When I was a child growing up in Lincolnshire I can clearly remember TV images of Greenpeace activists blocking effluent pipes on the River Humber. These were some of the first images to inspire me about the possibilities of direct action.
Yesterday, I jumped for joy at the news that Greenpeace had shut down Sheffield 's incinerator. Today I still do, but I now have some reservations. I don't want these to eclipse my support for the actions that Greenpeace have taken, yet I feel I must share them.
I went and introduced myself to the support team outside the incinerator and told them I was part of the local Earth First! group. We then chatted about mutual acquaintances in Greenpeace (notably in the action team).
I offered our support for the action, and said to contact me if there was any help that I could supply. I was told local people with banners would be good.
This morning the same Greenpeace person woke me up to say that they could do with local support for the TV cameras. We turned up and hung a very large banner off the wall across from the gates of the incinerator. This said "Stop sell offs, stop pollution, recycle the council". Apparently this is “off message”, as I was told by a member of the team.
So unless Greenpeace's action is not about pollution (which it quite clearly is) or connected to privatisation, which their factually incorrect leaflets(*) touch upon, how can we be “off message”? Is it just because we have taken our own initiative? It is not like we are highjacking their demo for some sinister agenda. There is no organisation mentioned on our banner, so we are not self-promoters out for glory or recruits.
Later on, a member of the public, clearly in disagreement with us, came to talk to us. We had a wide ranging discussion on the worth of direct action. This had been going on for about 10 minutes, when a Greenpeace campaigner decided to take over the conversation and virtuality told me to shut up. Incidentally her 'superior' knowledge fared no better in satisfying this member of the public.
On top of this we were regularly made to feel unwelcome by the Greenpeace activists, when near their truck. To an extent I can understand this, as I would equally feel uncomfortable if a stranger was around while I were discussing actions to come, but we were there for a while and they never even offered us a cuppa, while the kettle boiled regularly.
These three things left me feeling very disempowered. I am local, and experienced in taking action, yet when the Greenpeace Multinational money machine come to town I was left feeling unwelcome and useless. Am I only wanted as a source of money and as a rent-a-crowd? As this would appear to be the case, I can only say that I feel this is a terrible way to go about direct action.
People need to be inspired into action themselves. This is when a new future for the Earth is possible. By action I do not mean donating a tenner to Greenpeace every month, I mean real action. When large numbers of people to take to the streets demanding change, then they will take notice.
Sure, Greenpeace have done a lot to publicise the issues around incinerators and for that I applaud them, but will things have changed when they leave in week, and fly off to wherever about whatever. Sure, people may be cheering now about what Greenpeace have done, but what will they have learned? Certainly not new skills to take on the fight. It is equally unlikely that people will be supplied with the expensive equipment, essential to keeping the incinerator shut in this manner.
So where does this leave the population of Sheffield? Well, in all probability it will be back on and working some time next week and little will change, while everybody turns their attention to the election machine.
I don't want you to think that I have all the answers that relate to making movements more inclusive, but it is obvious, to me at least, that this must happen if we are to get anywhere. There seems to be no attempt by Greenpeace to do this in any sense. Sure, they are promoting a public meeting, but what opinion will be welcome other than theirs?
I feel that people who are not lucky enough to be paid workers of Greenpeace should be welcomed at what ever level of action they are prepared to take. Change and revolution is not the job of professionals. That is just what politicians tell us, to keep us quiet.
Again I would repeat that, while I am certainly jealous of the money Greenpeace has at its disposal, this is not a criticism of the type of action they have taken in Sheffield. I must commend the bravery of the people on top of the chimney as that is the last place I would want to be. What I want to criticise is the attitude of an organisation that in reality, just jets in to areas, for high profile campaign actions. This just reeks of the society of the spectacle. I might as well just watch it on TV.
(*) The Greenpeace leaflet about the action states several times that Onyx have taken over the running of the incinerator. This is not true, as they are merely the preferred bidder over WRG in the bidding rounds to take on the whole of the Sheffield waste disposal contract.