THE STORY OF HOW A MOTHER AND SON FROM PENZANCE STAGED
EXTINCTION REBELLION-S FIRST ACT OF CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE IN WEST CORNWALL
A feral wind had blasted the sea and the land all night –
ploughing waves into avalanches and sending spindrift explosions over the walls
of Penzance and Newlyn harbours - After
about two hours sleep I awoke focused on the day that had finally come – the day
I intended to get arrested – with my 84 year old mother – in a non-violent
direct action over the climate-crisis which was to be a Cornish prelude to the
International Rebellion Week that kicks off in London in two day-s time – 15th
April 2019 - This is the Rebellion
against the Extinction of life on Earth – which is where we are fast headed
unless the World-s governments drastically slash carbon-emissions and other
forms of pollution and we change the entire culture of human existence - - -
I had two nagging issues with this Direct Action – One was
concern over the wellbeing of my mother – who I felt had let her conscience
lead her into very difficult territory and the other was my background sense of
guilt for neglecting my partner in activism – my brother Harold – the “Caged
Crusader” of Florida – who languishes in prison – serving out his 165 year
sentence for thieving – I took a copy of his first book – Department of Corruption with me to read in the cell – I
thought I would write him from the cell too – But things panned out differently
- I thought often of my friends in USA
and how I had been meaning to write and explain to them about Extinction
Rebellion – I have a lot of friends in Florida – where the Red Tide of algae
has been killing myriad fish and making the beaches toxic – The reality is that
the human rights and justice situation in the USA is so grim that all my
friends there are focused on civil rights – justice – prisoner-s rights and
police-brutality and murder - This work
– unpaid and often dangerous – demands everything and consumes vast amounts of
time and energy – leaving little time for environmental activism for many
people –
At eleven o-clock half a dozen of us congregated in the
sharp wind to leaflet the people passing through the centre of Penzance – Our
signs were in danger of flying off into the swirling sky – There was some
interest and some indifference – Jane showed a great oratorical talent and
proved that when you-ve really got
something to say you don-t need no microphone! There was good spirit between those present
and if low-key the event was extremely heartfelt and sincere – It felt like we
were literally calling to our neighbours – trying desperately to warn them of
the danger the planet is facing from climate-chaos and general toxicity and so
many people just do not want to hear that - In today-s neutered culture we have long been
conditioned to only trust messages that come from “official” channels – not
those that are called out from the heart in the streets of our towns and cities
-
Due to the severity of the wind – there were not many
punters around even though it was Saturday -
We did what we could and I think we certainly reached a few people and I
hope we made another little ripple to spread through the minds of our friends
and neighbours that perhaps there really is something to this climate-change
business - - -
Well Verity showed up and as the demo unwound we hit the
road for Eastern Green – on foot and buffeted by this wild prowling wind of the
sea - We crossed the road by the garage
or “gas-station” that we intended to blockade and briefly mingled into a
bus-queue so we could suss-out the situation before engaging in our action to
combat the carbon-driven asphyxiation of our planet - Then we walked onto the forecourt and stood in
front of the pumps as a human-barricade -
After a brief quiet interlude things started happening fast – I think it
was the very first car that I blocked that started the trouble – An elderly
couple – the man seemed overwhelmed with fury at my obstructing his vehicle and
simply kept driving right at me with no apparent intention of stopping - Everything narrowed down to a windscreen
rolling towards me as I shouted “stop” and I heard other voices shouting out –
Just as the car was about to strike me I thumped the bonnet with my fist then
held up my sign as a shield obscuring his view - This finally stopped him from crushing me - His wife looked very shocked – The old man
jumped out and there were remonstrations and accusations of assault – His car
had become a deadly weapon – My cardboard information-sign was the shield I had
to protect myself from being crippled by his car - From this point on things went from ugly to
hideous via grotesquely eldritch – As the punters started rolling in – I soon
found myself being driven at or fronted at by a big fat black four by four –
This joker wasn-t going to stop either – He was already rolling down that lost
highway - This time I side-stepped at
the last minute (it was Darwinism in action:
Adapt or Die) - There was a sense
