# Critical Mass Rides



## ruscle298 (30 May 2019)

anyone recommend a critical mass ride in their city? Part of my recreational travel considerations might include cities with recommended critical mass rides.


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## bladderhead (30 May 2019)

The only one I have done is London. Done it loads of times. Cops accept it and sometimes stop the cars. Entertainment is provided by the drivers who get really cross. Actually ranting. Great atmosphere, really friendly. You get all sorts of bikes. I have seen some recumbents. Last time I saw a tall bike. The bloke riding it pulled a lever and the bike changed shape like a transformer. One time we went to Parliament Square and got off our bikes and walked around. Unique kind of event.


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## EasyPeez (31 May 2019)

There's one planned for Hull. I'm not sure of the details yet but will post on here when I find out.


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## slowmotion (31 May 2019)

I never saw the purpose of going out of my way to piss off motorists. I'm one sometimes.


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## Biff600 (31 May 2019)

Seems like a sure fire way of endearing the love for cyclists !


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04idJ_rsMTs


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## glasgowcyclist (31 May 2019)

They are counterproductive.

Critical Mess.


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## rugby bloke (31 May 2019)

Biff600 said:


> Seems like a sure fire way of endearing the love for cyclists !
> 
> 
> View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04idJ_rsMTs



Based on this film it does not look like my sort of thing, but each to their own. What is the aim, apart from alienating non cyclists ?


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## Phaeton (31 May 2019)

rugby bloke said:


> What is the aim, apart from alienating non cyclists ?


I get the impression that is the aim, also to prove they can


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## numbnuts (31 May 2019)

Naked bike rides all around the country


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## I like Skol (31 May 2019)

Looks like a load of nobs to me! Stuff anyone else(not just drivers), looking for confrontation and, dare I say it, totally ignoring all and any traffic signals/signs.

Not really ambassadors for their case (whatever that is).


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## Dave7 (31 May 2019)

numbnuts said:


> Naked bike rides all around the country


Whats the point of looking at naked bikes ??
Now if the riders were naked


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## Vantage (31 May 2019)

Dave7 said:


> Whats the point of looking at naked bikes ??
> Now if the riders were naked



Middle aged bearded men with their gut overhanging the top tubes and arse flaps swallowing their Brooks saddles?

If ever there was a hell...


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## alicat (31 May 2019)

Welcome to the forum, @ruscle298. What is it that you like about critical mass rides?


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## Dave7 (31 May 2019)

Vantage said:


> Middle aged bearded men with their gut overhanging the top tubes and arse flaps swallowing their Brooks saddles?
> 
> If ever there was a hell...


TBH I wasnt thinking of the men. AND I WAS just planning what to have for lunch but your written picture has put me right off it


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## johnblack (31 May 2019)

Vantage said:


> Middle aged bearded men with their gut overhanging the top tubes and arse flaps swallowing their Brooks saddles?
> 
> If ever there was a hell...


I was going to like this, but that may give the wrong impression. I need mind bleach!


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## mjr (31 May 2019)

I've done Norwich's Critical Mass a couple of times since 2017, despite it being 45 miles away with iffy transport links. It's rather different to the old ones IMO in that it's a bit of a party, usually with several soundsystems along the group, not out for confrontation and basically obeying the traffic laws except that the group behaves as (a) long vehicle(s), so those at the front do stop for red lights (even the advisory ones) but once the front of the train has pulled out into the junction, the rest just keep on going unless a split has occurred. That's almost forced on it by shoot anti-cycle-route signal timings in the city centre that are set to only allow half a dozen cyclists out every two minutes (while cars get green for the rest of it even though they can't cross because of jams).

The inner city traffic is screwed anyway, so the cycle ride doesn't add to it much. Apart from a few key links, Norwich's ride actually uses the pedalways because it would be too slow and stressful filtering through motor jams otherwise! It all finishes with a big bike carousel around the bandstand in Chapelfield Gardens 

I think the point of it is to show/remind those motorists sitting in jams mostly all alone that there is a faster and funner way to get around the city at rush hour. So, "to prove they can" but not in the way @Phaeton means.


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## numbnuts (31 May 2019)

Vantage said:


> Middle aged bearded men with their gut overhanging the top tubes and arse flaps swallowing their Brooks saddles?
> 
> If ever there was a hell...


Old bearded men yes, but with slim figurer here


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## bladderhead (31 May 2019)

I ride a recumbent so my arse is concealed and my belly does not flop. It wobbles a bit when the road is bumpy.


