Re-reading my own writing invariably makes me want to vomit. There is a sour grapes element towards NS in a previous blog that I know upset my NS friends and now embarrasses me, as it betrays an illogical emotion that I would prefer to eliminate from my jottings. The realization that I was writing a blog because it was a place where I could express my oft-rejected opinions freely, without having reached a place where I was mature enough to eliminate emotion, made me reconsider whether I should continue to write one at all.
In addition, I received messages like the following: “My strong advice is to close your blog down until you are done with anything related to secondary schools…words like 'non-PC', 'trans', 'race' - no headteacher will touch that with a bargepole…. It doesn't matter about the nuances of what you're saying - one clumsy sentence picked up by a member of the press, and it's 'Hertfordshire School Allows Ecofascist To Run Seminar' in the Daily Mail”.
One way or another, I had decided perhaps a blog wasn’t a good idea. On the other hand, let’s face it, my reply to that email was: “I am going to scream my truth from every writing medium and tie myself to railway tracks. I’ve already blocked bridges with Extinction Rebellion even in NS. At that time, when the long line of armed police decided enough was enough and ordered us to disperse, I didn’t know how an arrest would affect my job at Dal, so I backed off the bridge and cheered from the sidelines as others more courageous got arrested. I got fired from Dal all the same. Sure I’ll get arrested. But maybe I’ll also discover different ways of influencing, or helping my side of the battle. The blog stays—and the first public comment I got shifted my stance about the Nazi comment—so it’s clear that whatever stance I take, I am utterly open to changing it. It is an invite to converse, and people are already engaging, personally rather than publicly. But the public statements will come. I truly hope someone shows me that eco-terrorism isn’t the way to go! Because if I get a shot at a massive oil giant I’m going down for life!”
Another pro-keeping-the-blog is the fact that some people are kindly interested in how it’s going here in England; I cannot write individually to everyone, so I said that I’d post updates on the blog.
So, I continue, although I will continue to fuck up.
In addition to sour grapes, I was also uncomfortable with my suggestion in a previous blog that the war was between the rich and the poor—any type of generalization is as crazy as racism, isn’t it? Look at Yvon Chouinard, who has directed all future profits of his $3 billion company to combatting climate change. There are as many brilliant rich people battling climate change as in any other group, isn’t there?
No.
Rich people are demonstrably contributing to the problem massively more than any other group. Wealth seems to produce such hubris that they’re all convinced they can outsmart nature and escape the apocalypse they are creating. Look at Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos’s ambition to colonize Mars. Or Thiel’s ambition to reverse the ageing process. Money can conquer nature herself! The Guardian article at the end of this blog describes a group of billionaires who are intent on saving themselves from the coming apocalypse by building massive under-ground bunkers. The article describes their worries about controlling the human guards that they’ll need to keep the desperate hordes at bay. How will they control them, these billionaires ponder, once their bitcoins become useless? Neck bracelets? Food control?
At a time when we can actually avoid the apocalypse, those contributing to it the most continue to live 'in the manner to which they have become accustomed'—confident that their wealth will save them. “It’s as if they want to build a car that goes fast enough to escape from its own exhaust.” Isn’t it reasonable to consider taking down these selfish isolationists? Who consider us dispensable rats?
Yeah, yeah, I know that this isn’t very informative. I am just looking for a place to live, increasingly desperately. I’m fine; I’m alive. I’ll be back for Xmas in two minutes.
Tip: If we cut down 10% of our driving, that is a massive contribution to the climate battle, because transportation is one of the biggest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions in NA. So how much do you drive? Your average week might look something like this: work and back/extra-curriculars in the evening for the kids/friend and family visits/shopping/appointments. Let’s say, 30 trips a week. If you eliminate THREE of those weekly trips, you are doing your bit to save your own children. Arrange a car share with other mums for extra-curriculars and bundle your shopping with your appointments—DONE!
Or, we can be like the billionaires, resisting small, painless changes now. Because let’s face it, the poorest in the West are still ‘rich’ in comparison to most of the world—and our footprints are unforgivably large compared to poorer countries. If this article makes us angry, it’s because the billionaires view us as dispensable rats. We must be vigilant to avoid unconsciously viewing those poorer than us in a similar way. There but for the grace of God go I…
We all find it hard to modify our lives. We are all addicted to our large footprints and want to live in 'the manner to which we have become accustomed'. And collectively, our actions are killing people in developing countries right now. Of course we need systematic change, and I battle for that (through petitions/protests/voting) every day, but we must recognize our individual responsibility to make minor changes now and stop passing the buck. You might not be political, or have the time to sign petitions, but if you can't cut down three trips a week, you are no better than the billionaires.
