A rant about the need for resistance & change
Last Saturday, during an XR-NL protest in The Hague against the €39.7-46.4 billion annual fossil fuel subsidies by the Dutch government, a police officer broke the ribs of a peaceful rebel by pushing a knee on his chest, first on one side, then on the other… Peaceful climate activists who are rightfully concerned about the future and who demand government action to stop escalation of the climate crisis are regularly being described as criminals and there are increasing calls for a tough police response and fines. I have been arrested at XR actions multiple times and even spent a few hours in a prison cell one time, but I have never received a fine or even a letter. Why not? Because we simply make use of our right to demonstrate and no judge will convict us. This is a right fought for by our elders and ancestors, but currently under threat of getting dismantled by the government. In the UK and the US, laws have already been revised to restrict the rights of protesters and some of them are now facing outrageous fines and potential prison time (see for example the text on the Appalachians Against Pipelines resisting the Mountain Valley Pipeline in my blog post Support the Resistance). If you think it’s really not that bad or this would never happen in the Netherlands, you’re definitely living under a rock. Public opinion against climate activists is being riled up by politicians, journalists, and other public figures, in such a way that people call loudly for the use of water cannons, for drivers to drive through human blockades, and express other shocking threats on social media. This demonization is incredibly concerning, is already leading to the increasing use of excessive force by police officers and to physical confrontations by opponents, and is distracting from the actual problems.
A large part of the population is not at all concerned about the climate crisis and ecological collapse, nor about the food shortages and conflicts that will follow. Hundreds of million of people and very many more animals will suffer immensely due to floods, fires, droughts, hunger, sickness, and violence. It is already happening. But many people still comfortably live in their bubble and ignore the signs that shit is hitting the fan. In the meantime, temperature statistics are exploding and scientists are in utter desperation calling for drastic change. I often hear people say, oh well, let it happen, humanity deserves it… Or nothing can be done anyway. Until they are crying because their home washed away in a flood, or there is no more toilet paper available in the supermarkets… I am always amazed at the fact that we have all grown up reading and watching so many hero stories of people or mythical creatures standing up against evil and fighting for what’s right: from the heroism of the resistance during WWII, to the amazing courage of Frodo and Sam in Lord of the Rings, or Neo joining the rebellion against the Matrix. And yet, we tend to be so passive when real-life situations ask for engagement. Following a historical or fictional uprising against evil from your lazy chair is not quite the same as yourself facing the truth and taking action against the downfall of humanity. After all, it means getting out of your comfort zone and perhaps bringing yourself into situations that are not quite so enjoyable. Getting yourself arrested is not glamorous. Resisting arrest while knowing police will inflict pain is not glamorous. Putting yourself out there for a better world time and again without seeing any serious movements towards real change is not glamorous.
But while we still enjoy relative freedoms in the Netherlands, activists in other countries are at much greater risk. Peaceful Ugandan protesters against the construction of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline have been abused and thrown into a maximum security prison for a month. And now they still face a possible conviction and prison time. (There is a new fundraiser to support the Ugandan activists here.) It is important to remember that Ugandans, like most people in the Global South, have little to no responsibility for causing the climate crisis, but face the first and biggest consequences. In addition, hundreds of environmental and land defenders are murdered each year, especially in the Global South, for standing in the way of extractive industries, particularly from the Global North. This is also why XR activists block roads and engage in other actions, in solidarity with people in other countries for whom a lot more is at stake, but who have fewer possibilities to resist and rise up. And because it’s generally our banks, our pension funds, our fossil fuel companies, our livestock farms, and other businesses that are responsible for the ruthless greed and destructiveness.
As for the people who are still doubting whether it will all really be so bad with the climate crisis, I would like to ask them to look around properly. Are you so convinced that the way we are abusing the planet will go without consequence? We have been warned for decades and the statistics are confirming and exceeding the predictions. As for the people who think that the measures for climate and nature are too expensive, I would like to ask them, what do you think doing nothing will end up costing us? Many farmers believe that the European Commission withdrawing plans to cut emissions and the use of pesticides by farms was a victory, but the victory is only for big capital - the farmers are just a revenue model for them. And of course, farmers are not immune to the climate crisis or the effects of poison.
Just like many activists, I have little faith that we will achieve the dramatic change we so desperately need. But doing nothing is no option. In the meantime, the established order is fighting tooth and nail to preserve the current system. The biggest challenge is that the power of the wealthy needs to be dismantled. The ending of fossil fuel subsidies will only be one step, an important step, but only the beginning. We need to hit the emergency brakes on the pursuit of eternal economic growth and divide costs and benefits honestly and equally, also and especially with the Global South. Sadly, loads of people are allowing themselves to get riled up by disinformation and imaginary enemies, and end up supporting extreme right politics that will only worsen the problems. The political left has failed to form and express a powerful alternative vision in the past decades and has followed in the neoliberal reforms, privatization and destruction of social services, and populist fearmongering about refugees and migrants. In the meantime, lots of strong ideas for different perspectives and approaches have been developed and circulated, especially from the degrowth corner. Additionally, various economists are showing that our assumptions about money and the way the economy works are simply false and that a lot more is possible than we are taught to believe (see for example Doughnut Economics, Modern Monetary Theory, and Wellbeing Economy). I am planning to write more about these topics, so stay tuned. Real change is in fact possible with some courage, vision, and action. The left needs to really seize this moment, this opportunity, to use these ideas and to convince voters that hate, greed, and fear of change will not save us, but real solidarity is needed. At this point, we can still have some control over the decision whether we will change by design or by disaster, but there is very little time.