I cannot think of anything in my lifetime that is comparable to the events that I have witnessed and been a part of last week and into this week with the Extinction Rebellion’s shutdown of London. I tried to return to normality this week both in my posts and in my everyday life but it has been hard because everything feels different and I now know we will have to keep up this fight to have a chance in hell of instigating genuine systematic change. We cannot carry on the way we have been and we cannot go backwards. The only path ahead that is not a dead end for our species is one where we alter everything we do and the only way we can do that is, not by individual choice, which will only get us so far, but by the Governments of this world acknowledging the climate emergency and telling the truth of the severity of the problem to its citizens before instigating a genuine assault on our collective carbon footprint.
In all honesty its pretty scary stuff but there is no longer time to switch off. In the words of Greta Thunberg: I want you to panic. But that is not to freak out and hide with our head in the sands. It is so we can act accordingly and join together to demand a different world that future gens will be able to live in. And I know it feels impossible when you consider how and what we consume and what resistance there will be but to do nothing seems more impossible to me. We must replace anxiety with action. We must tackle this head on.
As a species we are the most resourceful and adaptable and intelligent beings to ever walk this Earth, why now, when we have wrestled and conquered every adversity we have ever encountered along our way, are we now ready to just lay down and be defeated? It is out inability to give up that has got us this far, why not use it to go the distance?
Despite trying to show a return to everyday existence in my selected photographs this week (and give you a mini break from the rebellion) I ended up choosing shots of concerned and troubled looking individuals. They are from all walks of life as wanted to highlight that this will affect everyone no matter what. The rebellion against a society driven by profit over people is a movement that goes beyond race, religion and politics. You might convince yourself that the XR aren’t your ‘sort of people’ or you don’t agree with their methods but that is not a reason not to join as long as you agree something must be done. And you don’t have to be arrested to be a part of this. There are many other ways to get involved…
On May 24th they are organising a general strike to show solidarity with the youth strike movement. That is something we can all do. As commendable as the pupil’s actions have been we all know that kids should not be having to deal with this at all. They should be at school and studying so they can have a good life ahead of them. But they aren’t because they know this is urgent and needs to be dealt with otherwise they won’t have one. Are we really going to stand back as adults and let them get on with it? We need to all join them and all strike together. Go to your colleagues and your employers and discuss how important this is and how you must all get involved. In this society, we try to protect kids from so many things which we think are detrimental to their lives yet for some inexplicable reason, not from the one thing that is a genuine threat to their existence and ours. Let’s change that now…strike on May 24th and let’s make this is a rebellion that includes everyone!