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## classic33 (31 May 2019)

Vantage said:


> Middle aged bearded men with their gut overhanging the top tubes and arse flaps swallowing their Brooks saddles?
> 
> If ever there was a hell...


I don't have a beard and didn't use a Brooks saddle either.


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## Dave7 (31 May 2019)

bladderhead said:


> I ride a recumbent so my arse is concealed and my belly does not flop. It wobbles a bit when the road is bumpy.


At least on a standard type bike the dangly bits would be hidden by a flabby belly. I imagine yours would be on show to the world


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## classic33 (31 May 2019)

Dave7 said:


> At least on a standard type bike the dangly bits would be hidden by a flabby belly. I imagine yours would be on show to the world


Wouldn't the second cover the first, if big enough?


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## I like Skol (31 May 2019)

classic33 said:


> Wouldn't the second cover the first, if big enough?


Adds a whole different meaning to the words 'critical mass'


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## Slow But Determined (31 May 2019)

numbnuts said:


> Naked bike rides all around the country



Do people go balls out for Strava personal bests on these rides?


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## johnblack (31 May 2019)

Dave7 said:


> At least on a standard type bike the dangly bits would be hidden by a flabby belly. I imagine yours would be on show to the world


They might well be dragging on the tarmac.


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## bladderhead (31 May 2019)

They tell me it takes balls to ride a bike like mine. I wonder how they know.


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## ruscle298 (3 Jun 2019)

alicat said:


> Welcome to the forum, @ruscle298. What is it that you like about critical mass rides?


Hi alicat. Thank you...I have found this site very helpful. I like meeting other cyclists, I like checking out various bike builds, and I like learning about cool places t ride....and when I attend the critical mass ride I usually accomplish all those things


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## ruscle298 (3 Jun 2019)

bladderhead said:


> The only one I have done is London. Done it loads of times. Cops accept it and sometimes stop the cars. Entertainment is provided by the drivers who get really cross. Actually ranting. Great atmosphere, really friendly. You get all sorts of bikes. I have seen some recumbents. Last time I saw a tall bike. The bloke riding it pulled a lever and the bike changed shape like a transformer. One time we went to Parliament Square and got off our bikes and walked around. Unique kind of event.


Thanks for the info...Sounds like many interesting bikes....I will plan a London trip during the time of their critical mass ride.


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## ruscle298 (3 Jun 2019)

EasyPeez said:


> There's one planned for Hull. I'm not sure of the details yet but will post on here when I find out.


Please do. It is close enough to London that I could do that ride also, if they happen to be near the same time of the month.


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## Milkfloat (25 Jan 2020)

Here’s a beauty for you. Critical Mass is now on the Home Office Counter Terrorism Watchlist

https://road.cc/content/news/270635-cycling-group-named-counter-terrorism-watch-list
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/...p-terror-watch-list-home-office-a9301516.html

It seems cyclists really are a nasty bunch.


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## Drago (25 Jan 2020)

I don't think so much (if at all) in the UK, but in other parts of the world the group have been involved in incidents of violence and significant damage to property. The moment violence is employed in the pursuit of a political objective it becomes terrorism, so the technical definitions are met (if not necessarily for the UK chapter).


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## mjr (25 Jan 2020)

Drago said:


> I don't think so much (if at all) in the UK, but in other parts of the world the group have been involved in incidents of violence and significant damage to property. The moment violence is employed in the pursuit of a political objective it becomes terrorism, so the technical definitions are met (if not necessarily for the UK chapter).


There is no Critical Mass group. There are no chapters. I think you've probably confused it with something else. I'm sure some rides turn into confrontations and I've seen videos of some but the ones I've been on in a couple of cities have been lovely blissed out festivals as far as I've seen.

The Home Office Counter Terrorism Directorate appear to have completely lost the plot.


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## classic33 (26 Jan 2020)

In which case, who are Critical Mass London?

On both facebook and twitter.


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## mjr (26 Jan 2020)

classic33 said:


> In which case, who are Critical Mass London?
> 
> On both facebook and twitter.


Ask Facebook and Twitter. Probably just some participants or supporters.


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## classic33 (26 Jan 2020)

mjr said:


> Ask Facebook and Twitter. Probably just some participants or supporters.


Some!
_"Critical Mass London has 11659 members."*_
*Facebook


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## Pale Rider (26 Jan 2020)

Critical Mass appears to be a loose association of similarly minded individuals without any hierarchy or named leaders.

Much like terrorist groups in terms of organisation, or lack of it.

