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On Tuesday this week Rosemary Penwarden was arrested in Wellington for utilizing quick-drying cement to repair her arms to a significant roadway in Kilbirnie. It took the police some time to chip her and two others off the street.
She is a part of the Restore Passenger Rail group which has efficiently saved public consideration on local weather change for weeks on finish with disruptive protests which have blocked roads and demanded critical motion on local weather change. Their braveness has been within the most interesting traditions of peaceable civil disobedience protest.
Rosemary has carried out a brief video which is on the Restore Passenger Rail fb web page.
Rosemary was charged with “endangering transport” – a cost which carries a most sentence of 14 years in jail. (Sadly, there isn’t a cost of “endangering the planet via greenhouse gasoline emissions” for the likes of SUV drivers, trucking firm CEOs or airline chief executives)
It’s not the primary time she’s been arrested in Restore Passenger Rail protests however the first time the police have opposed bail and she or he has been remanded in custody to her subsequent courtroom look on later in September.
By elevating the costs from obstruction of a roadway to endangering transport and by retaining folks locked up the state forces hope to interrupt the group and deter anybody else from daring to repeat these actions.
Rosemary’s state of affairs is a reminder that progressive change, even change desperately wanted to stop an existential disaster for humanity, will all the time be vigorously opposed by the 1% and their political representatives. The good equipment of state which is geared to siphoning off huge sums of unearned revenue into the pockets of the company and the snug should be allowed to proceed unhindered.
Because of this most political responses to the Restore Passenger Rail protests have been hostile. Nationwide’s transport spokesperson Simeon Brown for instance has attacked the group for “disrupting atypical residents attempting to go about their lives” and says the protests are “doing extra hurt than good” to the reason for local weather change.
Simeon Brown’s self-righteousness is a bit wealthy for a celebration which is raiding funds from all future Emissions Buying and selling Scheme revenues for its tax cuts coverage. These funds are at present earmarked for combating local weather change however that can not be the case below Nationwide. Does it get any extra appalling than that?
Doesn’t that cynical abuse of the Emission Buying and selling Scheme’s revenue underline simply why the techniques utilized by the Restore Passenger Rail are important if we’re to get any significant motion on local weather change?
And whereas I’m at it, if I had a greenback for each time I’ve been informed that breaking the regulation with non-violent civil disobedience protest motion would “undermine the trigger” I’d be very wealthy. The easy reality is that the alternative is the case.
We want much more Rosemary Penwardens – hundreds of them – are you as much as it?
Rosemary Penwarden is sand within the gears of free-market capitalism. All respect to her braveness and her quick-dry cement.
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