal Rights movement back in the day, but I ended up feeling more confident I was on the right side again.

Activism is generally a desperate attempt to feel relevant. And it's a power trip as well.

eli38

Spot on!

STRIKES, REBELLION? WHICH WAY NOW TO SAVE OUR CLIMATE?

You are invited to discussion with speakers

Macsen Brown, UK Student Climate Network

and

Max Wakefield, Campaign Director, 10:10

Thursday 24 October 7.30 PM

at Muswell Hill Methodist Church

28 Pages Lane N10 1PP

134 bus or 43 bus from Muswell Hill Broadway

Tim Root
Co-ordinator, Muswell Hill & Hornsey Friends of the Earth
[email protected]
07726 793265