Boston Globe Misses Key Points about NVDA

A recent Boston Globe article (gift link) explored climate-focused NVDA (Non-violent Direct Action), but missed important points. Not surprisingly, it avoids blaming its own industry for failing to sound the alarm about the climate crisis.

“The article omits a major detail particularly relevant to the Boston Globe: climate reporting is severely insufficient given the scale of impacts climate change will have,” said an activist with XR Boston who has been arrested many times. “Bold protest tactics are a Trojan horse to force social media and traditional media to report with demonstrated proper urgency on the climate crisis," they said.

This was echoed by another long-time XR Boston activist who said, “XR Boston’s focus on creative disruption is a tactic to break through the news clutter and get the issue before more people. The whole point is to get messages across to the public about the urgency of the climate crisis. That’s challenging when the media chooses to focus on the national crisis-du-jour.”

Other XR Boston rebels pointed out that the article clearly tried to discredit NVDA as it focuses on “the most polarizing actions from Extinction Rebellion (XR), but ignores the more popular and straightforward actions,” of XR Boston. “ XR Boston has protested the expansion of private jet infrastructure at Hanscom, the approval of new fossil fuel projects at the state house, and the CITGO sign that continues to advertise fossil fuels,” said Allen McGonagill, XR Boston member.

“Not all disruptive actions need to leave people ‘shaken up,” as the article says. “Intrigued and engaged” can also move bystanders, said Jenny, an XR Boston member. “I am thinking of a Die-In XR Boston did at South Station. As a dozen of us lay on the ground, overcome by fire, flood, drought or pestilence, our spokesperson politely said to the MBTA police who came to remove us because we were getting in people’s way, ‘We’ll only do this for 10 minutes,’ and then, addressing the small crowd that had gathered around us, ‘Are we getting in your way?’ ‘Not at all,’ was the response,” she said.

Another XR member, Claire, took a broader perspective. “The article makes a lot of good points, but disruption is not just about grabbing attention,” she said. “If we understand that our social system, especially unfettered capitalism, is incompatible with a sustainable future, then disruption is necessary to challenge that system. It puts a pause on business as usual, or challenges our automatic way of thinking about how the world is, and gives us space to rethink how the world ought to be,” she said.

All of which makes XR member Bob Keener really angry. “I’m incensed that our leading regional newspaper seems to be on the wrong side of the climate fight,” he said. “The Globe will report on the hottest temperatures on record, El Nino, and the new Chief Heat Officer, but they should have staff dedicated to showing how the fossil fuel industry continues on its path to destroy our planet,” he said.