5 Bridges, 3 Trees & 1 collective nervous laugh…

The question of authority and who deserves the right to have it

Borne out of real fear/uncomfortable rage/loathsome truth and massive uncertainty about how the hell to do anything that matters, anything that can somehow make a difference …comes first, a sort-of nervous laugh. The sort of laugh that marks a point where a decision with totally unknown consequences, must be faced. 
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We each where once… NOT activists and then something took our attention with a truth too blatant to ignore and we were compelled to act against injustice; the injustice of abuse of power, the injustice of harm and suffering caused in the pursuit of profit, the injustice of disregarding the impacts of current harm on other peoples and future generations.

Whatever truth brought us to become active – it was the gift of a double-edged sword that at once frees us from the confines, confusion and corruption of a life nourished by lies – to the deep cutting away of much that we hold close and familiar; suddenly the media is clearly a series of marketing options for one agenda or another, police uniforms do not represent a safe place to run to and ‘authority’ and who holds it over who… is up for debate. Yet we also realise that none of this can be allowed to stop us because we live in dangerous times, requiring urgent action - regardless of what that action brings to us personally.

It seems at the time of the change in our understanding - that we are I think, most really ourselves and vulnerable too. As the things we’d grown to rely on for our world-view, are shown to be full of falsehoods – we naturally look for something we CAN trust, people we might stand beside and potential paths ahead. Yesterday at Extinction Rebellion's Rebellion Day, I saw clearly in thousands of faces – the newness of realisation, the freshness of determination and every reason to feel renewed hope.

Yesterday presented an opportunity for individuals to come together – not as groups, not as organisations or societies but as individuals at all our stages of activism, from all sorts of places and viewpoints. On our coach from Lancashire, we arrived as Nanas and Protectors from Preston New Road Rolling Roadside Protest – but we each went on to experience our day as individuals – no group actions, no set things to achieve - just solidarity of purpose with every other individual there.

As well as the massive gatherings, stunning artworks, humour, music, joy and easy comraderie; countless arrests happened to the honourable who answered the call for some to sacrifice in order to hold the bridges for the people. Those faces of arrestees will forever be etched as I could see steely determination in the eyes of some… along with total fear and tears from others. Experience though serves to enhance knowledge and the fuller picture – I hope every arrestee found this to be the right thing to have done – it was certainly deeply appreciated by those of us who could not be arrested.

My day was bloody amazing and I’m still feeling the warm, powerful flow of it all in my veins. We shut down 5 bridges in the heart of London from 10am to late afternoon and then went on to Parliament Square and boldly planted 3 trees in the middle of it… a powerful message from 1 mass of more than 6,000 people that resounded like a shot across the bough to government and made clear this was a firm, peaceful step on a road of defiance; a road that can lead to the much-needed disruption of ‘business as usual’ in the way our lives are lived and governed, IF the government does not heed the demand of people the world-over:

"…face the truth of environmental disaster that will lead to extinction of living things and act NOW to enforce the solutions."

To turn up with rage would have been to add to an already burning pit of smoldering anger that threatens to engulf and make the worst come sooner… the people instead turned up with the things you reach for when that nervous laugh first kicks-in – the only reliables there are: comedy, art, music, colour, joy, love and most of all – an unmovable determination that a point would be made.

I saw the responses to the decision to make a difference, all about me yesterday with so many unknown faces that showed newly engaged activists – the answers to all the tragedy that could come if we don’t make a difference.

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The Unexpected Ending...

Our coach was due to return us at 5pm so I thought we’d only get a little of the closing ceremony in Parliament Square; I went in to do a small, last livestream and as I got closer to the inner circle of the many hundreds of people I stepped over who were seated, three young trees were brought in. Those creating the ritual in centre began to dig in order to plant these trees (in the middle of the flat, lawned Parliament Square itself!), then the police started to move in. Suddenly and all at once like a perfect echo that reverberated – everyone just started standing up and linking arms and creating a totally impenetrable circle around the trees and the planters that felt as strong as steel, as alive as a guitar string just plucked and as much a oneness as the bloody universe.

The chant that was the heartbeat, said everything I felt and as a close to a day of absolute wonder… it was the finest of things.

“Always in love.” <3 span="">

*Photo credit to the brilliant Pitcher Photography