Today I took part in the “Breaking the Silence” action against climate change. I felt the glances and emotions of the people. Some judged me and did not understand me. Some felt threatened. But I feel extraordinary grateful for showing people what’s bothering me.
It is the ongoing climate change and the fear that we will lose the world as we know it. There is no need for fear or hatred. I want people to be interested in something more than how to earn more money, what they buy for themselves or what they have for dinner. I want humanity to be a new standard and people not to be judged for their different views and not to be afraid to communicate. I hope my birthday wish will be heard.
I am delighted to connect with people who feel like me. Feeling like I’m among my own people. Feeling supported. We go to the streets of Brno for our first action “Breaking the Silence” within Extinction Rebellion to fight climate change. We are all in black. We have sealed our mouths with black tape and holding the sign saying “Climate Emergency”.
We are creating a formation on the city square and I’m observing people’s reactions and trying to stand up to the condemnations.
Some walk around without notice. Some are happily keeping shopping and some are screaming. Some feel scared and threatened. They’re afraid we’ll take away something from them. They are worried about their comfort. Paradoxically, they are in danger but we are not what threatens them. An elderly woman walks past me and angrily yells at me: “Why don’t you go planting trees?” But she doesn’t even know who I am and how many plants I have planted. More people passed around and I hear something in the sense of “What a sect!”, “Psychopaths!”, “Jesus, activists again!?” They have no idea how much pain they cause me. Some people are filming us on mobile. Some are staring blankly.
After the formation we remove the tapes from our mouths and go among the people. When I approach someone I feel that he wants to avoid me and doesn’t want to talk to me. I’m reaching a girl to give her the organization card. She is pretending she doesn’t see me but she takes it eventually.
We enter the shopping centre Vaňkovka and create formation around the fountain. The whole thing repeats itself.
People staring uncomprehending, filming us on their cell phones but they keep their distance and go out of our way. I’m standing there, my heart beats but I’m trying to calm down. Eyes of dozens of people on me judging me without understanding. People who are happy in their bubble. Satisfied with the consumer life that still satisfies them. I feel like I was in their place a long time ago but that I’ve just got out of the bubble. I feel that how the world works today is not sustainable. I hear Mother Nature crying. After about two minutes we’re being banished from the building by security.
The whole situation is very ironic.
One can reach the moon but he needs a nutritionist and a trainer because he needs advice on how to eat and how to exercise. A man who considers himself to be the smartest creature on earth and yet is the only creature that consciously destroys himself. Which frog poisons its own pond?
