‘Swarming’ is the name Extinction Rebellion have given to their latest civil disobedience tactic rolled out this week across London. Small groups appear at significant road junctions and hold up the traffic for seven minutes at a time – just enough time to cause tailbacks, but not enough to risk arrest or anger individual motorists too much. They then regroup after a short while and do it all again – over and over.
On 21st-23rd November, dozens of activists brought gridlock and economic disruption to parts of London from early morning till mid-afternoon. Although the actions were played down by much of corporate media, social media was buzzing with comments and arguments, but support for the actions was surprisingly high.
This first try-out over three days looks set to mushroom across the country and internationally in the coming months.
More info at www.rebellion.earth