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2022/sep/04/super-rich-prepper-bunkers-apocalypse-survival-richest-rushkoff Are We Rats?
In addition, I received messages like the following: “My strong advice is to close your blog down until you are done with anything related to secondary schools…words like 'non-PC', 'trans', 'race' - no headteacher will touch that with a bargepole…. It doesn't matter about the nuances of what you're saying - one clumsy sentence picked up by a member of the press, and it's 'Hertfordshire School Allows Ecofascist To Run Seminar' in the Daily Mail”.
One way or another, I had decided perhaps a blog wasn’t a good idea. On the other hand, let’s face it, my reply to that email was: “I am going to scream my truth from every writing medium and tie myself to railway tracks. I’ve already blocked bridges with Extinction Rebellion even in NS. At that time, when the long line of armed police decided enough was enough and ordered us to disperse, I didn’t know how an arrest would affect my job at Dal, so I backed off the bridge and cheered from the sidelines as others more courageous got arrested. I got fired from Dal all the same. Sure I’ll get arrested. But maybe I’ll also discover different ways of influencing, or helping my side of the battle. The blog stays—and the first public comment I got shifted my stance about the Nazi comment—so it’s clear that whatever stance I take, I am utterly open to changing it. It is an invite to converse, and people are already engaging, personally rather than publicly. But the public statements will come. I truly hope someone shows me that eco-terrorism isn’t the way to go! Because if I get a shot at a massive oil giant I’m going down for life!”
Another pro-keeping-the-blog is the fact that some people are kindly interested in how it’s going here in England; I cannot write individually to everyone, so I said that I’d post updates on the blog.
So, I continue, although I will continue to fuck up.
In addition to sour grapes, I was also uncomfortable with my suggestion in a previous blog that the war was between the rich and the poor—any type of generalization is as crazy as racism, isn’t it? Look at Yvon Chouinard, who has directed all future profits of his $3 billion company to combatting climate change. There are as many brilliant rich people battling climate change as in any other group, isn’t there?
No.
Rich people are demonstrably contributing to the problem massively more than any other group. Wealth seems to produce such hubris that they’re all convinced they can outsmart nature and escape the apocalypse they are creating. Look at Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos’s ambition to colonize Mars. Or Thiel’s ambition to reverse the ageing process. Money can conquer nature herself! The Guardian article at the end of this blog describes a group of billionaires who are intent on saving themselves from the coming apocalypse by building massive under-ground bunkers. The article describes their worries about controlling the human guards that they’ll need to keep the desperate hordes at bay. How will they control them, these billionaires ponder, once their bitcoins become useless? Neck bracelets? Food control?
At a time when we can actually avoid the apocalypse, those contributing to it the most continue to live 'in the manner to which they have become accustomed'—confident that their wealth will save them. “It’s as if they want to build a car that goes fast enough to escape from its own exhaust.” Isn’t it reasonable to consider taking down these selfish isolationists? Who consider us dispensable rats?
Yeah, yeah, I know that this isn’t very informative. I am just looking for a place to live, increasingly desperately. I’m fine; I’m alive. I’ll be back for Xmas in two minutes.
Tip: If we cut down 10% of our driving, that is a massive contribution to the climate battle, because transportation is one of the biggest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions in NA. So how much do you drive? Your average week might look something like this: work and back/extra-curriculars in the evening for the kids/friend and family visits/shopping/appointments. Let’s say, 30 trips a week. If you eliminate THREE of those weekly trips, you are doing your bit to save your own children. Arrange a car share with other mums for extra-curriculars and bundle your shopping with your appointments—DONE!
Or, we can be like the billionaires, resisting small, painless changes now. Because let’s face it, the poorest in the West are still ‘rich’ in comparison to most of the world—and our footprints are unforgivably large compared to poorer countries. If this article makes us angry, it’s because the billionaires view us as dispensable rats. We must be vigilant to avoid unconsciously viewing those poorer than us in a similar way. There but for the grace of God go I…
We all find it hard to modify our lives. We are all addicted to our large footprints and want to live in 'the manner to which we have become accustomed'. And collectively, our actions are killing people in developing countries right now. Of course we need systematic change, and I battle for that (through petitions/protests/voting) every day, but we must recognize our individual responsibility to make minor changes now and stop passing the buck. You might not be political, or have the time to sign petitions, but if you can't cut down three trips a week, you are no better than the billionaires.
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2022/sep/04/super-rich-prepper-bunkers-apocalypse-survival-richest-rushkoff Are We Rats?
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