The anger over Extinction Rebellion protests is more about the cause than the commotion, writes Jeff Sparrow.
“We note that the … campaign is more than an expression of legitimate dissent and protest. It is… designed to inconvenience thousands of citizens and to subject community life to dislocation. It is a wholly unjustifiable claim of right which amounts to an unjustifiable denial of the rights of others.”
That statement by government MPs might have been written in response to Extinction Rebellion’s recent week of action. But it wasn’t. Actually, it was published in May 1970 in relation to the famous Vietnam Moratorium.
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"The inconvenience of climate protests – even the relatively small-scale actions we’ve seen so far – necessarily confronts politicians and the public with that choice. The disruption they cause provides a reminder of the almost unthinkable disruption threatened by global warming and the utter failure of governments to respond to it.
If you dismiss the XR rallies as wilful chaos created by attention-seeking misfits, you can remain sanguine about what the future holds. If you don’t – if you accept that the protests have a purpose – you’re forced to confront the tremendous challenge that lies ahead." Jeff Sparrow New Matilda
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Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.Climate Change IS NO fairy story, it IS Real and is happening as we sit and do S.F.A. but listen to the nay-sayers.
The climate of Earthy, OUR only home, IS a very delicate thing, it has changed numerous times over the last Millions and Millions over years for reasons that are part of the cycles of both this planet and the Universe BUT this time WE are the root cause, WE must react and do EVERYTHING possible to reserve the harm WE have done and ARE still doing, WE must CLEAN UP our act because the ONLY alternative IS far too terrible to consider.
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