You cannot expect the Home Office Counter Terrorist Directorate to ignore a group just because you happen to agree with their objectives.


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## mjr (26 Jan 2020)

Pale Rider said:


> Critical Mass appears to be a loose association of similarly minded individuals without any hierarchy or named leaders.
> 
> Much like terrorist groups in terms of organisation, or lack of it.
> 
> You cannot expect the Home Office Counter Terrorist Directorate to ignore a group just because you happen to agree with their objectives.


And yet they're not listing all the similar political campaigns on other topics, are they?

While they're listing even Greenpeace, which does have named leaders, identifiable structure and all that, this doesn't look like it's about corporate structure! It's probably someone in the HO trying to please the landslide and losing the plot.


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## newfhouse (26 Jan 2020)

I walk my dogs on the local common. Particularly at the weekend I meet many of the same regulars, all of a generally similar mind. It’s just a loose association, nobody arranges the time or the route, but there is a shared purpose. Many of us don’t even know each other’s names, although we do know their dogs. Grooming is occasionally mentioned. There’s even an informal uniform: muddy boots, tatty waterproof jacket, pockets stuffed with biodegradable poo bags. Sometimes one or other of us may interfere with people’s transport choices by advising errant MTBers to slow down and stay on the bridleways rather than the footpaths.

I wonder what the Home Office thinks of us.


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## sheddy (26 Jan 2020)

Is that what they call ‘dogging’ ?


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## confusedcyclist (27 Jan 2020)

It's absurd that those who are vocal enough to express support for these good natured causes (by my moral judgement at least) are to be referred to deradicalisation schemes. Of course, there is very little risk that anyone who follows, supports or participates in these groups will begin to participate in domestic terrorism, the social contract is strong in the UK, we don't routinely go out and call for harm to other's or their property. The Home Office are not stupid, they know exactly what they are doing, this is about undermining credibility of these bening movements. They make individuals question themselves, is it worth being seen to support an 'outgroup'. It is also an orchestrated and deliberate move to bring shame on supporters, listing them alongside dangerous fascist and neo-nazi groups plotting violent acts. Being listed alongside such groups by a recognised authority creates social stigma, it means that others less apt at critical thinking can dismiss claims made by these groups out of hand without grappling with reasoned argument. I do believe it is a somewhat vain attempt to stem the tide of public opinion on matters that might shift balance of power in the status quo. There is clearly potential that social change may lead to vested interests in industries being crippled by the end of fossil fuel extraction and motor manufacturing, all of which are doing untold harm to our society, unborn generations and our ecosystems. Of course, there are good reasons to defend those industries too. But those cases grow weaker every day.

Whilst things are not quite as bad as they are elsewhere, here are clear signs that our civic institutions are captured and ruled by interests of corporate greed. It's a weak excuse to cast sweeping judgment to decentralised movements, whom are loosely associated with individuals who are prepared to vandalise property. That does not mean that everyone else in that movement is a terror risk, worthy of being referred to deradicalisation schemes. This is clearly about shaming individuals participating or stopping movements gaining momentum. Don't fall for the tripe peddled in the media. If these were groups that openly advocate sabotage, or risk to life, I might have some sympathy.


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## Pale Rider (27 Jan 2020)

newfhouse said:


> I walk my dogs on the local common. Particularly at the weekend I meet many of the same regulars, all of a generally similar mind. It’s just a loose association, nobody arranges the time or the route, but there is a shared purpose. Many of us don’t even know each other’s names, although we do know their dogs. Grooming is occasionally mentioned. There’s even an informal uniform: muddy boots, tatty waterproof jacket, pockets stuffed with biodegradable poo bags. Sometimes one or other of us may interfere with people’s transport choices by advising errant MTBers to slow down and stay on the bridleways rather than the footpaths.
> 
> I wonder what the Home Office thinks of us.



Have you caused punch-ups needing significant public order policing?

If the answer is 'no', that could be why you've yet to attract Home Office interest.


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## mjr (27 Jan 2020)

Pale Rider said:


> Have you caused punch-ups needing significant public order policing?
> 
> If the answer is 'no', that could be why you've yet to attract Home Office interest.


Some dog walkers have caused punch-ups. So why aren't they listed?


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## confusedcyclist (27 Jan 2020)

mjr said:


> Some dog walkers have caused punch-ups. So why aren't they listed?


