In Australia we've just essentially criminalised climate protesting. Climate protestors now risk a huge fine and even jail time. A lot of people suspect it's because governments are preparing in advance for what might become a huge movement that they can't control. So they're trying to disincentivise people before shit hits the fan.
I went to a climate protest in Canada last week and it was way to tame to actually get anything accomplished.
The main part of the protest was walking down a main artery. For protesters, there is incentive to walk slowly and spread out to make the walk longer and disrupt status-quo longer, but the organizers clearly only had permission to march for a specific duration so they were in the back hurrying people forward so we'd stay within our allotted time window. Maybe 30 minutes. Once a year. It was pointless.
Add to that that 90% of the people there were exactly the people you'd expect to be there and it just felt like a waste of time.
she applauded the climate movement for starting to "crack the grip" which the fossil fuel industry holds on the nation's political economy.
"That's because of you," she said to those in the crowd. "Don't let the cynics win. The cynics want us to think that this isn't worth it. The cynics want us to believe that we can't win. The cynics want us to believe that organizing doesn't matter; that our political system doesn't matter; that our economy doesn't matter. But we're here to say that we organize out of hope! We organize out of commitment! We organize out of love! We organize out of the beauty of our future! And we will not give up. We will not let go! We will not let cynicism to prevail!"
There is an exception to every rule, and one of my rules is that all politicians are money grubbing, ego-maniacs, who want nothing more than power. She might be the only exception to that rule.
Term based politics really make me struggle with democracy when it comes to this topic. No one is going to do jack shit if that means they lose votes, or half assed shit at best.
Aren't you glad, the EU isn't there to regulate this kind of thing anymore? /s (do we use the sarcasm "/s" here as well or did we leave that at the old place?)
I don't get why people support AOC, as far as I can tell after she blatantly ignored New Yorkers who are fed up with the current migrant crisis. She's not open for debate, she's just pushing her own agenda.
In attributing the forthcoming migrant crisis solely to Republicans stance on climate change, you're oversimplifying a complex issue. While climate change is indeed a pressing concern that could exacerbate migration patterns, it's not the only factor. My initial point was that AOC appears to be ignoring the concerns of her constituents on the current migrant issue, which is separate from future crises caused by climate change. It is crucial to address the problems of today while also preparing for those of tomorrow. To do so, our representatives should be open to debate and multiple viewpoints, not solely focused on pushing their own agendas.
Isn't it strange that they keep re-electing her? Could it be that... her agenda is their agenda? That "New Yorkers who are fed up with the current migrant crisis" aren't the majority?
AOC is calling for protests. Equating protests to terrorism puts you in the ignoble company of the Iranian government, the Saudi monarchy, and the Georgia cops who charged protesters with felonies for distributing flyers.
If we are treating this like an emergency, imagine if you were a resident of the flooding in Derna, what they would do if they saw the Exxon oil executives dining on the side of a posh cafe in their suits and tie saying the death of everyone in your neighbourhood is just business?