The key to organising in our communities
CtrlAltShift Blog #5 - Jimmy Kerr - Fighting airport expansion has never been easy. At a time of economic turmoil, when people are worried about their livelihoods, the battle for our communities becomes even more challenging. All of this means that Plane Stupid, CtrlAltShift and others must not only be inventive when it comes to organising within our communities, but must fully capitalise on the inspiration created by our actions, integrating our own organisational skills into the momentum that the actions create.
I live near Glasgow Airport, where Plane Stupid Scotland has developed a strategy of building an alliance of groups from a wide range of backgrounds. Each group is involved in different forms of struggle, and will be willing to come together to fight climate change, supporting Plane Stupid's actions and eventually becoming a network of self sustaining and mutually supportive organisations.
This strategy began to take shape in 2008, as the Scottish Government consulted on expanding Scottish airports. Under the aegis of Plane Speaking we held public consultations ourselves, exploring the concerns of residents affected by the proximity to airports. The events were well attended and lots of groups were keen to do something, but there were few ideas of how to move forward and virtually no appetite for direct action. It was clear that we would have to be inventive if were to build any sort of momentum towards creating the network of self sustaining groups that we had imagined.
We then organised a speaking tour with people from the Heathrow campaign who crossed the country holding meetings. It was hoped that these communities would somehow organise themselves on their own, and although this proved difficult, a new kind of network was beginning to take shape. This was a network not of active direct action groups as such, but a network of allies, ready to at least engage with the idea of climate action and, crucially, to lend vocal support. We were beginning to pave the way for the acceptance of climate action and more importantly the creation of a set of alliances that would later explode into life.
It was our closure of Aberdeen Airport that changed the game. Groups that had previously been silent on issues of aviation and climate change now raised their voices. Where I stay in Paisley, just a mile from Glasgow Airport, all kinds of groups including the local Transition Town, the local Trades Council, trade unions and local leftists all gave public support for the Aberdeen action. The same thing was happening across Scotland. Feelers were being put out, enquiries were being made, groups were taking an interest and previously inactive individuals from the places we visited in 2008 were discovering new appetites for climate justice.
The most exciting aspect of this new buzz was the way that different groups were joining the dots for themselves. Anti-poverty groups were making connections between aviation subsidies and fuel poverty, anti-racist groups were angry about the racial effects of global warming and even religious groups began raising their voice, questioning the wisdom of airport expansion as we approach precipice of unstoppable climate change. It was clear that we had to capitalise on this new momentum and try to bring these fledgling allied networks to life. This was the underlying motivation for a public campaign around the trial of the Climate 9.
It was a campaign that really brought different groups out into the open, providing genuine opportunities for collaboration and community organisation. Our original goal of creating self sustaining local groups to fight airport expansion is still some way off, but the seeds of activity are growing, and taking unexpected forms. From collaborations with film makers, to working with human rights lawyers, to creating a legal book for future activists, to completely separate projects like So We Stand, a new network of allied groups fighting poverty, racism and climate change through popular education, activities continue to spread and grow stronger. With this solid foundation, and this new momentum, Plane Stupid Scotland can now set about the task of going back to our communities, with new allies and new perspectives on the links between aviation and climate change.
The important lesson from the Climate 9 experience is that it doesn't matter how knowledgeable you are about organising resistance. It doesn't matter if you know how to organise a world cafe or have an in depth understanding of the work of Paulo Freire. If people don't believe in what you are doing, then your best efforts will be wasted. I believe now more than ever, that people are motivated to act primarily through inspiration, and that creating a bold, audacious action is worth more than a thousand public meetings. The challenge for the Climate 9 now is to use that inspiration and our organisational skills to finally create a strong self sustaining network...
