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29 August 2019 21:46Unexpected part of being Extinction Rebellion is that other environmentalists kinda treat you like a rock god? It's very...It's very strange, because there really is not all that much special or radical about me. I'm not an "arrestable"; I didn't chain or glue myself to anything at the recent protests, and the ideas I have - although they are ones I believe in - have basically been taken straight from the XR talking points and induction briefing.
But like, I turn up at local eco meets and it does feel like being a celebrity? There's like, a buzz and a handful of people who really want to talk to me, or give me a shout out at their meeting, or invite me to do a special presentation in protest skills, and these requests are coming from like seasoned Greenpeace old women who I *know* must have more actual protest experience than callow little me who's not allowed to be arrested
I'm trying not to let it go to my head or take it "personally" because it is truly nothing to do with me, but with the organisation I represent. And im passionate about it, so it is gratifying that people share that passion & that I'm being given opportunities to present what we're doing and that people around me want to hear it.
It's just not an experience ive had before. And it's also part of what's so special about XR, that there is this sort of...momentum and shining and moral weight and excitement and adrenaline and faith and courage that's invoked by our symbol or the presence of our members. I feel it, others feel it; and when I walk into a room, I carry that energy with me. The energy isn't mine. I'm not even certain it belongs to the Rebellion, rather than the rage of the land. We're on a very Solar-Stellar current; we raise this black, oil-rainbow, sticky energy that chokes and terrifies the onlookers. At the same time, we talk a lot about hope, and abour courage, and particularly the courage to tell the truth -no matter how difficult it is to face -and then take heart to act in the face of it.
I'm glad that others feel what I feel, and that I can use my presence to bring all that into the room with me.
But like, I turn up at local eco meets and it does feel like being a celebrity? There's like, a buzz and a handful of people who really want to talk to me, or give me a shout out at their meeting, or invite me to do a special presentation in protest skills, and these requests are coming from like seasoned Greenpeace old women who I *know* must have more actual protest experience than callow little me who's not allowed to be arrested
I'm trying not to let it go to my head or take it "personally" because it is truly nothing to do with me, but with the organisation I represent. And im passionate about it, so it is gratifying that people share that passion & that I'm being given opportunities to present what we're doing and that people around me want to hear it.
It's just not an experience ive had before. And it's also part of what's so special about XR, that there is this sort of...momentum and shining and moral weight and excitement and adrenaline and faith and courage that's invoked by our symbol or the presence of our members. I feel it, others feel it; and when I walk into a room, I carry that energy with me. The energy isn't mine. I'm not even certain it belongs to the Rebellion, rather than the rage of the land. We're on a very Solar-Stellar current; we raise this black, oil-rainbow, sticky energy that chokes and terrifies the onlookers. At the same time, we talk a lot about hope, and abour courage, and particularly the courage to tell the truth -no matter how difficult it is to face -and then take heart to act in the face of it.
I'm glad that others feel what I feel, and that I can use my presence to bring all that into the room with me.
