Singing Händel while lying on the ground in front of the Swedish parliament building

[luzula]

That was definitely my favorite part of this day. ♥

Am suuuuper-tired, on a train home. I spontaneously took part of the Extinction Rebellion action in Stockholm today. I'm not actually active in that organization, but I was in Stockholm anyway, so. As compared to the "Shut down London" thing going on right now, it was pretty minor.

First we did a lie-in at the parliament building, lying down in a spreading circle with our feet towards the center and then repeatedly singing "Lascia ch'io pianga" but with rewritten lyrics about grief over climate change and species extinction. The acoustics were great, since it's a closed-in space with high stone walls, and people were singing impressively in tune, with a harmony, even! A+ idea and execution; that experience is going to stay with me.

Then later there was a blockade of a walk bridge between the parliament and government building for several hours, but not actually a total blockade since people could get through if they really wanted. I mostly walked around informing people what was going on; nobody got arrested. I guess this is where I express my uncertainty about what is actually a strategy that can bring action on climate change. : / I mean, if I am occupying an old-growth forest, I am physically saving those trees from being cut down. I would gladly be arrested for that. But climate change is such a global, interconnected thing. I am not emotionally willing to be arrested for a blockade like this, and also wonder what effect it actually has. Arrested for shutting down a coal mine? Yeah, more likely. Who knows what is a good strategy to stop fossil emissions, really?

I also got to sleep over at the Greenpeace action center in Stockholm, which was pretty cool. It's in an industrial lot on the outskirts of the city, and had kayaks, wetsuits, climbing equipment, ropes, banners from old actions, etc. Also among various boxes for engine parts was a large box labeled "butt plugs". Are those also a kind of engine part, or does Greenpeace have industrial-level supplies of sex toys? It is a mystery.

Comments

[hurry_sundown]

LOL! You never know what those environmental types get up to when no one is looking. *wink*

[luzula]

Well, I always wanted to read porn with climbing equipment in it, seems like a great venue for that. *g*

[chestnut_pod]

The singing does sound like a great idea well executed - and I share the questions you have about these sit-and-lie-ins. I think at the least they do the great work of getting people together to know each other and feel that they can accomplish things.

[jesse_the_k]

And that is no small thing!

Concrete evidence of the power of people together is particularly useful now, I would think, when so much of our social life is computer-mediated. It's awesome to see a hashtag trend, but hearing impromptu harmonies engages another awe-receptive-organ entirely.

[chestnut_pod]

No small thing indeed!

[auroracloud]

That lie-in with the singing sounds like a wonderful way to protest. So cool that you participated!

We've got some events being organized here, too; yesterday there apparently was a demonstration right in the city centre that blocked the traffic for five minutes around... 5 pm-ish, I think? That made me wonder the same thing you mention here - how useful are such forms of protest, really? I'd think blocking the city traffic during what's still the rush hour is more likely to annoy the not-yet-convinced people than help the cause. Though there's something to be said for the power that a determined crowd of people can have, and of course bringing the issue to people's attention.

Still, I can't help wondering which ways of protest are more likely to harm than help. Which is not to say we should always play nice, but like you said, occupying an old forest to save it from being cut down has a clear connection to the cause. Or if people, say, brought lots of potted trees and flowers to a town square to transform it into a sort of a garden, it might make people think about what we really want to give our space to. (That would take some organizing, but anyway.) Today there's supposed to be a dance parade through the centre, that sounds a lot more like what I'd like to do. Though I probably won't have the spoons to go, but we'll see.

But yeah, if I really knew a good strategy for stopping fossil emissions, I'd sure share it! It's hard to know what really works. I do like that we recently had school kids go on strike on a Friday and do a big demonstration in front of the Parliament. It was an effective way to show that the children & youth are concerned about their future, apparently more so than the adults who are ruining it. And I do feel it played a part in helping the green cause advance in the election.

[luzula]

Oops, super-late reply!

I didn't think the blockade harmed anything, but I'm not sure how much it helped, either. But hey, in the UK the government has declared a climate emergency, possibly in reponse to the massive protests in London, so that's a win? OTOH, it remains to be seen how concrete the effects of this declaration will be.

[seascribble]

Industrial level supplies of sex toys and if that's not the truth, nobody tell me.

I think these demonstrations are very important, but I would not be arrested for one, I agree. Better to save that for direct action. Maybe it's different if it's a racial justice demonstration, for example, but even then, direct action is more important, I think.