This is going throw a few of you but here goes.
I do not support the actions of Extinction Rebellion and their Climate protests. I do not support the attempted closure of Heathrow airport and I do not support their City and Town Centre road closures and blockades.
Mass protests, as peaceful as intended, are disruptive in their very nature. That is the whole point of them. To disrupt as much as possible until government give in to their demands.
A tact that will not work in isolation.
In a nutshell, I’ll tell you why it’s the wrong tact and a totally missed opportunity for Extinction Rebellion.
The people who are disrupted the most during the protests are the very people who they need to give them support. The public are on their side already with regards to the message, even those who sit for hours in traffic, belching diesel into the lungs of pedestrians. We all know we have to do something, the people know it, the governments know it, industry knows it and most of all, those affected the most know it. Our Commonwealth cousins in the Caribbean know it all to well and that is just last weeks Hurricane!
All of the climate arguments have been won, the message has hit home through our screens, in print and in witness.
So why protest?
We have Climate induced mass migration across the continents right now. Your protest wont help those poor souls. Some countries are shutting their borders to those in need the most. The Amazon is being deliberately burnt and some nations are forming climate and environmental policy as if Coal was the new found holy grail of energy! The bottom line is, we’re fucked unless we act now and we all know it.
So, how do we mobilise Extinction Rebellion to the betterment of the environmental movement rather looking like the protest group they currently are?
Simple. They should get amongst the people. Not en mass, every 4th Saturday and lay down outside the Town Hall for a couple of hours, but every saturday in every Town and City across Britain. Not in the road, blocking it, causing mayhem and adding to the duties of our overstretched Police and Local Authorities but by contributing to the very community you say you care so passionately about.
Take a stall in the market places, talk to people. You will have more positive outcomes from explaining why we need to act now rather than trying to close down cities and towns. Every week, become the Climate information centre. Be the catalyst for change you want to see, tell people to fly less, show them why. Encourage them to eat less imported red meat, encourage people to holiday at home, show them how to re-use, re-cycle and reduce waste. Show them, explain and educate.
Shouting about it from a Pink Submarine in Trafalgar Square is hardly the image i want my movement and whole purpose to be remembered for.
We all need to learn to adapt to the changes that this new Climate will bring. No big panic. But the waters will rise, some people will get wet. In other areas, it will be windier, windier than ever before and more often. Other areas of our planet will bask in the sun for the first time in several millennia and we will see more bush and tundra wild fires in Siberia of all places. The deserts will get bigger, encroach and turn fertile land barren and other lands will be claimed or re-claimed by the sea.
It’s going to be pretty extreme and most of us will be touched in some way by climate change. Whole communities are moving already and many more will need to follow, or adapt.
In fact it’s going to get very messy for many but panicking people into a frenzy does no favours to anyone.
Encourage people to change, show them how, educate and explain. In the heart of every town, every city and every market place in Britain. Take your message to the people.
1,000 protesters in Central London or 1,000 Climate Advisors in 1,000 towns and Cities across the land?
I know what i want.
A change for good.
It’s our planet, it’s our community and it’s OUR responsibility to make it a better place.
Stop protesting and start taking real direct action, amongst the people.
Most Markets will cost £15-£40 a pitch and you can apply to the market inspector at any Town or Borough Council.
In the meantime, and as this is a business webpage/blog, best i inform you that I’ll be in Swaffham Market Place all day tomorrow if you fancy a natter about how we can help you avoid the impending climate catastrophe, the 6th mass extinction or the next dirty oil war.
I do it with solar. We show you how to live the lithium lifestyle, turn daylight into money and make every day a sun day. I prefer my kind of activism to that of XR.
Kevin
#SolarLove