Future local, not global, says XR book
Meeting the challenge of bringing XR groups and communities together during pandemic
Extinction Rebellion (XR) needs to ‘break out of the XR bubble’ and enable entire communities ‘to demand change’, says a new XR digital handbook that Quakers have been sharing.
The book, We Want to Live, says ‘excitement is growing [but]… the challenge of bringing our groups and communities together is greater than it has been before’ because of the Covid-19 pandemic. ‘
We can use Community Assemblies and invite our entire neighbourhoods to take part,’ it says. ‘Some nations and regions are choosing to hold these on Sunday 30 August. This kind of community organising calls for a respectful approach based on listening.’
The guidance is part of XR’s renewed focus on localism and the part small scale grassroots community groups can play in radically transforming society.
Posting on the XR Quakers Facebook page, Friend and XR activist Ian Bray highlighted action people could take locally.
These included: joining the Connecting Communities broadcast channel; writing a letter inviting local community members to get involved in the ‘We Want to Live’ rebellion on 1 September; and getting involved with the Community Groups webpage.
XR also highlighted the results of France’s first Citizens’ Climate Assembly, aimed at drastically reducing greenhouse gases while addressing social justice.
The convention has called for two out of its 149 recommendations made to the government in June to be put to the people in a referendum. These are: the inclusion of environmental protection in the constitution; and for ecocide to be made a criminal offence.
XR called the assembly ‘a massive step in the right direction for those of us fighting for the future of humanity and the planet’.
Dozens of XR activists chained themselves semi-naked to the gates of a government building in Paris condemning France’s Covid-19 recovery plans ‘that give billions to ultra-polluting industries’.
