Bit
by bit our rights are being taken away - there is no denying this, no
escaping the reality and no way that our futures can in any way be an
improvement on our pasts if this continues - in fact probably not much
of a future worth having if it does.
My greatest fear is what we leave behind - not just environmentally but what the 'normal' will become for our children. The erosion of rights is steady and ongoing and we grow accustomed step by step to the limitations and the young.. grow, knowing the situation as their 'normal' and not realising how much was lost.
In 2017 activists built towers, slept in the entrance and caused daily impact to the fracking company – and next-to-no-impact on everyday folk... but legal case by legal case that we can't afford to challenge - we've been held back, slowed down and stunted. Rights, like much else are facing extinction or re-thinking - so they don’t have any true meaning any more. Recent times I’ve watched the loss of:
-the right of residents (through local democracy of their council) to say NO to planning applications like fracking - that threaten their homes, health and well-being. Westminster simply stepped in and overturned Lancashire County Council's rejection and here we are... shaken, shattered and virtually helpless in the face of the power that imposes this.
-the right of Parliament to hold current Government to account and reign them in - a 'no deal' Brexit (never on the referendum as a potential) and the prorogation (halting of Parliamentary activity) so that solutions can't be found in time. Those saying honour the 'will of the people' please consider that our population is 66 million+ people - 16,141,241 voted to REMAIN and only just over a million more voted to LEAVE and since the Referendum, much new information has emerged. What bit of where we find ourselves now, is the government interpreting as 'the will of the people'?
-the right to legally challenge decisions made by courts that although not 'removed' has now been set at such a high financial cost... we have little-to-NO hope of ever accessing the justice system. Today even Friends of the Earth could no longer continue in a challenge to the 'draconian injunction' that prevents peaceful protest having any impact at the opposed fracking site near Blackpool. (link: https://drillordrop.com/
-the right to protest in any way other than standing quietly with a banner - the rights of free expression and freedom of assembly literally limited now to being still and being quiet. Swearing will get you arrested, in a cell and charged – as well as ‘bailed away’ from the protest area… meaning less who can be there. Case after case, costs after costs and all the time it takes – takes a mighty toll on activists who are already fighting for environmental justice – without having to re-define what the hell ‘justice’ is too.
We've discovered over 968 days in protest that the application of a straight-jacket can be done... without even being noticed if you stitch us up, one legal thread at a time.
My greatest fear is what we leave behind - not just environmentally but what the 'normal' will become for our children. The erosion of rights is steady and ongoing and we grow accustomed step by step to the limitations and the young.. grow, knowing the situation as their 'normal' and not realising how much was lost.
In 2017 activists built towers, slept in the entrance and caused daily impact to the fracking company – and next-to-no-impact on everyday folk... but legal case by legal case that we can't afford to challenge - we've been held back, slowed down and stunted. Rights, like much else are facing extinction or re-thinking - so they don’t have any true meaning any more. Recent times I’ve watched the loss of:
-the right of residents (through local democracy of their council) to say NO to planning applications like fracking - that threaten their homes, health and well-being. Westminster simply stepped in and overturned Lancashire County Council's rejection and here we are... shaken, shattered and virtually helpless in the face of the power that imposes this.
-the right of Parliament to hold current Government to account and reign them in - a 'no deal' Brexit (never on the referendum as a potential) and the prorogation (halting of Parliamentary activity) so that solutions can't be found in time. Those saying honour the 'will of the people' please consider that our population is 66 million+ people - 16,141,241 voted to REMAIN and only just over a million more voted to LEAVE and since the Referendum, much new information has emerged. What bit of where we find ourselves now, is the government interpreting as 'the will of the people'?
-the right to legally challenge decisions made by courts that although not 'removed' has now been set at such a high financial cost... we have little-to-NO hope of ever accessing the justice system. Today even Friends of the Earth could no longer continue in a challenge to the 'draconian injunction' that prevents peaceful protest having any impact at the opposed fracking site near Blackpool. (link: https://drillordrop.com/
-the right to protest in any way other than standing quietly with a banner - the rights of free expression and freedom of assembly literally limited now to being still and being quiet. Swearing will get you arrested, in a cell and charged – as well as ‘bailed away’ from the protest area… meaning less who can be there. Case after case, costs after costs and all the time it takes – takes a mighty toll on activists who are already fighting for environmental justice – without having to re-define what the hell ‘justice’ is too.
We've discovered over 968 days in protest that the application of a straight-jacket can be done... without even being noticed if you stitch us up, one legal thread at a time.
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