A Lesson In Solidarity

This is how we defend our democracies

I received a troubling email this week from a progressive professor in the US who is already witnessing concerning trends inside his educational institution since the commencement of the Trump presidency. Troubling, because history shows us that the professors and the journalists are among the first to get shut down in authoritarian states. The professor signed off his email with the words, “If y’all think of anything we can do to hold the line let me know.”

When I read his email I did not know how to answer it, but today I saw the answer. My use of the word “saw” here is intentional.

In the UK, over the last two years we have steadily been losing our right to protest. While environmental defenders have been the main target of these anti-protest laws, those law changes affect us all: if your cause falls out of favour with the authorities they can clamp down on you too now.

For the last two days there has been a mass appeal taking place at The Royal Courts Of Justice in London reviewing the excessive sentences that have been handed out in recent months to climate activists. Today, over a thousand people gathered together and sat quietly in the main road outside the court. They were allowed to remain there for the full 90 minutes of their action. The Police tried to encourage them to move to the pavement. They told them there was a chance of arrest if they did not, but the people sat there quietly and did not move.

With the new police powers in place in the UK, it takes a lot of nerve to hold your ground and not move when a police officer tells you might get arrested. It takes a lot to not be deterred from taking action when you see peaceful, nonviolent protesters going to prison for years for their actions. It is easier and safer to stay at home, but today hundreds of people chose not to do that.

Based on what I have witnessed over the last two years of filming environmental protest, had the protesters been smaller in number the Police would have slapped a condition on the protest and then moved to arrest those who refused to move to the pavement. I believe that the Police could not do that today because there were simply too many people to arrest. They could not do that because there were too many people who held their nerve and remained sat on the road when the Police challenged them. Today’s protest is what solidarity looks like.

Creating division is a tactic straight out of the populist playbook. The flames of our culture wars are intentionally being fanned by some politicians, media and organisations with vested interests, in order to divide us. Polarisation is their objective.

So what is my answer to the professor’s question of how to hold the line? Solidarity.

Solidarity alone cannot stem the rise of the right wing authoritarianism spreading across the democratic world, but any pushback against it needs to start with solidarity.

Once we lose our rights it is really hard to get them back, so we must fight to keep them. Those who share progressive values need to be brave and unite together in solidarity to stop the democratic backsliding. What I witnessed today shows that it is possible.