Extinction Rebellion

[cupid_stunt]

There's certainly a rush to look like a prick today isn't there?

Yep!

I am only seeing a red X in your post, no image, until I quote you.

ETA - I've saved it & uploaded it for you...

 

[Spymaster]

I wonder what footwear the tube protestor was wearing, hopefully something of soft leather, as he did get a kick in on the guy who unceremoniously dragged him off.

Yes. The peaceful protestor tries to kick a commuter in the face. That's probably what earned him the spanking.

 

[8ball]

Yes. The peaceful protestor tries to kick a commuter in the face. That's probably what earned him the spanking.

You try to pull someone off something high - that person has face-kicking rights.
This has always been the way, I think it's in Leviticus somewhere.

 

[salem]

That bloke in the white hoodie looks well up for it - his day has been made.

I reckon we'll be seeing more of this now people have seen it happen once and these guys are being portrayed as ordinary heroes. It's quite a good bit of theatre - I wonder how spontaneous it was?

Scary to see a mob in action in such a benign setting though. This seems to be the first bit of proper resistance XR have come across.

 

[planetgeli]

You try to pull someone off something high - that person has face-kicking rights.

The video shows clearly that no attempt had been made to pull the bloke off the train (mainly because the commuter was still climbing the ladder) when the XR bloke kicks out quite viciously. As much as Spy is being a bit twattish in his replies, he's probably right as to this being the reason the bloke got a kicking.

I'm guessing he wasn't the Buddhist teacher (wtf was that all about?).

 

[8ball]

The video shows clearly that no attempt had been made to pull the bloke off the train (mainly because the commuter was still climbing the ladder) when the XR bloke kicks out quite viciously. As much as Spy is being a bit twattish in his replies, he's probably right as to this being the reason the bloke got a kicking.

I'm guessing he wasn't the Buddhist teacher (wtf was that all about?).

I will have to take another look later. The Buddhist teacher business remains a mystery.

 

[maomao]

Traditionally some Buddhists were a dab hand with the old martial arts. Maybe he's some sort of warrior monk.

 

[Teaboy]

Big Kangaroo.

My g/f's brother lives in Perth with his family. Both he and his wife are employed in the wider fossil fuel mining industry as are most people down there. Apparently there was a XR demo in Perth with a handful of people, it was completely ignored. Here in lies the problem, they have 3 young children who will no doubt have to deal with the fallout from the world being fucked but its just easier to pretend its not happening when your livelihood depends on it.

 

[planetgeli]

The Buddhist teacher business remains a mystery.

The mystery is why Buddhists get a free pass when it comes to violence. It might be in their teachings (non-violence) but in reality history is littered with examples of Buddhist acts of violence. And you don't have to go too far back - e.g the Sri Lankan civil war.

 

[Pickman's model]

Yes. The peaceful protestor tries to kick a commuter in the face. That's probably what earned him the spanking.

here on urban we analyse things quite carefully, as we pass the time. i don't think the kick will be remembered. but the shoeing will, and tbh the xr protesters were - in eighties parlance - cruising for a bruising before that happened.

 

[8ball]

My g/f's brother lives in Perth with his family. Both he and his wife are employed in the wider fossil fuel mining industry as are most people down there. Apparently there was a XR demo in Perth with a handful of people, it was completely ignored. Here in lies the problem, they have 3 young children who will no doubt have to deal with the fallout from the world being fucked but its just easier to pretend its not happening when your livelihood depends on it.

People will believe anything when their salary is dependent on believing it. Always been the way.

 

[8ball]

The mystery is why Buddhists get a free pass when it comes to violence. It might be in their teachings (non-violence) but in reality history is littered with examples of Buddhist acts of violence. And you don't have to go too far back - e.g the Sri Lankan civil war.

Sure. I was just trying to get a good read on whether that was really what was meant in that weird bit of coverage.

 

[8ball]

I wonder what footwear the tube protestor was wearing, hopefully something of soft leather, as he did get a kick in on the guy who unceremoniously dragged him off.

We are getting unconfirmed reports of £1500 Gucci loafers...

 

[editor]

Only just seen this. WTF?

 

[8ball]

Only just seen this. WTF?

Indeed.
Papers, please.

Amazing how little it takes, eh?

 

[planetgeli]

Indeed.
Papers, please.

Amazing how little it takes, eh?

Some of us remember the Miner's strike and being turned away for not being in the 'right' county. By police who certainly weren't in the right county.

 

[Spymaster]

Papers, please.

At least it’ll give them the chance to whip out the Louis Vuitton passport wallets.

 

[8ball]

Some of us remember the Miner's strike and being turned away for not being in the 'right' county. By police who certainly weren't in the right county.

That's the thing that always hits me when XR express shock and outrage at something that has been done to them. They had so many people on hand, broadly on side with their aims, who could have taken them exactly through how things would pan out given certain actions and conditions.

 

[8ball]

At least it’ll give them the chance to whip out the Louis Vuitton passport wallets.

I don't think all your comrades will be in the income bracket to afford them, Mr Deep Cover.

 

[Marty1]

At least it’ll give them the chance to whip out the Louis Vuitton passport wallets.

