On the day after the largest climate march in history as well as thousands of marches world-wide, discussion swirls around the question of who noticed.
What media channels carried it? Did they turn aside for even a moment from their endless stream of drivel and diversion to bring their readers and viewers any information at all about the marches and the reasons for them? For the arbiters of what matters, did we rate? It's kind of like waiting to see what shows up in our doggie bowl after the big people have finished their dinner.
The media’s relative inattention to the marches, and to climate in general, is a disgrace. But we already knew that.
The biggest effect of the world wide Peoples Climate Marches may turn out to have nothing to do with any measurement of whether the decaying institutions of mainstream media graced us with a brief moment of attention.
The march in New York City informed and energized over three hundred thousand ambassadors to their home communities. Worldwide, the number is far larger. And every single one of those people has a mission, should they choose to accept it.
The most effective form of censorship is self-censorship. Every time we choose to be silent on a matter of crucial importance, we are doing the job of the censors - in fact twice. Once by silencing ourselves, and then again by perpetuating, in our silence, a climate hostile to conversation for others who may want to speak out.
It's in our nature to be sensitive to social cues, regarding the right time and place for a given topic. Whatever mix of innate or learned, it goes back thousands of years, originating in an era when being rejected by your peers meant exile and probably your death.
These basic human truths have been cynically manipulated by certain people, who shall remain as nameless as Voldemort, to push topics of climate outside the social norm. Reality has been redefined as "political" and therefore not for polite company. And with our silence during each and every regular day, we consent to this.
As Daily Kos writer Citisven noted in a discussion last week:
What often happens is that when nobody brings up any uncomfortable topics at all anymore, the group dynamic shifts so drastically that to "disturb the peace" becomes this huge act of courage and rebellion.
So here's something that seems impossible to measure on the face of it, but may be the greatest effect of the People's Climate March:
The number of people who, when they get home, refuse to be silent any longer.
The glamour shots and videos look great! What an impressive statement to see this many people who care enough to mobilize, to take time out of their lives, to walk together.
But looking through the photo streams from friends and from locations like 350.org, I saw something else.
People preparing and learning together.
Emerging leaders.
Connections, even across international borders.
People working together all over the world.
Just conversation.
That is a microcosmically small sample. Thousands upon thousands of images chronicle some portion of the millions of discussions, connections, and learning moments that happened in just one day.
No matter what material oozed out of the tubes in our living rooms, the number of conversations on real topics: our world, climate, justice, equity - that number spiked yesterday.
The conversations occurred in person, and also as people shared their own perspectives and images on line. Jill MacIntyre Witt, a local 350.org organizer, saw this during the march:
Final count 400,000 and I bet that doesn't count the crowds on the sidewalks watching and snapping photos. Just imagine the countless images shared around the world!
The next step is simple, for anyone who marched yesterday - anywhere. For anyone who wanted to march but couldn't. For anyone who wished they had marched in retrospect.
For everyone: Commit to bringing climate reality to your home and your community. Don't do the work of the deniers by allowing yourself to be silenced. Our captors only hold us when we let them.
Notes:
Thanks to Citisven for helping to inspire this diary with his comment, partly quoted above, in a previous diary.
The Stockholm Syndrome is a psychological effect where, over time, prisoners identify with their captors, and cease to even regard themselves as prisoners. It is particularly insidious where the method of capture involves the mind of the victim rather than the body.
Photo of people meeting across US-Canadian border at Peace Arch Park courtesy of Cipriano Mauricio.
Photo to the right courtesy of Jill MacIntyre Witt.
Chart of What You Should Know is from Sciencegasm.
Other photos shamelessly poached from the 350.org Flickr account.
Check out these diaries on the Peoples Climate March posted just today:
Why I Marched Sunday And How Mayor de Blasio Made it Worth It
Is The Earth Fracked? Best & Brightest Fail; Hope Rises Up in a Humble Romanian Village
Why I Marched And Why I Like eeff- A Moment on the March
National Review Online Climate: Activists Are Hysterical Losers
We stood for climate action: People's Climate March photo diary
That Big Climate March Thing? Never Happened
After Climate Sunday join with us and over 800,000 who are part of the solution to climate change
People's Climate March: The Wave
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UN Climate Summit/March Blogathon
September 19-23, 2014
World leaders representing nations, industry and civil society are convening in New York City for the historic September 23 UN Climate Summit. The summit, announced by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon last September, is designed to bring all parties to the table to facilitate the 2015 UNFCCC passage of a global treaty to dramatically reduce global warming.
In what is being called a “movement of movements” moment, hundreds of thousands of marchers are expected at the NYC People's Climate March on Sunday, September 21. Other huge marches are occurring around the world, demanding what we all know is within reach: a world with an economy that works for people and the planet; a world safe from the ravages of climate change; a world recognizing the need for climate justice; a world with good jobs, clean air and water, and healthy communities.
Please join us for a blogathon September 19-23 in a campaign to inspire people to take to the streets and to tell the story of why climate change is the defining issue of our time that can no longer wait to be addressed in earnest.
From ClimateBrad: I'm excited to announce that I will providing livestreamed, on-the-ground coverage of the People's Climate March this Sunday and at follow-up actions in the days ahead at PeoplesClimate.tv.
To see the September 21 Climate March routes and sign up, click here. To find an event in your region, click here. To learn more about the UN Climate Summit 2014, click here. The complete guest list of diarists is in this diary by rb137. All blogathon diaries here.
Our Daily Kos community organizers are Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse, boatsie, rb137, JekyllnHyde, citisven, peregrine kate, John Crapper, Aji, Kitsap River, Dont Just Sit There DO SOMETHING, and jarbelaez. Photograph/Graphic credit: Facebook - People's Climate March.
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