Quakers in XR ‘Rebellion of One’
Each sitter had a hidden support team and each blockade was the result of weeks of preparation and a great deal of personal bravery.
At least two Friends took part in one of Extinction Rebellion’s (XR) latest acts of protest, the Rebellion of One. Over 200 people came out on the streets on 1 May to take part in single-person roadblocks all over the country to raise awareness of the climate crisis.
Sue Hampton, the Berkhamstead Quaker, sat in a street in ‘leafy Harpenden’ with a buggy and sandwich boards saying: ‘I’m terrified that government greenwash won’t protect the world’s children against climate change’ (see page 11).The action on 1 May was chosen to make use of relaxed Covid regulations and to mark the second anniversary of parliament declaring a Climate Emergency. 1 May is also International Workers’ Day. ‘With bollards blocking off half the road, I remained in place, trying to “centre down” as Quakers say, into my own meditative, deeply connected truth space at the human core. Where, if you like, God shines a light. Or simply where the love is.’
Writing on her blog, Sue Hampton, a grandmother, said that she had become disillusioned with the tactics of road-blocking and mass arrest, and wanted more focus on the ‘big emitters’ – government, banks and fossil fuel companies.
Precious Martini-Brown, of Stoke Newington Meeting, also blocked a road, in Hackney. She said the action was testament to her ‘truth and bewilderment, shock and terror for the irreversible changes happening around us’, and invited people to ‘take it in and accept that this is happening’.
XR said that ‘each sitter had a hidden support team’ and ‘each blockade was the result of weeks of preparation and a great deal of personal bravery. These solo sitters were not just facing arrest but oncoming traffic, baffled onlookers, and potentially aggressive drivers’.
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