This is a blog devoted to databases, but for once I’m going to go off topic and talk about something I did at the weekend that I’ve never done before. On Easter Sunday I went to London to join in a protest demanding action on climate change.
I’d heard about what Extinction Rebellion were doing for a while. Initially I was put off by the name which I felt made them sound a bit like an anti-capitalist movement and I felt that for us to effect change we need to embrace people from all sides of the political spectrum. I also wasn’t sure how I felt about the actions they were taking – blocking roads and traffic. Was that going to antagonise more people than it gathered support?
In the end though I figured they were at least doing something – and something needed to be done. I’d lost faith that governments were going to act in time to avert disaster. I decided I wanted to show my support, add one more person to the weight of people demanding action. I didn’t want to get arrested but felt that at least being there was something. From their website I discovered there were all sorts of ways to get involved.
I went with Lisa my fiancee, and Millie our dog.
We got the train up to London from Bristol on Sunday morning and headed to the legal protest site near Marble Arch. At first it was confusing. Who could we talk to about being involved? What could we do? We found an induction session that had just started and sat down to join in.
As the leaders of the session talked about their background, their ethos, their aims and methodology I was quickly impressed. They stressed that this was not just a socialist movement, that they recognised they needed to engage people from all walks of life and ideologies.
I was most impressed by the strong focus on non-violent, non-aggressive action. That in all interactions with the police or public, those involved should make sure they were peaceful and reasonable at all times, whatever was going on. That if anyone witnessed someone against going against that guiding principle they should either intervene or find someone else to do so, to suggest to the perpetrator that this was the wrong movement for them. And they managed to make this work, in all arrests and actions there wasn’t a single report of violence or wilful destruction.
I get that some people were frustrated by their actions and the disruption it caused, and I empathise with anyone affected, but they explained that they hadn’t undertaken their actions lightly. Hundreds of thousands of people had attended climate marches to little effect. They knew they needed to do something different and things were becoming more urgent. Research was undertaken looking at movements in the past that were succesful in achieving their aims and it was dicovered that the common theme was creating disruption in a peaceful manner. Only through the threat of continued disruption were authorities forced to take notice and engage with the movements in question.
Marble Arch is a busy place, with lots of people milling around or wandering to the nearby Hyde Park. Lisa and I decided we could best involve ourselves by chatting to people passing by, handing out flyers and explaining to people what was going on and why. Talking to people about the urgency of action and some of the dangers to us all if nothing happens.
We had a lot of nice interactions, and maybe even changed a couple of minds. Millie was a big hit as a protester (it was her first protest too) and a great draw to start a conversation. In particular the police loved her! That was another great thing, to see how good natured the police were through it all, smiling, laughing and posing for pictures with protesters.
All in all it was a surprisingly nice day out and very inspiring. There were times when I felt myself getting quite emotional. It’s definitely something I’d do again.
From the media since it seems like there has been some impact, but there’s a long way to go. If you’re the slightest bit concerned about climate change – and I hope you are – I’d encourage you to get involved. Even if you just sign up on their website or add your name to petitions that circulate. Or you could make a donation, or attend one of their actions.
You can particpate in whatever way you feel comfortable with.
I strongly believe that this is the biggest issue of our time, and without enough being done it could be the biggest issue of all time. We all need to do what we can.
Thanks for reading!