Exactly. The dog walkers are not uniformly politically motivated, except for their shared interest of dog walking. Of course, the mainstream media would have you believe that Extinction Rebellion for instance, are a bunch of marxists revolutionaries, but in reality they a disparate group falling all over the political spectrum, yes even on the right, these are just individuals who are brought together by their shared interest, a liveable planet. Critical mass doesn't get the same attention, but no doubt it's similarly portrayed as a left wing menace, because, as I explain in my post above, it undermines credibility, and permits arguments to be dismissed out of hand by those who don't pay attention to the detail, in a world where big issues are drip fed to us via news bulletins and 30 second sound bites, this is a very effective strategy for sowing division & stifling necessary but unwanted change. Intentional or not, it has all has huge effect on public opinion.

For anyone who is interested in this, I strongly recommend having a good read of Edward Bernays take on Propaganda, aka influencing the electorate:
http://www.historyisaweapon.org/defcon1/bernprop.html


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## Pale Rider (27 Jan 2020)

mjr said:


> Some dog walkers have caused punch-ups. So why aren't they listed?



I appreciate you are only trying to be smart, but you ought to understand the difference between a one off and regular occurrence.

If dog walkers routinely turned up en masse at public locations and caused punch-ups they would be listed.


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## confusedcyclist (27 Jan 2020)

Pale Rider said:


> I appreciate you are only trying to be smart, but you ought to understand the difference between a one off and regular occurrence.
> 
> If dog walkers routinely turned up en masse at public locations and caused punch-ups they would be listed.


But critical mass don't regularly arrange brawls on the UK's streets. Individuals need to be dealt with by the respective authority, the police. Tarring everyone with the brush of a radicalised loon does not make everyone safer. In fact, I read this morning that there will be report released on Wednesday on how Prevent is failing miserably at it's core objective.


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## newfhouse (27 Jan 2020)

Pale Rider said:


> Have you caused punch-ups needing significant public order policing?
> 
> If the answer is 'no', that could be why you've yet to attract Home Office interest.


I haven’t, no. Sometimes things can get a bit frosty if balls get stolen but nothing requiring the Commissioner’s Reserve to turn out.

More pertinently, you presumably believe that Critical Mass have 


Pale Rider said:


> caused punch-ups needing significant public order policing


Could you provide examples?


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## mjr (27 Jan 2020)

Pale Rider said:


> I appreciate you are only trying to be smart, but you ought to understand the difference between a one off and regular occurrence.
> 
> If dog walkers routinely turned up en masse at public locations and caused punch-ups they would be listed.


I'm not trying to be smart. I'm trying to understand where you see a difference. So far, it seems to be that people believe the lies about Critical Mass, that punch ups are widespread, or that it has a unifying political motive. Think of it as some people out communally exercising their bikes and you'd be closer to the truth. The main difference between CM and any other group ride is that it's typically in town in rush hour. If CM is listed, how long before other group rides are "Terrorism" to the Home Office?


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## I like Skol (27 Jan 2020)

What about the Ramblers, I've never trusted them! Their campaign of civil disobedience and lack of respect for land owners and boundaries, together with them organising a mass trespass at Kinder Scout.

Surely they should be on 'The List'?


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## Dogtrousers (27 Jan 2020)

I like Skol said:


> What about the Ramblers, I've never trusted them! Their campaign of civil disobedience and lack of respect for land owners and boundaries, together with them organising a mass trespass at Kinder Scout.
> 
> Surely they should be on 'The List'?


It's the extremist faction that gives the Ramblers a bad name. The lunatic fringe like Stuart Maconie and Mike Harding, both of whom are rumoured to be connected to dubious activities like folk music.


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## Pale Rider (27 Jan 2020)

I like Skol said:


> What about the Ramblers, I've never trusted them! Their campaign of civil disobedience and lack of respect for land owners and boundaries, together with them organising a mass trespass at Kinder Scout.
> 
> Surely they should be on 'The List'?



I think you will find one or two of the more militant ones are on watched lists, if not the list which is the subject of this thread.

Too many protestors fall into the trap of thinking everyone shares their interest, when the opposite is true.

If you organise a mass demonstration, the chief constable of the patch couldn't give a toss what it's about.

You are merely a bunch of tiresome single issue campaign loonies who may require the use of some policing resources.

Equally, the members of the public who take against the demo are not anti the cause.

What they are is anti anything that interferes with their daily round.

Which is not to say there's no point in demonstrating.

I would go on one if the cause mattered enough to me.

But I wouldn't kid myself that anyone else could give a toss.


