Time To Get Serious

It’s true that actions speak louder than words, but people involved in action still need to communicate, between themselves and to those wishing to get involved. Although we have considerable public support there are still only tens of people on most actions. People want to get involved but they don’t know how to, or don’t feel able to. Why is this?

Most Earth First! type groups only consist of a few people who are generally friends and share the same culture. This is important and one of our main strengths. However, if we are to win campaigns and bring about lasting change, we need to be able to involve more people in each group.

There are two main factors stopping our growth. We are very bad at communicating and we are also often down right rude. People new to the movement often have a vision of us as gentle eco-warriors, fighting against the dark forces of capitalism, and greed. In reality we’re just as fucked up as the rest of society, suffering from many of the same social ills. Placed in high stress environments, seeing the destruction of land to which we have become bonded, it’s no wonder we don’t have a lot of time to consider others. One of the main complaints we receive at the

Action Update is about guilt tripping. People who can only stay at a camp for the weekend, or do not want to risk arrest on their first action, are not going to get more involved if all they receive are snide comments. What is worse is that most of the people who make such comments were in exactly the same position only six months earlier. To get new people involved we need to diversify, listen to each other and organise. Support and legal backup for people who are risking their liberty is still lacking in many cases. At the very least we should be able to raise funds, offering to pay peoples fines. If we don’t organise as a movement it doesn’t matter how much public support we’ve got. We’ll still get crushed and go the way of so many other groups in the past that have taken on the state. Either we get ourselves together or sit back and wait for the industrialised, capitalist world to drown in it’s own shit, probably taking us with it.

Feelings such as passion, creativity and anger are a gift. They are our greatest asset. Don’t let them turn to frustration and bickering.

This issue is dedicated to the women who smashed up a £13 million Hawk Jet Fighter at a British Aerospace factory, with household hammers. Respect.

Pob Lwc RTS, hwyl! - The AU editorial collective.