It might be tempting, given the state of the climate and our natural world, to say "we're fucked" and go on with your life, business as usual. Or perhaps you've made some personal changes: you've cut down on meat, you try not to fly as much and you recycle. All great things to do, but you're still worried, and you still see thread after thread reporting some new climate related horror. The truth is, in many ways we are fucked (video). But that doesn't mean we should give in and do nothing. In the face of this crisis, we need a mass movement that puts pressure on politicians to make the societal changes necessary, and that is what Extinction Rebellion is trying to do. We can't do this by ourselves - we're in this together.
What is Extinction Rebellion?
Extinction Rebellion (often shortened to "XR") is a mass movement that uses non-violent civil disobedience in an attempt to halt mass extinction and climate collapse. The group was founded last year in the UK, and has now spread quickly around the world. The movement is decentralized into regional and national groups which has allowed it to grow at a rapid pace. Anyone can join and everyone is welcome.
XR has three demands
1) TELL THE TRUTH: That the government tells the truth about the crisis we are facing by declaring a climate and ecological emergency
2) ACT NOW: That the government commits to net zero carbon emissions by 2025
3) PARTICIPATORY DEMOCRACY: The government must create and be led by the decisions of a citizens' assembly on climate and ecological justice
So how exactly does XR hope to achieve this? (video) I know the three demands may sound wildly ambitious, but the time for incremental change is over, and so far the movement has been very successful. In April this year, XR activists occupied several central bridges in London for a week and managed to get the government to declare a climate emergency, commit to net-zero carbon by 2050 and are now looking to form citizens' assemblies, although they will not have any legislative power. The three demands, then, have not been met, but considering XR has only been around for less than a year, it shows a fantastic step in the right direction. Polls have also shown that the British public's concern about the climate has skyrocketed, giving the question more importance than ever. The point here is, these tactics have proven themselves very useful in the UK, and the potential in other countries is huge. That said, the work in the UK goes on and will escalate until the demands are met.
(pic from a "die-in" at the Natural History Museum in London)
I never thought I would be involved in any sort of social movement, take to the streets, organize, all of that stuff. I'm a pretty quiet, private sort of person like I imagine a lot of people on ResetEra are as well. But I had enough of just worrying, and making personal changes. This shit is real and getting worse every day. Doing something to help mitigate it has made my life easier to live, not to mention given me a better sense of community and purpose.
And you don't need to be willing to be arrested to be involved. There are many supporting roles you can play, from media, outreach, support and much more. I help arrange discussion circles and hangouts for people to get to know each other and find ways into the movement, for example.
So what do you think, ResetEra? I created this thread as both outreach and place of discussion. Have you ever heard of XR or considered joining? What do you think of the movement's approach? If you want to know more, I'm happy to answer questions, and there is more info in the links below:
FAQs
Official UK site
Official US site
Official international site