of many things happening at once – Diane remonstrating with a violent motorist
– Verity blocking her side of the lane with her FOSSIL FUELS KILL sign – People
shouting abuse and insults – mocking and sneering - Threats – Rednecks and hard-men – ugliness –
some honking – As the assault started – the adrenalin clocked in and started
work – We had spent weeks getting prepared for arrest – cellular-detention –
talking with Babylon – going to court – speaking publicly about how the
planetary-crisis drove our action – In my mum-s case she was preparing to face
her greatest fear – the fear of being locked into a small space - We thought
we had prepared to meet the public – We had anticipated a level of abuse
and hostility – We seriously underestimated the sheer ugliness of Mr Josef
Public – We had not expected armed assault to be the very first reaction of
these motor-head folks – The car as a weapon against a pedestrian is an
unlovely phenomenon – An ignoble and crass cameo of where Homo sapiens has driven himself to in his little tin box – A mad
ape in a mineral-chariot of death – Individual and planetary death – Death to
pedestrians and little kids trying to cross the road – Death to innumerable
myriad creatures of the wild – Death to birds insects women children and men –
Death to air and plants – to solitude – peace – tranquillity and nature – Death
death death conveyed to ye by the glorious automobile – Let-s all drop to our
knees and kiss its little black exhaust-pipe -
So anyway – I-ve never been too keen on cars - My views have not changed –
The most extraordinary attack came from a fellow in a big
car with his wife - A short wide chap
with a Yorkshire accent and surreal legs – They were as wide as a girl-s waist
– bulbous – also taped-up – bandaged and hypnotic – “I-m disabled” he shouted
aggressively as he waddled towards me with vicious and viscous intent gleaming
reptilian in his unblinking yellow eye – “I-m disabled” came the Peter Kay
voice “I-ve got to get to me doctor” he raged (I sensed he was lying) Even as I
was telling V to let him through he was on me – A two-handed shove to the chest
delivered with spluttering venom – The air was bristling with hatred and
violence – Not at all like the meetings where people put their hands up to
speak - - -
While all this silt was going down – another layer was
developing as green-clad garage staff started emerging and interacting with us –
Initially a couple of them had tried to lay hands on me but I told them that
constituted criminal assault and they had no such right - Suddenly twenty year old garage-workers were
trying to argue law with me - I-m not a
formally trained lawyer but I know that a Morrison-s employee has no right over
anyone else-s sovereignty – no matter if they be standing on the garage
forecourt - I managed to get them to
unhand me – but five of them kept trying to surround me and impede my movement
– Their effort was only half-hearted though and I could side-step them and
continue to discourage cars from entering the pump-area –
At one point there was a backlog of motors trying to enter
the garage and some hooligans were starting to congregate – One of the
personages who threatened me repeatedly said he would assault me if I blocked anybody-s car from entering - I did briefly explain to him about the
imminent extinction of animal life on Earth but it did nothing to lessen his
hatred as he then suggested I should be hung from a nearby tree by those
present -
Still shaked and slaked with adrenalin after the two
car-assaults and the crazy toad-man – I was being constantly heckled and
questioned by the gang of garage staff -
It did not taste nice –
Slike in USA when a fascist drove his car into a protester
at North Carolina and killed him and Chump said there was “fault on both sides”
there was outrage upon the nation – Well the same thing nearly happened right
here in sleepy little old Cornwall – It would have been Blood On The Forecourt
– or just simply Red Asphalt - - -
Happily all our blood stayed inside our veins on the 13th but
there was definitely a slight level of risk and threat – plus a great deal of
hostility and aggression –
We are all primates of the ego and I too was trying to
impose my will – my dream – on these other primates – these other wilful and
egoic dreamers with their own wishes – impulses and – er – drives - By going against the established
behaviour-pattern of these other primates I was violating an unwritten code of
the somnambulists – never challenge the
basic reality – never try to wake the dreamers – they will turn and rend ye – They
will not thank you – they will slag you down (sorry: They will slag I down) They will mock I and
I and their feet that never touch the earth shall stamp down upon their
accelerators –
During the first car-attack I briefly sat down in front of
the vehicle but instantly started getting cramp in my legs – and started
hopping and limping around for a few moments as I could hear the green-clad
garage staff instantly accusing me of trying to fake an injury from the
car-impact!