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## confusedcyclist (27 Jan 2020)

Putting those who exercise violence aside, these movements are about increasing awareness as much as they are about effecting meaningful change, one can't occur without the other, as majority of public support is necessary to overturn customs and views taken as gospel. Very often, Joe Bloggs wouldn't otherwise be engaged in these kinds of conversations, regardless of the position he takes, had it not been for the actions of a few radicals shifting the overton window and grabbing headlines.

That said, these are not new issues, they are symptoms of much more difficult problems that wider society is not yet prepared to discuss. They won't be addressed until the underlying misconceptions and almost religious beliefs can be challenged in serious conversation. In that sense, the overton window has a long way to shift yet. We see this in the way that solutions to climate change is electric cars and CO2 offsetting, neither of which address our actual problems.


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## mjr (27 Jan 2020)

I like Skol said:


> What about the Ramblers, I've never trusted them! Their campaign of civil disobedience and lack of respect for land owners and boundaries, together with them organising a mass trespass at Kinder Scout.
> 
> Surely they should be on 'The List'?


They shouldn't, but they're far naughtier than CM. I've committed more legally-dodgy direct action with Ramblers (mass trespass, which was later judged not to be trespass by an inquiry ruling that the path we walked was a public footpath omitted from the Definitive Map "in error") than I ever have with CM. Cyclists should learn from the Ramblers and be more militant in defending our rights!


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## newfhouse (27 Jan 2020)

Pale Rider said:


> I think you will find one or two of the more militant ones are on watched lists, if not the list which is the subject of this thread.


Dragging us back to the original point, the flawed CT guidance has nothing to do with specific individuals but instead presents interest in and sympathy with the goals as a cause for concern.


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## classic33 (27 Jan 2020)

Wasn't the mass trespass of Kinder Scout organised by the Communist Party of Great Britain?


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## Milkfloat (29 Jan 2020)

This is just a teeny bit satisfying.

The remarks of District Judge Noble, following an Extinction Rebellion trial today at City of London Magistrates Court:

"This is going to be my last Extinction Rebellion trial for a little while. I think they only allow us to do so many of these before our sympathies start to overwhelm us.

When I started, I was fully expecting to see the usual crowd of anarchists and communists, and all the dreadful things the Daily Mail say you are.

I have to say I have been totally overwhelmed by all the defendants. It is such a pleasure to deal with people so different from those I deal with in my regular life. Thank you for your courtesy, thank you for your integrity, thank you for your honesty. 

You have to succeed."


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## mudsticks (29 Jan 2020)

Milkfloat said:


> This is just a teeny bit satisfying.
> 
> The remarks of District Judge Noble, following an Extinction Rebellion trial today at City of London Magistrates Court:
> 
> ...



Good. 

I was at the XR London event last spring, to be a spokes person for my particular field of 'expertise' 

I was very impressed with the behaviour of those involved, and the general ethos of the organisation. 

Of course there have been a few misfires, and unfortunate incidents, but astonishingly few, given the numbers of people involved, and how its not got overarching centralised control. 

Of course it is about awareness raising, that's the point. And to a large extent it's worked, along with the school strikes, and more mainstream media coverage. 

The climate emergency is more fully on the general publics radar, now, many local authorities have declared recognition of the dire climate change problems we are already facing, and are setting up citizens assemblies, to look at potential solutions. 

What actions come of it remain to be seen. 

So these actions have been effective, already, however much some people might sneer that no-one excepting the main protagonists care about any of it. 


I feel I'm a little long in the tooth, and busy on the farm to go chaining myself to things, although I still respect those who are willing to give up time, and home comforts, to engage more fully, in non violent direct action. 
(I did my time on the anti road protests, back in the nineties.. And eco-activism of this sort has changed alot since then) 

Nowadays, as a 'respectable' middle aged person, I get asked to attend policy meetings, and net zero carbon, task forces, to give evidence, and suchlike. 
So 'activism' can take many forms. 

There are all kinds of XR groups active now.. 
Teachers, doctors, farmers, scientists, so many knowledgeable professionals, and interested groups giving up their time to get behind this. 

Thankfully this judge has realised this reality. and has dismissed the idea that this is just a bunch of rabble rousing, unemployed, unwashed hippies, looking for bother, for bothers sake. 

Anyhow, if I'm ever wondering whether its worth putting in the time, in the face of such seemingly overwhelming odds, I just muse how I would feel, looking back on myself, in fifty years time, and judge myself on which 'side' of history I chose to stand, and act on.. 

Whichever kind of list of the present government I end up on. 







Tbh being seen as 'trouble' by that lot, is pretty close to a compliment in my book.


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