Comments

1
What an incredible weekend. It was so powerful to be in community with the youth and elders working together to protect a habitable planet for life as we know it. Hundreds of us from the region came together to say that we demand a shift away from fossil fuels. Yes, we're all deeply embedded in this system and we don't expect anyone to be able to drop consumption of these products today, but we cannot stand by and watch the fossil fuel empire continue to plan expansion of existing projects and upscale their extraction and exportation of fossil fuels. The government is complacent. But there is power in the people and we experienced that this weekend with the hundreds who marched, blockaded, got on kayaks and participated in civil disobedience.

Many from the local Anacortes community have been very hateful. The mess we were forced to leave behind that is getting so much attention, is far easier to clean up than the air, water and land that Shell and Tesoro have poisoned for a 100 years. Even more upsetting is that is land was never ceded to the US and so Shell and Tesoro are literally on lands they stole from the first nations peoples who protected and safeguarded the land for thousands of years. So much work to do, everyone has a part to play, and hopefully hate and death is not what we choose in the end.
2
"We will fight you by any means necessary." said the protesters on Saturday. They paddled their kayaks, sang their songs, made speeches, and . . . took naps in places it is generally frowned upon to nap? They say that if these refineries are not shut down we will obliterate our species within the lifetimes of many now living. If that's true, how the hell is our strongest weapon of resistance a slumber party in an uncomfortable place??? And if it's not true, what the hell are people doing wasting everyone's time and energy when there are other super important issues like homelessness, racism, and global plutocracy?

And the first one to mention Gandhi or MLK, Jr should get a spanking and a history lesson. The movements that both of those folks worked with showed a hell of a lot more intestinal fortitude than this liberal enviro-theather crowd. They walked thousands strong into firing lines and fire hoses. They knew the dogs would be unleashed and continued to march. They did not stop when they were beaten, incarcerated, and abused.

This is not that.

This is theater, planned and coordinated for months ahead of time. This is folks co-ordinating with the gun wielding thugs that protect corporate interests, stopping politely at checkpoints, submitting to unreasonable search and seizure, and being herded like cattle from point a to point b while they stage their show for the cameras. And at the end of the day, who benefits? Well, fifty two people took show arrests for civil disobedience. That's 52 people that thought making a donation of around $125 (CD fines are usually around that but I do not have certain knowledge of the amount in this case) to the local police department was the best way to get the attention of . . . who, exactly? Who is going to care about that other than folks who are tired of police brutality and overreach who are going to be hella pissed off if they bother to think about the actual, practical outcomes of protests like this.

Meh, I hope at least Alex got paid for this.
3
Stopping having children could save our children's future.
4
What a great idea. I love having all these do nothing hippy kids sleeping a train track so the train can just roll over them. What a grand solution.
5
@4 did your mom drop you on your head as a child?
6
Fantastic photos! Thanks Alex Garland.
9
Sad really....at least the effort...keep giving power to these killers of the world...you sleep nation....oh but buy your organic food....like that will laat with our freedom to the duopoly....the same ones who block our freedoms.....the greens should be in all levels of Gov....but our gov is sold out to the corporations so they are block in all levels....you want a peace of mind in all concerns?...is time the world have more choices than the Usa....but we are great at FREEDOM?

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