I remember turning to Verity at one point and saying “Where are the cops~” I had thought they would be there in ten to
twenty minutes but it seemed more like an hour before they finally “deployed” –
The lynch-mob mentality was probably defused by the arrival
of the law-enforcement and I think we were both relieved to see them - They were two ladies – apparently in their
twenties and extremely courteous – friendly and polite – They were wearing
body-cameras which they pointed out to me and I did not object to – I have
noticed a change in police-policy – They seriously do try to act nice these
days – At least where possible - I base
this on another incident when I recently saw them handling a seriously drunken
man with extreme sensitivity – care and patience – I stress this because over
the years I have been extremely critical of the British police – but only when
they have killed – tortured or mutilated unnecessarily and I have felt
compelled to address and publicize their crimes – I-ve written copiously about police-violence and written
countless letters to MPs and police-chiefs about this issue in the past so I am
happy to report that “on the ground” or in the “street” their way of conducting
themselves (in my miniscule experience) has evolved into a much warmer and more
seemingly humane approach –
The first thing the two WPC-s did was to approach the knot
of half a dozen or so garage-workers and management types in suits and start by
getting their side of the story - Even
though I heard one of them perjure himself and lie about me right away – Saying
I had been “jumping on cars” and had pushed him – I suppose he would rather
have seen me go under that car – All
physical contact was at the initiation of Mr Garyage and his diminutive yet
weighty pal who initially laid hands on me before I vocally repelled them – bla
bla bla –
The lady-cops explained the position as they saw it and
discussed it with us – They showed concern for my mother who was very cold and
no-doubt in shock by this point – She-s 84 and a bitter wind was raging – I had
tried numerous times – including on the way to the garage – to try to talk her
out of doing the action with me – and had some very serious concerns over it –
but ultimately I felt I had no right to try to stop a fellow-activist who was
on-board with the greater mission of Extinction Rebellion – from offering her
contribution to a project that might give her grandchildren and their
grandchildren a fair chance of living in a world with air to breathe – birds to
sing and food to eat – In this movement everyone takes personal responsibility
and no-one can forbid the action of another – only advise against it – How
could I reject an extremely zealous and dedicated comrade – particularly when
she was the only one~ I almost think
that if I had cancelled the action she would have gone up there and done it on
her own anyway! She knew that was the
basis I was working on – I announced the action some weeks back and I would do
it alone if necessary but preferably with support – as is the whole basis of XR
– a sophisticated support-system for social-reform –
So anyway – after a friendly chat we agreed that Verity
should be driven home in the police-car – My advice was that she had achieved our
aim and was now getting cold and enough was enough – Everyone was happy when
she agreed to accept the HM Gov taxi home and I was extremely relieved that she
was heading for warmth – comfort and quietness – She is usually a soft-spoken
person who loves rose-gardening and literature – I know this experience was of
Biblical proportions to her and I will forever after see her in a luminous
nimbus of respect for what she did! (The
things you have to do to earn your kid-s respect these days!)
So anyway – before the cops took her home they discussed the
situation with me – I explained to them that my mother and I were slightly
different cases and that I wanted her to go home but I wished to stay put and
carry on with the “demonstration” as they were calling it - They very patiently explained that they were
very happy for me to stand “just over there” where I would not be obstructing
any traffic and that I could carry on my “protest” over there - I responded by saying I thought I would
probably just continue to stand right where I was and asked them what was
likely to happen if I pursued that course of action - - - They took an
unusually lenient approach – I thought – when they said they would leave and
that if there were further complaints about my activity then the “response
might be different” – which I took for a euphemism for probable arrest - I have to say I found them extremely fair and
tolerant – extraordinarily so - Possibly
because they had orders to avoid giving publicity to the International
Rebellion if reasonably possible - On
reflection though there was something I was not overly happy about and that was
their response to the assaults - They
had responded well when I gave them what I call the Bug Rap – which is the
heart-breakingly simply arithmetic behind the insect-decline which is at a
global-rate of 2 and a half per cent per annum – which means that at current
rates of “progress” all insects will be extinct in 40 years time and therefore
so will be most of animal and plant life – The cop-ladies listened to this
patiently and seemed to understand the alacrity of what I was explaining – The
garage-folks were huddled quietly in a knot nearby – cowed by the presence of
“authority” – transmuted from a jeering – taunting mob of wannabe vigilantes
into a submissive group of obedient “good citizens” – giving false-evidence
