I joined many fellow rebels last weekend to contribute to the green transition in a protest on the A12. Well, not exactly, as the police were exceptionally well-prepared and formed a strong line of strong dudes and dudettes barring our access to the warm asphalt under the spring sun. Quite a pity. After this disappointment, we tried to gain access to the road through the tree line north of the A12, but there, too, our efforts were thwarted by an overzealous officer who sent us back into the woods with the message: ‘Great climate here, nice and green, just the way you like it.’
It is becoming increasingly difficult to fight for climate justice. Last weekend’s protest on the A12 against fossil subsidies failed following the unsuccessful blockade against ING’s fossil investments a week earlier. It is time for groups such as Extinction Rebellion to devise new strategies.
I have taken the liberty of contributing some ideas through this column. The idea below came to me while I watched the activists being dragged from a blocked intersection one by one after I had already been pushed into a police van.
The generally fragile average XR protester’s bodies are relatively easily dragged away by just a few strapping police officers
I noticed that the generally fragile average XR protester’s bodies are relatively easily dragged away by just a few strapping police officers. The mostly vegan protesters lack the muscle tissue their opponents have plenty of. The “I go to the gym every morning at 7 to become mentally and physically strong”-types abound among the right-wing youths fighting only for their own simplistic ideals: a toned body and passive income.
So, I herewith propose that XR ceases to invest in the quantity of activists that require dragging but in their physical quality. What does that mean? Not more activists, but more per activist. Let’s have the police really work for each protesting body they drag off the asphalt. An American football-style line of defence. Perhaps backed by a sponsoring deal with McDonald’s to invest in the number of kilogrammes that require dragging through copious amounts of French fries, Mc Plants, and dairy-free Mc Flurries.
We will soon see headlines that no longer state that ‘600 protesters were dragged away,’ but rather ’72 tonnes of protesters’. That would be great.
Resource-student editor Felix Landsman (23) is a former master’s student of Environmental Sciences who is currently trying his luck in an open master’s programme focusing on environmental sociology, and is an aspiring adventurer. He is often looking for something.
