Think in systems, dammit. When I am frustrated (i.e. always) with the "left" endlessly reheating and repeating the same things ("wasn't 1970s social democracy great?", "the main problem is we don't have enough diverse voices" (1) ) through truly wretched online events that are every bit as stultifying and wrist-slashingly excruciating as their meatspace equivalents,... Continue Reading →
Of activist self-care and the need to think in systems and #Freud #Darwin etc
I attended portions of a zoom seminar this morning on "activist self-care." Portions not because I flounced (this, as those who know me will attest, does happen) but because of technological issues and my steam-powered laptop not letting me into the break-out groups. So my "criticism" of the seminar (which was on the whole good!)... Continue Reading →
Economists, the post-coronavirus world and that cat in need of belling.
Let’s start with the joke. No, I don’t mean the last 10 years of non-dealing with climate change at a local authority level. That’s not funny. Let’s start with this: A physicist, a chemist and an economist are stranded on a desert island, with a large can of soup. The physicist says “We could drop... Continue Reading →
Interview with Rosemary Randall, psychoanalyst and author of brilliant #climate novel “Transgression”
A superb novel about climate activism (and much more) was released earlier this year. It is by Rosemary Randall, a retired psychoanalyst who has written a great deal (of extremely useful) work on the psychodynamics of meetings, and on climate change. You can read a 2013 interview I conducted with her for Manchester Climate Monthly.... Continue Reading →
Whatever happens to the people who give a damn? Abeyance, activism, academia
First, listen to this very cool song by Gil Scott Heron With one exception (1), what goes up, must come down. The big (2) wave of climate concern was, I thought, gonna crest and break in November-December 2020. But COVID-19 has pushed the Glasgow climate meeting into the long-ish grass of next year, and XR's... Continue Reading →
The four Cs- Coronavirus, Capitalism, Climate and Cats (“belling of”)
Another hot take about what may be coming. The USP for this one is that It tries to use some academic theories but in plain English It admits up front - “who the hell knows?” It actually foregrounds the crucial question other posts (e.g. this otherwise interesting one) ignore - “who is going to bell... Continue Reading →
What is “hope” anyway? A conjecture on collective emotions, reservoirs and replenishment
Hope gets on my tits. The need for hope censors. I am sick of the constant whining that if you tell people how serious things are they will "switch off". This is usually argued by people who basically believe in and are supported by the current system, who think the only problem is that our... Continue Reading →
Fear eats the soul – of COVID19, narking and Trump/Johnson approval ratings
Over the last few days I've seen some facebook posts/tweets/etc expressing anger/bewilderment that a) people are phoning up the cops to inform on neighbours who are going out more than the narks think they should b) the approval ratings for clearly failed "leaders" like Trump, Johnson and Morrison are going UP even though they are... Continue Reading →
What COVID-19 might also be threatening – “our” dream of absolute control….
You can look at the top of a fountain of water and think it is static. But it is only there because of a constant flow of water, versus gravity. (1) The perception is an illusion. In strange days like these, we can see this (whether it's always full supermarket shelves, or ICU beds, or... Continue Reading →
White Saviour Complex, COP26 and #climate activism – my two cents
I was sat recently in a room as white as Cumbria. It was full (80ish) of white people who sincerely believe that the revolution will only come when the last capitalist is strangled with the intestines of the last racist. There were three women of colour present. I was sat next to one, a friend,... Continue Reading →
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