“We refuse to bequeath a dying planet to future generations by failing to act now. We act in peace, with ferocious love of these lands in our hearts. We act on behalf of life.” — #ExtinctionRebellion
Strategically timed to help support the global day of climate action on Saturday 17 November – with demonstrations and civil disobedience expected in a dozen or so countries – in Melbourne Climate Guardians heralded the Australian chapter of the international #ExtinctionRebellion movement calling for radical action to address the escalating global climate emergency.
London’s Parliament Square during the #ExtinctionRebellion day of action on 17 November 2018. Image courtesy of Fields of Light Photography
In London on Saturday thousands of #ExtinctionRebellion protesters occupied five bridges across the Thames, leading to 85 arrests. These arrests follow many others in the UK during recent months, as more and more people are prepared to engage in peaceful civil disobedience to defend the living systems we all depend on. “The ‘social contract’ has been broken … [and] it is therefore not only our right but our moral duty to bypass the government’s inaction and flagrant dereliction of duty and to rebel to defend life itself,” said Gail Bradbrook, one of the #ExtinctionRebellion organisers.
Police gathered and were cordial, making no attempts to prevent Climate Guardians from conducting their prominent #ExtinctionRebellionOz ‘photo shoot’
No longer content with rallies, petitions and marches, the focus of the #ExtinctionRebellion movement is direct action, with people prepared not only to be arrested, but also to go to jail in large numbers. “This preparedness for sacrifice, a long history of political and religious revolt suggests, is essential to motivate and mobilise people to join an existential struggle. It is among such people that you find the public and civic sense now lacking in government. That we have to take such drastic action to defend the common realm shows how badly we have been abandoned,” said UK writer and long-time activist George Monbiot.
Join Australia’s School Strike 4 Climate, Friday 30 November
“Why bother to learn anything in school if politicians won’t pay attention to the facts?” Greta Thunberg, September 2018
Only the strongest possible action can preserve a livable planet for our children and theirs. Please join us in supporting the global #ExtinctionRebellion movement, and its Australian chapter #ExtinctionRebellionOz.
