{"id":11699,"date":"2019-04-22T11:34:48","date_gmt":"2019-04-22T18:34:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=11699"},"modified":"2019-04-22T11:34:51","modified_gmt":"2019-04-22T18:34:51","slug":"extinction-rebellion-7","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2019\/04\/22\/extinction-rebellion-7\/","title":{"rendered":"Extinction Rebellion"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Days 6 and 7 of International Rebellion (Sat 20 \u2013 Sun 21 Apr)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

London, England (rebellion.earth)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As spring now spreads its (record-breaking<\/a>) warmth across the global north,\u00a0London<\/strong>\u2019s International Rebellion is entering a new phase of its own. After leaving four of five locations in good order, rebels will meet at Marble Arch on Monday to decide where they go next.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being Easter, it\u2019s a time for renewal and rebirth. The past few days have brought their share of sadness, as we\u2019ve left behind spaces so lovingly cultivated and so bravely defended, each with its own story and style: the serene Parliament Square, the giddy Piccadilly, the joyous Oxford Circus and, the flourishing garden bridge. These spaces were amazing creations \u2013 but let us not forget: we came here to transform not London, but the world.
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\u2018Phase One\u2019 has been a huge success<\/strong>. Holding the locations brought enormous attention to our cause: from press<\/a> to politicians<\/a> to punters<\/a>. As all of these examples show, we\u2019ve succeeded in getting our message across \u2013 even to our critics<\/a>.
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This success can be expressed in numbers: at the most conservative estimate we\u2019ve welcomed 30,000 new members, and have received almost \u00a3300,000 in crowdfunding, the great majority of donations being around of \u00a310. And if it\u2019s a metric you\u2019re into, we\u2019ve had almost 1,000 brave people arrested.
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But our deeper success is something past the quantitative: the innumerable moments of love, empowerment and belonging fostered in and between our lovely London spaces; car-streaked streets converted to oases of calm; friendships made and strengthened in a common struggle; and the international solidarity brought about by acting in unison with brothers and sisters all over the planet<\/a>.
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And that\u2019s just Phase One.
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Where we go with Phase Two is up to us<\/strong>. A proposal has been circulated for entering a \u201cnegotiations\u201d phase. Despite being presented otherwise in the media, this idea remains only a proposal \u2013 and is entirely subject to the feedback and consideration of the countless members who\u2019ve done so much to get us to where we are now. The primary forum for this feedback will be a people\u2019s assembly held on Monday between 3pm and 5pm at Marble Arch. There will be food<\/a> after this. If you\u2019d like to understand more about how the decision process looks as things stand, please watch this short video<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As XR UK<\/strong> begins a moment of reflection (however long or short!), rebellions across the world continue to thrive. To give just a taste: we\u2019ve seen a disco in Denver<\/strong>, glue-ons in Chicago<\/strong>, the exciting arrival of XR Pakistan<\/strong> and XR Austria<\/strong>, and outreach events in Uganda <\/strong>and Ghana<\/strong>. Like in London, XR Australia<\/strong> has also made space to take stock<\/a>, and XR New Zealand<\/strong> remains as subversively\/submersively creative as ever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before any other news, we would first like to pay our sincere condolences and respects to the family and friends of Polly Higgins, who recently passed away. Our cause is her cause<\/a>. She remains an inspiration to us all.

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The newsletter team<\/em>

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Previous Updates are available here \u2013<\/em> Monday<\/em><\/a>, Tuesday<\/em><\/a>, Wednesday<\/em><\/a>,<\/em>Thursday<\/em><\/a>, Friday<\/em><\/a>.
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For a sonic supplement to our updates, please check out the<\/em> XR podcast<\/em><\/a>, releasing throughout the week.<\/em>
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If you\u2019d like to help fund the mass rebellion as it expands across the world, please donate to our<\/em> crowd funder<\/em><\/a>.<\/em>


