Matthew Taylor, The Guardian: *The evolution of Extinction Rebellion*
Very interesting long read. With room for justified criticism as well. Like this:
"… Amid all the praise for XR’s achievements up to that point, there had also been some significant criticism. From the left, some argued that XR’s “beyond politics” framing fatally overlooked the role that neoliberal capitalism, driven by the right, played in the ecological crisis – exploiting people and natural resources, particularly in the global south, for the benefit of a wealthy minority. There was also growing criticism from black and ethnic minority groups, who said XR’s tactic of encouraging mass arrests ignored the reality of police racism, and effectively made the protests the preserve of privileged white people. …"
#longread #mustread #ExtinctionRebellion #XR #ClimateCrisis #ClimateChange #ClimateBreakdown #Activism
… and this one of course (how can we forget):
"… XR was also criticised for tactical missteps. Early in the morning of 17 October, a number of protesters climbed on top of a tube train at Canning Town station in order to disrupt rush-hour services. Commuters reacted with anger, and scuffles broke out, with one protester being dragged from the roof of the train. The incident only lasted a few minutes, but the footage, which was widely shared, was damaging for XR, and highlighted some of the challenges facing the movement. How do you control what actions go ahead in a decentralised structure? Did the decision to carry out the protest highlight the lack of class and racial diversity within XR? Those who had decided to go ahead with the action did not seem to realise that by targeting the tube at that time of day, the people affected would not be bankers or financiers, but working-class Londoners, many on zero-hours contracts. Many observers also expressed bewilderment at the fact that climate protesters had chosen to target public transport at all. …"
Zion Lights was recently speaking a bit about XR, mostly positively, in Decouple podcast https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/decouple/coming-out-as-pro-nuclear-OF7dlPeuQVZ/
