Dear Earth, I feel superior

Yesterday I became a skull person and, with fellow rebels, walked slowly and silently through the streets of Worcester. We were delivering a letter about our disappointment in the County Council, who have failed to declare a climate emergency.

As I walked, I felt sad. Everyone was going about their business as if nothing was happening. They weren’t thinking about you, beloved Earth, as they filled plastic bags with new clothes. They bought mobile phones because their old ones (the motherboards containing precious metals, extracted from your body at great cost) were already out of fashion. They consumed and consumed, and belched out waste.

It is so easy to feel superior, especially whilst dressed as a skull person.

When I begin to feel superior, I remind myself of my privilege – my support system, my education, my faith, my colleagues – all the things that have allowed me the luxury of connecting with my grief about your wounds, dear Earth.

When I begin to feel superior, I remind myself of the ‘could do better’ sections on my own scorecard – my unnecessary car journeys, the money I spend on fripperies, the carbon footprint of our seven pets – three of which eat meat. I remind myself that feeling superior is proof of not being superior.

When I remind myself of these things, I can suddenly see that the people thronging the streets lined with shops are all my comrades. They may already be on the same journey I’m on – they may have been on it for decades longer than whippersnapper me. They may need more information and more support before their denial cracks, as I did. They may be forever locked into climate-denial or extreme self-protection – and that’s okay. We will never change everybody’s minds and we don’t have to. We just need enough of us to speak clearly, dear Earth. We just need enough of us to feel the sadness I feel.

Twelve of us were seen by hundreds, yesterday. They paused and watched us pass. They whispered to each other – ‘climate’, ‘Extinction Rebellion’. They threw us looks of pity or disgust, or beeped their car horns in support. They promised to join us.

We will keep going, because we love all our comrades, Earth, even if some of them make that difficult sometimes. We will keep going because we love the nightingale and the humpback whale. We will keep going because we love you, darling darling Earth.

Love, Satya <3