People's Climate Rally in Montpelier

[dawn_felagund]

Bobby and I went to the climate rally today that was held in Vermont's capital city of Montpelier. Oh, it was tempting to try to go to DC again! But I decided against it. I have a lot going on right now, and I always try to remember the advice I read when reigniting my political activism that one has to take care of oneself ... so I kept it local

Comments

[dawn_felagund]

And I completely understand your frustration both with the attitude of - mostly - people who will no longer have to deal with the fallout but aren't shy of claiming "It won't be so bad"

Cognitive dissonance much?! "We have the choice of feeling badly about sentencing our children to die in natural disasters or famines or water shortages (or the political turmoil that will ensue in the course of the aforementioned) and so NOT continuing in our materialistic ecologically naive lifestyle. OR we can convince ourselves that being stabbed to death with a rusted piece of metal over a bottle of water can't be that bad because giving up giant cars? Or fast food? Bottled water?? Or (gods help us!!) WALMART?? We can't be expected to do all that!!"

Bring on the rusty metal.

I'm being melodramatic of course, but Bobby and I have had the discussion that, since we'll be pretty old when things will likely start to get really bad, if things start to get bad, we need to start stockpiling prescription medications that we can painlessly OD on. I wonder how many of our parents' generation have had that conversation?! (They probably don't have time, what with all the decisions to make about three bathrooms or four, or what kind of giant SUV gets the worst gas mileage so they can buy that one, or what big-box bullshit they should buy for Christmas gifts.)

I only know it as an acronym for "Prisoner of War"!

Most people here would think the same. (Indy, in fact, made more or less that comment over on DW, as a child who grew up in a military family!) I don't know how many Vermonters know POW the climate organization--it's probably pretty familiar to the hardcore snow sports people--but it's certainly the first thing to come to mind is the House of Felagund ...

ETA ...

The lettering is gorgeous.

And I got myself so fired up that I forgot to say thank you! ^_^ Lettering is my preferred art form. The Trump administration is giving me lots of reasons to practice.

[oloriel]

It's a bit better here - there was a first (?) big wave of climate change awareness as a result of the ozone depletion in the early 1980s, so a lot of people who were our age back then are already pretty aware and quite willing to take counter-measures. Private individuals, at least - but it does have the positive effect that if a lot of people want aerosol cans without CFCs, fridges that don't need quite so much electricity, and cars that make more mileage out of less gas, companies are eventually going to provide. (Which doesn't stop them from the occasional asshatteries, of course. >_>)

For my generation, who grew up with all the scenarios about how "if we don't change things now, we will only feel the results in 30 years but we WILL feel them", the alarm of the past years has either been serious annoying (YES WELL THIS WAS PREDICTED 30 YEARS AGO!) or, unfortunately, has a bit of a numbing effect (WELL WE'VE BEEN WARNED FOR SO LONG NOW THAT WE NO LONGER CARE) and gives rise to a bit of a YOLO attitude.

But at least, the sceptics - aside from a minority - tend to be of the grandparental generation, so we all get to shake our heads in unison at those dumb 'mericuns (present company excepted) who just don't get it. ;)