Direct Action

As well as being a positive example of what the world may be like if we scale back to a more sustainable pace of life, taking collective, non-violent direct action is a fundamental part of the Convergence for Climate Action.

Direct action means different things to different people and does not necessarily imply illegal. We support definitions like the one used by Martin Luther King in his Letters from Birmingham Jail:

"Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and foster such a tension that a community which has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue. It seeks so to dramatize the issue that it can no longer be ignored."

We draw inspiration from the direct action movements from around the world to reclaim common rights to the land and from protest movements that have challenged the meetings of global elites while working in their own communities for community-based democracy and equality.

We also consider the endeavor of building an alternative society that removes itself from the dominant, colonialist, destructive culture as a powerful, creative form of direct action.

We do not see changing our individual habits as consumers and seeking remedy from politicians as the sole forces that will help stop or reduce climate chaos. Yes, we need to change light bulbs and ride bikes more often, but we also need to act collectively.

This is the only way to stop the actions of those vested interests that watch the planet burn while counting the money they make from the fire. To truly tackle climate change and enjoy the benefits of a new world, we must confront the fossil fuel empire, which is culpable for the wars, pollution, and unsustainable consumerism in our world.

Taking direct action can be a form of direct democracy. In a time when corporations backed by the government are making huge decisions about our lives and futures, it is up to us to reclaim power. The choices and opportunities of political participation offered to us by corporations and government regarding climate change have been consumer choices and false “solutions” that they profit from while maintaining the status quo of energy injustice. By participating and engaging in just and earth-focused collective actions and alternatives, we can actualize direct democracy by injecting our voices into the conversation. By participating in various forms of direct action, we can take the future of energy policy in the Northwest into our own hands!

The convergence will be the perfect place to plug into a building crescendo of protests and actions planned throughout and in the days and months afterward as well as a chance to become a part of communities building a new world in the shell of the old.