To strike, or not to strike?
Walk to Work #1
Last week was a big week for us, with the build-up to the UN Climate Action Summit and the climate strikes that started last Friday. This week, it’s the strikes that I want to focus on.
Initially, when Richard and Louise asked me whether or not I was striking, I was quite adamant (in a very polite way of course) that I wasn’t going to strike. I had been to a few strikes as a student earlier in the year, and I felt quite disheartened by the people that I saw/heard speak/met. I wasn’t sure that the message being promoted at the strikes was something I could get behind.
Having said that, over the course of the week we had lots of really interesting conversations with a lot of different people in the office — clients, friends, office doggos — and by the time Friday morning rolled around I was messaging Louise to tell her I was disappearing off and leaving her high and dry to join the protests.
My reasoning for this was four-fold:
1. A lot of very influential and knowledgeable people think that the next few weeks are going to be a major turning point in our future — and as much as I hate being told what to do, I do think these people know what they’re talking about.
2. Given that I had the opportunity (and freedom) to take some time off work on Friday when lots of my friends who did want to strike couldn’t, maybe my voice stood for more than my own on the day?
3. Considering that I had this chance, I may as well go and see what the strikes were like in order to create my own informed opinion.
4. If this IS a massive turning point which triggers a paradigm shift in our system, I would feel pretty silly if I was just sitting in the library working when I could have been a part of it.
So off I went, and I have to say I was most pleasantly surprised with what I found. It was amazing to see such a diverse range of people out on the streets. As John put it a few months ago, there was a strong “pan-generational” feel to the crowd: students (of course), but also people in wheelchairs, mothers holding hands with their children, people in suits all walking together.
It was supremely inspiring, and it made me realise that I am so privileged that I get to dedicate my career to a purpose I, and so many others (4 million and counting to be exact), believe in. Initially, I was quite arrogant in thinking I was already doing enough, but I have the opportunity and energy to do more and I want to continue to hold myself to that standard. It’s what the world deserves.
That’s all from me this week. Thanks for reading :)