against the crazy-man covered in sticky weed “jumping onto cars” - Crazy days in Cornwallfornia - - -
But when I had reported the two assaults with car (assault
with a deadly weapon – as I explained to them) and the one by hands – plus the
several threats of violence – her response – when I asked if they would
seriously investigate these crimes – was that they could only “crime” them
(cop-speak for log a crime for possible investigation) if I gave my name –
Since I said I preferred to do that “later in the process” they said they could
not investigate without my name so it was up to me - Fair enough – I initially thought – But later
I thought differently - To me the
car-weapon – when used as such – is no different from the knife-weapon or
gun-weapon – In British law – intent of use makes an object into a weapon - Thus a car driven rapidly towards a
non-violent protester is a weapon – Well consider that the garage was
continuously filming the area with their hidden-cameras – we had our own
camera-lady with us for part of the action – and no-doubt some of the drivers
and passengers and hangers-on were filming us -
So there is plenty of film-evidence of two counts of assault with a
deadly weapon - If the footage showed
two counts of someone waving a knife in another person-s face would the cops
have said they would only proceed if the victim came forward and gave their
name~ Obviously not – because the victim
might be dead - Or the victim might be
reluctant to come forward because of their own involvement in criminal
gang-type activities – However – none of that should stop the investigations of
a police-force ostensibly committed to opposing and eliminating armed-crime
- They would act on the evidence
regardless and find the victim anyway - The recorded footage shows the car
number-plates so these thugs are within reach – Personally I think the cops
showed an unwillingness to look at the assaults and were mainly concerned with
smoothing things over – I am left with a slight dilemma - Identifying myself to the cops is a mere
formality as they know who I am – I advertised the action in the public domain
after all – under my own name - So it-s
up to me whether or not I pursue actions against those three men who assaulted
me as the police seem unwilling to act on the evidence on their own initiative
– Again – they understand that a court-case over this incident would feed
massive publicity back to the message of Extinction Rebellion and that is not
yet the wish of the “authorities” - On
one hand I feel that justice should be applied and that hypothesis would oblige
me to pursue the prosecutions – On the other hand a triple-court case sounds
like a hell of a lot of work that I could honestly do without - Perhaps this should come back to the root of
Non-Violent Direct Action – Ahimsa – the ancient Hindu concept of a
loving-kindness that leads to compassionate action - Perhaps I should use those three ruffians as
the objects of contemplation and try to feel some compassion and love towards
them – I feel that might be the best way of “winning” and that is what I will
try to do – (I make no promise to succeed and I can-t “fake-it”) – If NVDA is
to remain pure it-s good to remember the roots –
Sometimes it feels like a cat and mouse game of chess with
the cops – They know I can make a fuss and demand those assault-investigations
if I want to and I know that – although they drove away giving the impression
that no further action would be taken without further complaint – they could
still look at the footage – take possession of the footage from the garage and
– if they so wished – build some kind of case against me as a method of cooling
my free speech - Considering the
political climate (and the fact that I am innocent of crime) I do not expect
them to pursue me and I intend to deal with my “haters” through meditative
means rather than legal ones – Nothing would give me more joy in the world than
to be able to befriend someone who once hated me –
So eventually I bade farewell to my mother and thanked her
warmly for her amazing fortitude - I
remember her telling the cops how she had struggled to bring me into the world
and did not want to see me go under a car!
Her own mother had been born in a Tibetan monastery to English
missionaries and had rode round Labrador in a dog-sleigh as a child – On my
father-s side they were Vikings -
Mum rolled home in the cop-car and suddenly it was very
quiet – The cops had gone – my comrade had gone – our camera-lady had gone –
the gang of garage-workers had gone – most of the aggressive motorists with
their insults had gone - the forecourt
was almost empty – I was there alone – What now~ I wondered –
There was a lull in the traffic – it went very quiet –
everything seemed to slow down - Partly
this must have been the contrast with the frenetic activity – violence and
mayhem of just before - As the
occasional car rolled in I tried to block it but I was too small and they could
simply weave round me - I could not
prevent them - For a moment I thought I
should up the ante and do something more dramatic just to get hauled away and
get it over with – But then I reassessed the situation and thought we had
already made quite a statement and I could not realistically do anything more
alone – Why not save the government-hotel for another day and go and see how
mum-s doing and get a cup of tea - That
seemed so eminently sensible that I folded my sign and walked away - Happily the staff did not come out to jeer me
off –
I walked on down the highway and soon found myself singing –
it happened to be that old Irish song Dicey Riley about an alcoholic prostitute
of Dublin - lovely song!
