Scott Ludlum has written an excellent overview of the current wave of youth-driven environmental protests: “Some forms of protest have long ceased to have any impact. … Direct action works best when it surprises people. … The emergence of Extinction Rebellion and the School Strike 4 Climate are important contemporary examples of protest cascades that have caught the popular imagination and grown so rapidly that those in power were caught off balance. How these movements develop from here is an open question, but in their own way they are powerful examples of how novel recombinations of old tactics can open new opportunities for mobilisation and movement growth. … This is the generation that is choosing not to accept the theft of their future gracefully. They’ll be less activist when things are less shit.”
6 July 2019