UK has led the way, with countries across the continent making mass arrests, passing draconian new laws and labelling activists as eco-terrorists

The UK has led the way in the crackdown, experts say, with judges recently refusing an appeal against multi-year sentences for climate activists who blocked a motorway bridge in east London. The three-year jail terms for Marcus Decker and Morgan Trowland earlier this year are thought to be the longest handed out by a British judge for non-violent protest.

Michel Forst, the UN rapporteur on environmental defenders since June last year, described the situation in the UK as “terrifying”. He added that other countries were “looking at the UK examples with a view to passing similar laws in their own countries, which will have a devastating effect for Europe”.

He added: “I’m sure that there is European cooperation among the police forces against these kinds of activities. My concern is that when [governments] are calling these people eco-terrorists, or are using new forms of vilifications and defamation … it has a huge impact on how the population may perceive them and the cause for which these people are fighting. It is a huge concern for me.”

  • interolivary@beehaw.orgEnglish
    21·
    1 year ago

    Mind giving us an example of this, or should we just assume this is the classic centrist horseshoe bullshit?

    • yetAnotherUser@feddit.deEnglish
      10·
      1 year ago

      [Context: Wagenknecht is a prominent politician of The Left party]

      While I could give examples, this piece of satire should contain more than enough context.

      Said women in that article is also very concerned about the trans lobby, which is totally not a right-wing boogeyman.

      Let’s play a game, shall we? Here’s a few quotes and you should guess whether it’s made by a fascist or by Wagenknecht. In each topic one is made by her, the other by the fascists:

      Identity politics:

      Identity politics amounts to focusing attention on ever smaller and ever more bizarre minorities, each of which finds its identity in some quirk by which it differs from the majority society and from which it derives the claim of being a victim.

      Quote by:

      Sarah Wagenknecht

      The case of the job advertisement of a student anti-discrimination office in Berlin, which asks white people not to apply, shows the whole madness of left-wing identity politics.

      Quote by:

      Fascist party

      The Green party and their politics:

      Today, prosperity and nature are massively endangered by a Green policy to which all established parties have indiscriminately subscribed.

      Quote by:

      Fascist party

      The Greens are damaging our industry and the prosperity of millions with their so-called climate policy, which does nothing for the climate.

      Quote by:

      Sarah Wagenknecht

      On climate gluers protesting climate change:

      And even more so, I reject the presumption of wanting to parent people. The climate gluers probably really believe that the world will end tomorrow if Germany does not save it by radically renouncing prosperity.

      Quote by:

      Sarah Wagenknecht

      Due to increased prices and the threat of insolvencies, many employees are already on the edge of their existence anyway. Many simply cannot afford to be prevented from arriving at work on time by privileged full-time activists.

      Quote by:

      Fascist party

      A revision to the 1980s “transsexual law”, lowering the hurdles to change your gender.

      The ideological background of the law is precisely to deny gender as a biological fact and to make it a matter of state of mind.

      Quote by:

      Sarah Wagenknecht

      Ignoring cautionary voices, for example, that such a law would encourage criminal concealment of identity, the federal government is once again not only elevating itself above scientific facts, but is once again going against the Basic Law.

      Quote by:

      Fascist party

      Immigration:

      Mrs. Merkel’s decision in 2015 opened the way to Germany mainly for young men. Real help would instead focus primarily on women, children, the elderly, the weak and the poorest. But they can’t pay traffickers and can’t survive a long flight.

      Quote by:

      Sarah Wagenknecht

      The asylum seekers and illegal immigrants who flocked to Germany in even greater numbers because of Merkel’s invitation have also been disappointed: To this day, the vast majority have no jobs. Instead, they are a massive burden on our social systems.

      Quote by:

      Fascist party

      Sources:

      I think that’s it, I’m unsure though.

      • interolivary@beehaw.orgEnglish
        4·
        1 year ago

        Huh, I’m honestly surprised that this turned out to not be yet another bullshit claim about how “both sides are the same”. How the hell does she even claim to be leftist with those opinions?

        • yetAnotherUser@feddit.deEnglish
          3·
          1 year ago

          Note: I am absolutely not an expert in her views. I have not read any of the books she published nor do I watch every single talk show she attends.

          In one of the articles I linked, she mentioned this:

          Of course, in democracy you have to bow to majority decisions in the end - but if a majority gets the feeling between elections that what moves and burdens them is no longer taken into account at all in politics, then that contradicts democratic principles.

          While this quote in itself seems innocent I think it reveals a great deal about her in combination with her other views. My theory is:

          She is a populist and does not care enough about minorities if they can be abused by populist fearmongering.

          Very often the fears of the majority are unsupported by reality. For example, the people in German states with the least amount of immigrants are the most concerned about immigration. Women who never visit’s saunas are awfully concerned about trans women in women’s only saunas.

          There’s no doubt she has socialist views (even though her secondary incomes exceed those of any other politician). But she takes no issue in combining her views with populist or nationalist rhetoric (like some sort of national socialism ;).

          Had she been around in the 1920s, I don’t doubt she would’ve been in the Communist Party. Simultaneously though, she would’ve likely been a ravaging antisemite since blaming Jews for - well, anything really - was quite popular in Germany at that time.

          Her leftism seems to be about socialism only. A socialist country where minorities are hunted down is preferable to a capitalist one where they have equal rights, it seems.

          • interolivary@beehaw.orgEnglish
            3·
            1 year ago

            Yeah, based on the quotes you provided she does seem like a populist. Reminiscent of Slovakia’s Smer, actually; economically leftist (at least nominally, I don’t know about her or Die Linke’s actual policies) but otherwise completely indistinguishable from extremist right wing parties.

            As I said in another comment, as a Finn who votes for our version of Die Linke – Vasemmistoliitto aka. Left Alliance – I’m extremely glad they haven’t gone down the populist road. Probably also why they don’t get so many voters nowadays, not enough hate for minorities and no support for literal imperialism happening next door.

      • Spzi@lemm.eeEnglish
        2·
        1 year ago

        Thanks for putting this together! Though with some pride, I can say I only got 1 wrong, the one about trans. Still hard enough; point granted.

    • 🦄🦄🦄@feddit.deEnglish
      3·
      1 year ago

      Love for Putin would be one. As long as Die Linke is keeping Wagenknecht, they have to endure comparisons like that. And I say that as someone who voted for them the last election.

      • interolivary@beehaw.orgEnglish
        4·
        1 year ago

        Pro-Putin / Russia leftists are a deeply idiotic phenomenon. As another voter for the left here in Finland I’m glad our version of Die Linke is actually leftist and doesn’t support blatant imperialism

        • 🦄🦄🦄@feddit.deEnglish
          4·
          1 year ago

          Well, in Germany we have a saying “Wessen Brot ich esse, dessen Lied ich sing”. Basically, I will support the story of whoever pays my bills.

          • interolivary@beehaw.orgEnglish
            5·
            1 year ago

            Ha, we have the exact same saying here when literally translated: “kenen leipää syöt, sen lauluja laulat” or “you sing the songs of the one whose bread you’re eating”. We probably got it from you folks, we’ve got a lot of phrases that were borrowed from German.

            • tetraodon@feddit.itEnglish
              3·
              1 year ago

              Italian has a similar one. Paraphrasing: I call myself neither red nor white. I’ll go with whoever feeds me.

              It rhymes in Italian, and it has historical references non-Italians would miss.

              We also say that the whole world is a village!