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Oxford Circus<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Photo: Tom Hardy<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having mourned the departure of the boat<\/a> on Friday night, those at Oxford Circus held a people\u2019s assembly the following morning to chart their next course. Through a constructive dialogue, a consensus was reached that those holding the site would prepare to leave in good order, with the details of departure to be further considered and discussed \u2013 at which point the police arrived in numbers. Officers were by this point under instruction from the Home Secretary to use \u201cthe full force of the law<\/a>\u201d on protestors. We started to see what \u201ca firm stance<\/a>\u201d can look like; we also started to see first-hand evidence \u2013 a daily reality to so many around Britain and the world \u2013 of an institutionally racist police-force<\/a> (warning: the videos linked<\/a> contain distressing material).
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Such treatment of under-18s and bystanders can only be condemned. An assertive police response was understandable; blind aggression was not. But in the face of this escalation, despite raw emotions and tired minds, rebels refused to respond in kind and held fast to their non-violent practice. Over ten brave souls locked on and glued on in a successful bid to slow police; a crowd of hundreds cheered them on, accompanied by the sound and song of folk musicians. By staying for the intervening hours, the crowd tied up well over sixty officers from a concurrent push on Waterloo Bridge.
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When the last rebel was removed \u2013 a 7-month pregnant marine scientist<\/a> \u2013 those remaining began their move to Marble Arch. They sang the song of mourning from the night before, bringing their sincere and moving music down the length of Oxford Street. Shoppers stopped and watched this apparition from another world; they were given flyers, while six bin-bag-bearing rebels picked up any litter in the slow procession\u2019s path, having first made sure that they left Oxford Circus in a spotless state.
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Photo: Extinction Rebellion<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The march reached Marble Arch to find a warm reception. Once again, the Oxford Circus rebels had faced a hard day and turned it into something beautiful. This work of sublimation found physical form in the shape of tens of ship-shaped pink hats, which bear the legend: \u201cWe are the Boat\u201d.

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Parliament Square<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Photo: Ali Johnson<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Easter weekend began in a relaxed manner in Parliament Square, and most of the Saturday passed rather uneventfully, with tourists, passers-by and rebels alike enjoying the large car-free space opened up by the Rebellion. By evening however, police had managed to move in and finally take the remaining gazebo \u2013 though not before hours of toil, trying to unlock and unglue rebels determined to stay put. The gazebo gone, the police unexpectedly disappeared \u2013 and rebels were able to spend another quiet, chilled night beside the mother of all parliaments.
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Early the next morning however, the police were back. Taken by surprise, a number of rebels were not able to lock themselves in time, and the police quickly moved in to release those who had glued themselves to tarmac and tents. Rebels began sensing that the space was lost and it was time to start packing, if only for a time. They loaded equipment and materials into vans headed for Marble Arch, and started tidying up the Square.
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Photo: Bing<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As dusk fell, the remaining Parliament Square rebels conducted a closing ceremony, described as both sombre and upbeat, and led a funeral procession to Marble Arch. One rebel commented: \u2018We\u2019re leaving for now, but that\u2019s ok\u2019, as the square returned to the bustling, car-filled district of old. By nighttime, only a lone rebel remained in the area, and it was of course the man living atop the very tall tree on the northside of the square. Yes he is just a man in a tree, but he is also a symbol of how our message will live on: in the minds of the many who joined us; in the history books of British politics; and in the corridors of power, as MPs return from their holidays to walk where we once stood.

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Waterloo Bridge<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

