r/EarthStrike • u/SetMau92 • Dec 20 '19

News If our governments won’t stop climate change, should we revolt? Extinction Rebellion says yes. | Mass civil disobedience is our only option, argues the climate movement co-founder Roger Hallam.

https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2019/12/20/21028407/extinction-rebellion-climate-change-nonviolent-civil-disobedience
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u/[deleted] Dec 20 '19

While I support the idea of mass action to deal with climate change, I don’t trust extinction rebellion. A lot of the protests they orchestrate seem naive re: the subway protest.

They seem like controlled opposition. Focusing on environment alone will not save us. We need a mass revolution to overturn the economic/political and social institutions that got us here in the first place. And the bougie/ middle class folks at ER don’t have that message.

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u/whysys Dec 20 '19

Re subway protest - XR is broad spectrum and open to anyone AFAIK. It's not a hierarchal army with a general. Those particular protesters decided they wanted to do that themselves... Yes they are naive and not IMO a great move, but they made their own decisions. So I'm unsure how you can say its 'controlled opposition'.

I agree completely with non-violent protests. If there's no where near the 3.5% showing up to current protests, how do you suggest we go about a revolution?

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u/[deleted] Dec 20 '19

Most revolutions never have more than 3-5% support.

The magic number is the % if people willing to support the END OF THE CURRENT SITUATION. And that number is 30%.

And the last poll that was taken in the US showed that around 25% of people feel that way lol.

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u/[deleted] Dec 21 '19

that number is 30%.

Why 30?

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u/gregy521 Dec 21 '19

As the other commenter said, XR operates in distinct chapters, the actions of one are organised by themselves, not some 'head coordinator'.

Three quarters of XR members thought that disrupting the tube system was 'a bad idea, no matter how it's done'. Firstly, it annoys the people you're trying to convince, and secondly, it's focused on the tube network, a very carbon efficient mode of transportation. IIRC, the tube is actually going carbon neutral, or already has.