Wouldn't a LV wallet be a dead giveaway as an XR protestor?

Hermès for sure.

 

[8ball]

Wouldn't a LV wallet be a dead giveaway as an XR protestor?

Hermès for sure.

What, do all the courier guys have company passport holders?

 

[Numbers]

I was just about to enter Canning Town this morning when this kicked off so couldn’t get in.

It was utter chaos outside for buses so I walked back down Barking Rd to get the 276 to West Ham, buses were so full people couldn’t get on, at the stop by Star Lane DLR a guy/dickhead, not able to get on, smashed the glass in the door scattering the shatter all over the people near the door, including a woman with 2 kids. Thankfully nobody got hurt.

There was a terrible mood in the air.

 

[chilango]

Yep!

Indeed. One of many today.

 

[FridgeMagnet]

I was just about to enter Canning Town this morning when this kicked off so couldn’t get in.

It was utter chaos outside for buses so I walked back down Barking Rd to get the 276 to West Ham, buses were so full people couldn’t get on, at the stop by Star Lane DLR a guy/dickhead, not able to get on, smashed the glass in the door scattering the shatter all over the people near the door, including a woman with 2 kids. Thankfully nobody got hurt.

There was a terrible mood in the air.

People at busy stations go absolutely nuts sometimes at the slightest delay, screaming at staff when a line is held up because someone has been killed on the track, let alone one where there's an identifiable target. It's a sickness, it's not healthy. It's a dehumanising environment.

One of the reasons I had to stop commuting out of Liverpool Street was not just that atmosphere but the fact that I felt myself starting to get into it, feeling angry at people who'd tried to kill themselves on the central line (which seemed to happen every Monday).

 

[editor]

Wouldn't a LV wallet be a dead giveaway as an XR protestor?

Why's that then?

 

[8ball]

People at busy stations go absolutely nuts sometimes at the slightest delay, screaming at staff when a line is held up because someone has been killed on the track, let alone one where there's an identifiable target. It's a sickness, it's not healthy. It's a dehumanising environment.

One of the reasons I had to stop commuting out of Liverpool Street was not just that atmosphere but the fact that I felt myself starting to get into it, feeling angry at people who'd tried to kill themselves on the central line (which seemed to happen every Monday).

Just seeing the looks on some of the faces in that clip, it didn’t seem like a happy place. Not just unhappy cos of one delay iyswim.

 

[chilango]

What spark of humanity, of a possible creativity, can remain alive in a being dragged out of sleep at six every morning, jolted about in suburban trains, deafened by the racket of machinery, bleached and steamed by meaningless sounds and gestures, spun dry by statistical controls, and tossed out at the end of the day into the entrance halls of railway stations, those cathedrals of departure for the hell of weekdays and the nugatory paradise of weekends, where the crowd communes in weariness and boredom?

 

[sunnysidedown]

currently half-way through that ^

 

[Pickman's model]

 

[Spymaster]

Apparently this was posted on their Facebook page this morning and then deleted:

To Londoners, ordinary commuters, working class citizens, black people, minority communities, humans of all ages. Please read.

You may have already heard: Extinction Rebellion activists took to the Tube and blocked Shadwell and Canning Town this morning in an effort to cause mass disruption and raise public awareness about the climate and ecological emergency.

Firstly, we would like to sincerely apologise for the delay it took to formulate a proper response to this action.

XR press and PR channels are still formulating an official statement that will deal with this incident in its entirety but for the sake of being transparent, we feel that we should address this issue now.

We recognise that this action unnecessarily targets ordinary commuters and disrupts London transport - which is an eco-friendly way to travel.

Though the affinity group (AG) organising this received feedback that majority of rebels within our movement felt as if this action sent the wrong message, our decentralised structure means that AGs are able to act autonomously and make tactical decisions to carry out actions independently.

Having said that, our structure of decentralisation is no excuse for how poorly we, as environmentalists acting on behalf of life, acting this morning.

We did not have open dialogues about the nature of this action.

Shadwell and Canning Town are areas of London with largely working class and highly ethnic populations.

We acknowledge that these are communities who stand to be most affected by the climate crisis and are most vulnerable to systems of power.

In light of this morning's Tube action, Extinction Rebellion London will take this opportunity to reflect with humility how we can improve in the future...

...Extinction Rebellion's core principles include non-violence, and we aim to create safe and accessible spaces.

The systematic change we are fighting for does not include interrupting and threatening people's livelihoods.

Unfortunately, the nature of the organisation means that actions can go ahead without the full support of everybody within XR.

The violence seen at the stations today was heartbreaking to see, and is not something we want to be tied to [us] as an organisation.

Our principles also include the value we place on reflecting and learning, and we would like to take this time to say that this what we will focus on following this morning.

Today's action was a learning experience for Extinction Rebellion as an organisation.

Although we are pushing for disruption and civil disobedience, we are still learning how to do this in a way that does not result in violence, and that does not discriminate against hard-working individuals.

Commuters who attacked Extinction Rebellion Tube protesters could face police investigation - latest news

"Black people"????

WTF? Are "black people" separate to Londoners?