What a difference a weekend makes in this crazy world of Extinction Rebellion. On Saturday morning, police liaison officers were patrolling through a verdant bridge community where rebels were eating their breakfast porridge and practicing their downward dogs. By Sunday evening, the bridge was open to traffic, a barren and flavourless landscape of tarmac and passing vehicles. Waterloo Garden bridge, for now, is officially over. 
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The bell first tolled for our beloved bridge at lunchtime on Saturday, when a major police build-up began on the south end. From a herd of vans emerged another phalanx of officers, and they headed straight for the stage truck, the creative heart of the site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo: Luke Fleg<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Using a tactic straight out of the pink party boat playbook, the police encircled the truck and began to slowly peel off the rebels who had glued and locked themselves to it. The ever-ravishing Red Brigade mirrored the corden, kneeling before the stern agents of the law and imploring them with their mournful made-up faces. The police did well to resist their charms. As arrestables were carried away to cheers and chants (\u201cwe love you\u201d), and refreshments were smuggled across to those rebels stuck in the kettled stage area, police set about dismantling the skate ramp.
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By 9:30pm just a couple of protestors were left atop the stage truck, buoyed by the immense crowd delighting in their tenacity. Watching the slow, delicate dance of the harnessed police officers and the locked on rebels made for a mesmerising show. As dawn broke, the stage truck was finally towed away.
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But the police weren\u2019t done. They returned midday Sunday in similar numbers, stating their intention to clear the entire bridge. Police carting away rebels to distant vans is a sight we are all pretty used to by now, but this time the police started grabbing anything \u2013 chairs, bikes, plants \u2013 asking those nearest the objects if it was theirs and taking them if it was not. What resulted was something not unlike the final act of Macbeth, with rebels calmly picking up the many trees that lined the bridge and carrying them to the haven of a distant pavement \u2013 a silent marching forest. And as the great dismantling began, the rebel house-movers were encouraged by inspiring words from TV naturalist Chris Packham and Olympic gold-medalist Etienne Stott, both of whom made speeches from atop a nearby bus-stop. Stott then joined the remaining rebel arrestables on the tarmac, committing himself to a night in the cells.
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By evening, police easily outnumbered protestors, and a made a few arrests on the pavement before deciding that the job was done. Our friendly, vibrant, verdant bridge finally returned to its joyless, carbon-pumping form at around 10:20pm. But Easter is a time of resurrection and the rebel soul still burns. Climate justice will one day be ours. And by Gaia, so too will this bridge.
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Photo: Amber Hunt

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Marble Arch<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Our \u2018designated protest area\u2019 started the weekend in a typically family-friendly fashion, with a special children\u2019s area being erected so the little ones could paint and play under the shade of an awning, and avoid the scorching sun. Training sessions in nonviolent communication were also launched and ran throughout the weekend.
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Come evening, the wholesome atmosphere took a slightly new direction thanks to the annual 4\/20 festival taking place in neighbouring Hyde Park \u2013 an event celebrating cannabis and protesting its illegality. The air was gradually infused with the sweet smell of marijuana, and the XR camp thronged with curious visitors. With a candlelit vigil happening that night, and tealights set around the campsite, there was worry this might be a recipe for a fire hazard \u2013 but thankfully the only thing to result from this mingling of protestors was a bit more site rubbish to clean away than normal. 
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With sustained police clampdowns on Waterloo Bridge and Parliament Square, Sunday proved to be a day of consolidation at the Arch, with displaced rebels from the other sites welcomed with open arms, and the kitchen area quickly expanding to accommodate the growing number of mouths. Sunday also saw a record number of fresh faces entering the camp keen to join XR, and many were thrilled to find themselves instantly included and welcomed.
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Photo: Annabelle Chih<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Sunday lineup on the Marble Arch main stage was truly outstanding, kicking off with an international solidarity event featuring the speakers Esther Stanfrod-Xosei, Esther Hashem, Rumana Hashem, Magero Otiena-Magero (spoken word), Adaeze Aghaji, Robin Ellis-Cockcroft (XR Youth), and Kofi Mawuli Klu. But the undisputed headliner was Swedish schoolgirl sensation Greta Thunberg, who made a brief but brilliant speech<\/a>, telling the jubilant crowds, \u201cWe are the ones making a difference, we the people in this Extinction Rebellion and the children\u2019s school strike for the climate.\u201d 
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A People\u2019s Assembly then followed, with discussions focused on how XR might better develop links with the Global South where climate breakdown is already a reality. The weekend closed with a booming set<\/a> from Bristol trip-hop sensation Massive Attack. With all the rebellion ground conceded elsewhere, one might have expected rebel energies to be low, but the vast crowd danced with joy.
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Photo: Terry Matthews<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Coming up in London\u2026<\/h2>\n\n\n\n