Extinction Rebellion

Coming up tomorrow not been able to yet.. probs going Oxford Circus so PM anyone round that way! Hope numbers hold for tomorrow... looks like a good party from the vids Ive been sent.

 

Interesting comment that reminded me one thing I noticed was how serious some of them are about no drink/drugs. There was a very earnest young man who came on before Alabama 3 and told the crowd, at length, no drink or drugs. I think Larry Love got told off as well for drinking and smoking (and swearing) on stage. This had the usual effect on Larry when you tell him not to do something.....

Same earnest young man came out into the crowd to tell 2 people who turned up with Stella's that it was verboten.

I can see why they're doing it and I understand but it felt a bit weird to me and my fuzzy memories of RTS and CJB marches...

Anyway, it's their thing so I'll happily go along with it.

Hope they are all doing well and keeping warm out there tonight. More power to their elbows.

 

.

 

Arrests in oxford circus.

 

Apart from taking photos had a couple of short chats today.

ed has put it on his Urban blog two articles.

London Extinction Rebellion protests: the Garden Bridge, overnight occupation and today’s updates – Tues 16th Apr 2019

The Evening Standard put it on page nine today after Rasta mouse writer benefit fraud/ getting primary school places in Chelsea articles. Says it all about ES priorities.

My first chat was with nice guy who said he had never done anything like this before. He had done all the letter writing etc and he joined this as he felt working through all the "legitimate" channels hadn't worked.

We talked about the fact that a lot of older people are involved in various ways. Its not only young people.

He said he was professional person who couldnt risk his job by being arrested.

Extinction / Rebellion don't expect people to go all out. They accept people have constraints. So you volunteer to do certain things. And aren't made to feel that you aren't proper activist if you arent up for arrest.

I must say I found this attitude refreshing.

My second chat was up at Oxford Circus. I cycle around London all day. So walked through Oxford Circus several times.

He offered me leaflet be apologized for the inconvenience of closing Oxford Circus. I told him no problem. Its made my life easier. Its been actually pleasant cycling around West End today. Due to Oxford Circus and Marble March protest Oxford Street and Regesnt Street are almost empty. Its been delightful.

Just shows what a better environment it would be if cities had less traffic.

I was only a few days ago telling co worker that cycling around West End for a few hours made me feel stressed out.

The ambience at Oxford Circus and Waterloo bridge are different.

Oxford Circus has loads of bemused shoppers and tourists taking photos. Despite their best efforts not a lot of interaction between protestors and Joe public. There was a talk of public assemblies and waving hands. But I think the best thing was the banners letting people know what this was about.

No one was complaining. The Tube was open.

Not sure if they disrupt Tube how well that is going to go down.

Waterloo bridge is a bit separate from the consumer capitalism of Oxford Street. So felt more chilled out. The bridge is open to pedestrians and cyclists.

I was impressed by this. They have kept the cycle lane clear.

Bit more chilled at Waterloo.

 

It was great sound system from the boat at Oxford Circus. I took video but couldn't upload it here.

 

Well my Black Cab friends haven't been complaining. They are on a meter. And they can't really say much as they have been blocking Tottenham Court Road recently.

I notice Cops haven't been arresting Black Cab drivers. Black Cab drivers have been at war with Sadiq and TFL for some time. But the Met haven't been using anti terrorist legislation against them.

Interesting if you are hard working Cabbie you get treated differently.

One of my van driving mates said the cops should have been arresting Cabbies for the Tottenham Court Road blockages by Black Cabs.

Most people who work in West End use public transport. IMO public transport is green. As is cycling. So Im not sure targeting public transport is great idea.

 

Was really impressed by how self disciplined it was compared to what we got up to 20 years ago. Got offered a discount from the coffee cart just south of waterloo bridge when I said we were heading there. What felt so good was thinking about real politics after the endless cycle of which form of brexshit we are going to be fed.

 

I disagree.

Disrupting public transport is going to potentially alienate ordinary working people. Not political establishment or the Uber rich in London.

Take this quote from the Extinction Rebellion webpage you quote:

Like they don't know? I'm not happy with this.

The ordinary Joe working in West End isn't inconvenienced by the present protests. I saw office workers out in Oxford Circus enjoying the sound system. They can still get home on tube.

Th webpage also says big investment in public transport is needed to combat climate change. So why disrupt it?

 

I saw a video earlier that was made last time they did the bridges and they had people filling in forms stating if they were willing to be arrested, go to prison etc. It struck both as the most 'British' approach to protest ever but also entirely consensual and as noted earlier, not being judgemental to those who didn't want or couldn't go that far.

 

My fear is that they don't understand the underground. Few people do.
In their ignorance I'm pretty sure they are going to put someone's life at risk.
Maybe their own lives (which is up to them) but also a bystander's by trapping them in a tunnel when they are in need of urgent medical attention and the medics don't get to them in time to defib them or something.
That's my biggest worry about tomorrow.

 

I'm not even going to go into the irony of disrupting a public transport system when one of the tools to reduce climate change is more public transport not less. Tube systems are the exact opposite of the enemy. I lied... I went into it.

 

The challenge for the police is they don't know what to do here though. Everyone is being so reasonable and when they nick people they are not phased by it.

As much as part of me thinks cranking out London Acid City from a lorry like the old days would be good, one lobbed bottle yesterday and this would all be over after a kettle but they haven't given the police enough to wade in and it must be baffling them.

 

I found them at Waterloo Bridge this morning and did my bit sitting down and getting arrested. They took me to barking as all the local cells were already full so I guess it’s having an impact on the police if nothing else. Sitting in the cells for hours then struggling back across London I did have my doubts as to whether this really is the best way to make an impact. They will run out of volunteers to get nicked. Most of the protesters were just standing back and watching

 

Really difficult one. The problem with the latter stages of mayday and G20 is that some people were getting caught up in levels of violence they never intended before they set out. Severe sentences were served. Others were injured by police violence. Like any tactic once these current ones become normalised they will be irrelevent and ineffective but at the moment it most definetly doesn't feel normal in large parts of central london.

 

In 2009 the police smashed the climate camp in the city without provocation from the campers. When they're ordered to use force they will use force, provocation or no.

 

Shame the police just sold off their super-high-powered one

 

Walked across Waterloo Bridge about 11:15 tonight. Still blocked, some music happening, some tents up, all going on on the southern half of the bridge. Couple of police to the north side, no others about that I saw.

 

Yeah, I am sure at some point they will get the nod.

 

I saw somebody receiving urgent treatment in the street and one of the organisers sprinted to a nearby uni and back with heir defibrillator. I was really impressed that they had thought to research the nearest defib and have someone assigned to dash for it.
I think they're doing everything they can to mitigate the risk and the impact on the public.

 

Any news on the public transport actions?

 

Loads of plod gathering on Waterloo Bridge.

 

Yeah, just walked under it and there were a load heading up to the bridge. Could just have been shift change though.

 

Loads of cops at Waterloo bridge

 

Arrests no w