It has been a week since we are experiencing a new emergency, this time unexpected and surpassing any level that anyone could have imagined in the short term. We know that we are living in a difficult time and that the days ahead are long. But we want to call for calm: as we always say, we must trust in the science to solve this type of crisis. Medical staff tell us that the best thing we can do is to stay home and avoid being transmitters. Therefore, we urge all of our rebels to slow down, decrease activity, and keep organizing, but in a different way.
There is no better example of a regenerative culture than the rediscovery of ourselves to which our quarantine is leading us. In the face of the selfishness we were used to, we have found networks of neighborhood support; in the face of neoliberal individualism, we have rediscovered our communities. We believe that in order to become stronger, to make each of us more empowered after this emergency, we need to build resilient communities.
To do this, we depend on everyone. We need, more than ever, to be united with our neighbors, to take care of and listen to each other, to put ourselves at the service of those who need it most, and to take care of ourselves. At the same time, we need to recognize that it is also okay to ask for help and that there is no problem if the crisis scares us. We can curl up under a blanket in fear, because there will be someone on the other side of the door to listen to us and help us.
From this crisis—the first emergency that has suddenly become very real for all our societies—we will return stronger, we have no doubt about it. As Extinction Rebellion we will continue to organize ourselves in new ways: building communities, thinking about possible rebellions, and reflecting on day-to-day utopias together. And we want you, dear rebel, to be part of it as well. Join the rebel quarantine.
As always, love and fury. But above all and especially, a lot of love.
Take care of yourself.
Extinction Rebellion Barcelona