EPISODE 3: CLIMATE PROTESTS
DENIZ AKKAYA
Aquarius ranks 12th at the end of the long cycle of the Zodiac. Humanity, who last changed the age 2000 years ago, is getting ready to enter a new age on December 21st!
With the climate protests that happened in 2019, we’ve seen Gen Z’s passion for change clearly. 15-year-old Greta, who took a sit-in in front of the Swedish parliament building in August 2018, became the face of the global climate crisis movement! Greta Thunberg was neither the first nor the only young activist to blame politicians who do not take the climate crisis seriously. However, Greta managed to get her voice heard at a time when world leaders had no longer find a corner to hide and had to act urgently. Thunberg inspired students around the world to hold their climate strikes with the hashtag #FridaysforFuture in August 2018. Thousands of children argued that adults haven’t done enough to address the climate disaster. Seeing themselves on the front lines of the climate change war, thousands of young people walked out of school on Friday to show their seriousness. The protests, which became very popular in the autumn and winter months, continued every Friday around the world until March 2019 and 2020. The resistance of the youth, who questioned why they should go to school when they have no future, brought their complaints about generational injustice directly to the authorities!
Fridays for Future currently estimates that more than 9.6 million activists in 261 countries are participating in climate protests. Currently, environmental groups and climate activists around the world are continuing their protests online due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
The work of climate heroes, whom we haven’t heard of outside of Greta, Vanessa Gray, Nick Estes, Autumn Peltier, Kanahus Manuel, and many other local activists have played a very important role in showing that the climate crisis is not just about climate by creating a bridge between sovereignty and environmental damage. They helped move the climate movement into the framework of climate justice, which is the intersection point of colonialism, racism, capitalism, and climate change. Young activists like Isra Hirsi, Cricket Cheng, and Maya Menezes build the climate movement around a racial justice scale. The work of these young activists has significantly reshaped the climate movement. By showing that climate change is not a phenomenon, it is a problem rooted in the capitalist system, which is racist, colonial, and sexist, they are helping to politicize a new generation of climate activists. Climate strikes are a great example of youth politicization, denying adult inaction, and demanding more from governments. It wouldn’t be wrong to expect the climate movement to continue to grow and become more politicized in the coming years, with Gen Z’s endless passion for change and the coming of the Aquarius age.
The record turnout of young voters in the 2020 US presidential election played a huge role in Biden’s win over Trump, which they were concerned about the climate crisis. The youth-led progressive climate group Sunrise Movement reached 3.5 million young voters in swing states, helping them vote. “We will need to see if Joe Biden is true to his word, who said climate change is the number one issue, but we will always remind him of his word,” co-founder Varshini Prakash said.
The social movements of society that we’ve witnessed for decades or even centuries have only become stronger as a result of governments’ resistance to reasonable demands! When we look at the backgrounds of the HIV / AIDS movement, the Civil Rights Movement, the African Liberation struggles and, all the just struggles in the world, we see one thing: the power of change of the oppressed people! Stay tuned for Episode 4.
