James Baldwin, the UK climate “movement” and the Safety Dance – what is to be done?

James Baldwin was a very smart guy. For the purpose of this blog post, the key insight is from a January 1962 New York Times column, in which he wrote “not everything that can be faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.”

And so on to the UK climate “movement.” Let’s pretend that a whole lot of different organisations, pushing and pulling in sorta different directions constitutes a movement (it doesn’t (1)). While there was certainly climate protest/campaign activity before 2005-6 (Rising Tide, Climate Action Network etc), it’s fair to say that there was a big upsurge in 2005, and that had petered out/imploded in 2010 (2). There was plenty of climate and climate-adjacent activity (Reclaim the Power, fracking blah) but not a great sense of a “movement.” Then came the long hot summer of 2018, and XR, and Greta and in 2019 everyone was running around. Now, not so much.

And now, well, I lurk in the boondocks and get emails about upcoming Wonderful Events. These WEs are going to Reinvigorate the Movement, and provide the necessary skills and outlooks to bring us to the sunlit uplands. There’s the usual round of Important New Books (INBs) about how Evil The Bad Guys are (3).

And neither the WE or the INB go anywhere near the “what have we been doing wrong?” and “what are we likely to keep doing wrong?” questions. Because who wants recriminations and self-recriminations? Who wants to crap on the kitchen table? That doesn’t build “coalitions.” That doesn’t create a “buzz.” Doing that will make enemies, and offer attack lines for enemies to use. Psychologically and institutionally, these questions are ferociously selected against.

So instead the WE and INB are all about how the cat should wear a bell, in excruciating detail. And they are a “safety dance”, where we can have both eyes in the mirror, as we watch ourselves gavotte.

Nothing can be changed, until…

On we go, like in that book/movie, dancing and prancing, as the hellmouths grin and lick their lips.

What a time to be alive.

Footnotes

(1) Definitional debates about movements may float some folks’ boats. Not mine so much these days, and it’s not what I want to tackle here anyhow.

(2) For reasons. Important, but not central to what I am on about here. Or not centrally central.

(3) Can’t afford them? Don’t worry, you’ll be able to pick up near-mint (unread) copies in charity shops a year or two hence.