Checking in with my mum – I found her doing not too bad –
but still cold and definitely in shock like me – so I nipped down the road to
the offie and got a quarter bottle of cognac and she had some in her barley-cup
- I made sure she had food and drink and
we talked a bit but we were both pretty fazed and she was going to relax in the
bath so we parted after I told her again how highly I thought of her for her
bravery in such horrible circumstances and her real dedication to the cause of
a healthy planet -
What did we learn from the action~ Always consider a “clothing-margin” – in
other words imagine that it will be colder – hotter – wetter than your wildest
imagining – because it might be! We were
under-prepared for the savage wind that came that day bringing the roughest
seas I had seen in over a year -
Camera-crew is absolutely vital for evidence-gathering
- At least two – though preferably three
trained operatives needed for any direct action –
Actions should be conducted with other participants – Acting
in pairs is not advisable in potentially combatitive situations – The danger or
risk level of an action should be evaluated and an appropriate number of
activists decided upon – The action should only go forward when this number of
dedicated activists has been achieved and promised –
Don-t worry too much about the police harming you – It-s Joe
Public who is probably more likely to do you over in these situations – The
police might not be much amused by anarchic displays of planet-politics and
civil disobedience but at the same time they know that violence against the
movement will only increase public sympathy – solidarity and membership – If
they can facilitate peaceful protest then it is obviously in the public
interest that they do so and there has been progress on this front - Also police tend to be well-informed on social
issues and may – individually and “off-duty” – feel sympathy to a movement
aiming at saving the world from the terrors of an unstable climate and a toxic
environment – Many police personnel have children or even grand-children of
their own and naturally want these youngsters to inherit a world that is
inhabitable –
We learned that the public may not react well to being
interrupted in their business and that violence may be their first – rather
than their last resort - The nature of
the “target” should be carefully considered in advance – Some “targets” – in
the sporting sense of the word – offer a lower level of risk of violence or
strong aggression than others - Careful
evaluation should precede all and any actions –
As the union-organizers of the late nineteenth and early
twentieth century knew only too well – it-s all about being Organized! There is no better medicine for the distress
caused by climate-chaos than taking action – When we grieve and mourn we merely
emote – necessary for sure but it does not change the world – When we step from
the abstract world of thought and discussion and internet conversation into the
3D world of the streets and start taking action – in whatever form we find best
– then a line has been crossed into new territory and even the smallest action
taken is vastly therapeutic and healing -
From then on we have gone from being theorists and talkers to getting
personally involved and thus becoming activists –
Again I think of my friends in USA who work so hard for
justice in the face of such repression and State-violence - Of Harold Hempstead – the prison-activist who
risked his life to reveal the story of a Muslim prisoner steamed to death in a
torture-chamber in a Florida prison – And the others who were starved to death
there at Dade – Also of the other activists who are free and working so hard
for those who are not – like the schizophrenics doing ten-year stretches in
solitary-confinement and wearing leg-irons that leave suppurating sores on the
ankles – I-m also thinking of how cool the police were here in Cornwall – in
Britain – compared to what would have happened in most places – like USA for
instance - In all probability we would
have been violently arrested – put on the ground – put in a county-jail to
await trial for perhaps over a year in an environment where we could be raped
or die from battery – or being too hot – or too cold – or too dehydrated – and all this before even
standing trial - So I consider myself
lucky to live in Britain where the level of State-violence and oppression is
considerably lower than USA – Though I also remember my British activist
friends – I-m talking about the ones who are fighting for justice after being
bereaved or mutilated by the police here in Britain – Not everyone here has
been as fortunate as me in their dealings with the police and I would never
want to play down the stories of my friends who have lost their brothers or
sons or daughters to the brutal hands of the State - So far I consider myself lucky but I wonder
for my fellow climate-activists in Extinction Rebellion who will be in London
tomorrow – 15th April 2019 – to start the week-long International
Rebellion that will bring London to a halt and send Britgov a little wake-up
call –
Post Script – Two days later and the storm is still raging –
in fact it-s getting worse – These great storms of the sea usually used to come
in December or January but here we are on 15th April and the storm
is getting worse - - - - - One hour ago
the Rebellion started in London – I wish heartfelt feelings of success to all
those who are out in the streets of our capital – struggling to get climate-chaos
put firmly at the top of the government-s agenda - I believe we must all do whatever we can to
help this process along - Not so long
ago I was in Truro – Cornwall – at the Funeral For Extinct Species and I heard
one of the inspiring speakers there mention the fact that in the recent past
you would expect to have a lot of insects splattered on your windscreen after a
summer-drive but now you no longer have this occurring - Well I learned at the garage two days ago
that if you bug motorists they will happily try and squash you like a bug and you might find yourself splattered across their
windscreen like a cadis-fly of old -
As we go forward with the XR campaign there will be many
things to learn – If our dedication to peaceful and non-violent activity
remains strong then we can achieve far more than we yet realize - We can be a real voice for nature and for the
survival of the planet – and not just a voice but a helping hand – or rather a
vast forest of helping hands – stretching round the World – reaching out to
connect with each other and cooperate in protecting the World – the myriad
life-forms – the endless fruition of nature – the life – the life of the planet
– the very life -
