Thread by @NortherlyRose

#Thread
The importance of protesting.
A personal (late recognised) #ActuallyAutistic perspective.
I struggle to understand why we’re being so acquiescent when the government’s taking a wrecking ball to the economy, social justice, and the natural world.
We should protest more.
1/

I was brought up not to make waves, to be obedient and law abiding.
My instinct was always for justice and truth though, and the importance of protesting soon dawned on me.
Children are subjected to various sorts of tyranny.
Protesting is one of the ways we protect ourselves.
2/

We soon realise how futile protesting can be, in terms of overcoming injustice, and achieving something better.
But not even to try is such a desperate position to adopt.
Giving in, letting go of the hope of influencing things, accepting our powerlessness, is a kind of death.
3/

There are times when that is exactly what we have to do to survive.
Stay still.
Not make a sound.
But while this may help us to escape immediate danger, we may suffer harmful consequences from our silence in the longer term.
Injustice may burn within us for a very long time.
4/

I felt more strongly about issues than many other people from early childhood.
I took action even if it came at a considerable cost.
Not doing so extracted a terrible personal price.
I discovered very late that my passion for #SocialJustice is part of my #autistic identity.
5/

Being overwhelmed can incapacitate us, and I think that’s what is happening now.
We are surrounded by chaos, confusion, and threats of various kinds.
The government’s using this as a smokescreen.
Tearing things apart while we’re all still stunned.
We’ll come around eventually.
6/

Some people are still awake.
They can see what is going on.
They are watching things unfold with the dreadful clarity of a car crash, just before a collision is inevitable.
They feel compelled to do something, so they shout warnings even though most people can’t hear them.
7/

When the smoke clears, and we wake up, we will be faced with a scene of utter devastation.
We will wonder why we allowed this to happen, how so few people subjugated the many.
How nothing was safe from exploitation for profit, not even the natural world, which sustains us.
8/

When I walked to work yesterday I saw several protests.
Two elderly women in the market place were collecting signatures on a petition opposing fracking.
Evangelists protested their faith with placards and street preaching, and homeless people seemed to be protesting silently.
9/

But the majority of us were preoccupied with working, shopping or socialising.
‘The world is too much with us; late and soon, Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers: Little we see in nature that is ours; We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!’
#WilliamWordsworth
10/

When I signed the petition against fracking the elderly women collecting signatures were mystified and upset by how lots of people simply didn’t care.
I was on my way to work, one of a few jobs I’m juggling at the moment.
Like many people most of my energy goes on surviving.
11/

We can’t rely on the people who’re supposed to be in charge.
Nor can we rely on mainstream media to keep us informed.
There’s a risk of the human race sleepwalking into disaster.
Thank goodness for protestors when ‘for this, for every thing, we are out of tune’ #Wordsworth
12/end

The fiscal event will simply entrench the appalling inequality which already exists in the UK.
‘The Government says it is on the side of the British people but it has clearly chosen to turn its back on millions who are on the lowest incomes.’
@R_McDonald_ Chief Economist @jrf_uk

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