We know what to do with bullies. You stand up to them, and don’t back down.
It’s well past time for those trying to advance solutions to climate breakdown to heed this time-honoured advice.
Three recent events in the United States, Europe and the United Kingdom have shown its wisdom.
All three times the far right and their media cheerleaders used the tactic of shouting people down, creating manufactured outrage in the hopes that they could stop progressive actions or advocacy through intimidation. Not in the traditional sense of the village hall, but in the modern version – online, with amplification in the notoriously partisan and conservative section of the media – a media that we know now through admissions in the Dominion voting v Fox case in the United States, knowingly and deliberately lies.
In January of this year, a United States government official made the factual observation that the emissions from gas stoves are a health hazard, and a political and media hysteria ensued. Republican politicians acted with a tone of outrage that normally would be reserved for actions that materially harmed people, animals, or children – as if cooking on gas stoves were the highest priority for Americans, when recent polling shows that nearly half of Americans support policies and investments to move away from gas. While this outrage attracted the support of those who are ideologically opposed to government intervention on any aspect of their lives, something about it always seemed staged. Borrowing a line from the gun lobby, one politician stated, “They can pry my gas stove from my cold, dead hands.”
Interestingly, the same phrase was used in Canada several years ago in a similarly false controversy over a so-called “BBQ ban” – when no such ban was proposed or existed.
Regrettably, the tactic worked, this time. We know from research – including C40’s – that gas creates significant greenhouse gas emissions, it cannot be a “transition fuel,” and that methane leaks from pipelines mean that gas is essentially as polluting as coal. We also know that indoor air quality and health concerns are real. For these reasons, we have seen a growing city-led movement in the USA – and elsewhere – to ban gas hookups in new buildings. Faced with a fake and deliberately created crisis about gas stoves, this movement seemingly lost steam, with some political advisors telling C40 they agreed with the actions taken by those cities but that “now wasn’t the time to discuss gas.”
We’ve seen the similar creation of a false crisis in Europe and elsewhere attacking the idea of 15 minute cities. The positions taken are absurd and false – that cities are closing neighbourhoods and that people will be fined for leaving their district, when in fact the concept is about making people’s lives easier by ensuring that the amenities they need – work, leisure, green space, shopping for basic essentials- exist in their neighbourhoods, or a short walk, ride or bus trip away.
Notwithstanding the absurdity of the clamour, some are suggesting that the (predominantly online) pushback against the concept of “15 minute cities” means that the idea is not feasible, and that advocates must start over, with a different narrative and a different way of talking about the need to make cities easier, less expensive and healthier to live in.
A clear contrast unfolded over the last ten two weeks in the United Kingdom. The prominent host of the lead BBC soccer programme, and former star player for England, Gary Lineker, criticised the government’s appalling approach to human rights in its efforts to stop refugee claimants from reaching Great Britain. Mr. Lineker, a long-time advocate for refugees who has taken a number of refugees into his own home, not only criticised the policies, he criticised the language used to defend the proposed legislation as “reminiscent of language used in Nazi Germany“.
The online and print backlash was immediate and furious. The right wing British tabloid press – not shy of racist fear mongering, and with an existing agenda to bash leftists and the BBC (despite the head of the BBC being a prominent Tory) – made it a front page story; cabinet ministers took the opportunity to attack Lineker and his soccer skills, and the BBC suspended him.
Did Lineker back down? No. His colleagues supported him and boycotted the programme he leads (Match of the Day), forcing the BBC to cancel. A huge movement grew to support Lineker, both because many agreed with the moral clarity of his comments, and because they believed he should have the right to speak. A backlash grew against the BBC and its Conservative Chair. And Lineker effectively used his social media platforms (and humour) to deflect the attacks against him. Early the following week, the BBC reinstated him to his role, promising only to “review its policies” about the free speech of its contracted on air personalities like Lineker.
Shouting people down in the town hall only works when you let them. Lineker has shown that the best defence against a bully is the same as it has always been – stand up to them, and they will back down. As we enter a period where climate action must happen at an ever increasing pace, there will be more moments where the fossil fuel lobbies and their acolytes on the right try to create false controversies. The lesson from Lineker? When you speak with moral clarity and accuracy, the people will be with you. Stand up to the bullies, and you’ll win the day – and the argument.
What am I reading?
I am back to Herman Daly’s great work “For the Common Good”
The latest stark IPCC report which sends a clear message that there is a rapidly closing window for delivering a healthy, climate safe world for all. The good news is many of the solutions are available and happening across cities today.
Until next time,
Again far left propaganda right here! The people have spoken!!! All you highly motivated progressive leftist and your ideas are saturated and beyond the bounds of “bullies”and bullying talk about hyper hypocrisy! You do realize this is where facist love to tread treading between the realm of economical suicide, while opening the door to the ripe territory for genocidal mindsets to infect the minds like a virus that are already drunk on authoritative power! You are false prophets for a systematic beast that want to not only control all resources, but also have control over the autonomy of humans. Those that speak or stand against your ideas are bully's? Some of you are blind hypocrites twisted in half truths and blind obedience, while the rest are plain wicked and evil!