Who's the Real Fanatic?
Conservatives have lost their way. They are jailing the people trying to stop social collapse. In fact, they have become the fanatics.
Note: This article was transcribed from a prison phoneline and originally published in the far-right newspaper, The Daily Mail, as part of an effort to appeal to a conservative revolution. You can listen to the audio version here.
During my sentencing on Thursday, I was called a fanatic by Judge Hehir. This word was published on the front pages of the national press. I think I have a right to respond.
For over two decades, I was a farmer in Wales, supplied my community with vegetables, and lived a family life. I worked very hard, paid my taxes, and was no harm to anyone. I was doing my job, but the politicians were not doing their job. Along with millions of other farmers, I was forced out of business by extreme weather events—months without rain, months with nothing but rain, now yearly events.
Central to my personal belief is the idea of balance. I have the same orientation as many traditional conservatives, such as Edmund Burke. Destroying the weather systems in order to take money is not balanced; it is a crime. My political views are rooted in the philosophy of John Locke, the father of classical liberalism. We should live under the rule of law, and so should the government. The basis of the law is the welfare of the people. If a regime enables the destruction of the lives and livelihoods of the people, then the government is a tyranny, and the people have the right to rebel.
Front pages of the billionaire-owned, Daily Mail and Daily Telegraph on the trial.
No "functioning democracy" enables the obliteration of our way of life for the next hundred thousand years. Or are we living in 1984, where the consequences of going over two degrees by burning new oil and gas is a continuation of the rule of law?
Judge Hehir said in the trial that these effects of what he called "climate change" were "neither here nor there." He was given 200 pages of scientific evidence but refused to change his mind. Furthermore, he refused to let the jury see that evidence so they could make up their minds. He merrily declared that the human race going to "a fiery end" was not relevant in a British court.
Can you imagine if he had said that about the 50 million killed in World War II? If he had said that about the millions murdered by the Nazis? John Locke was clear: any government that plans the death of its citizens is breaking the law, in the past, in the present, and in the future. No exceptions.
When our children read about what Judge Hehir said a decade from now, they will have one word to describe him: fanatic.
Resistance is the Story - Interviews from Prison
Here's a collection of Roger's interviews and other articles from the press on the trial and resistance.
Dominic CascianiHome and Legal CorrespondentBBCDomCJustin RowlattClimate Editor
Tom Ball
Read the full version behind the paywall here.
Damien Gayle
Plus a lighter read from Comedian Stewart Lee:
History will judge Just Stop Oil protesters as heroes… within a few years, when the climate crisis renders life untenable, the angry public will demand a retroactive Nuremberg-style investigation into who allowed the death of everything to proceed.
Stewart Lee
We're appealing to the new Attorney General to stop this madness with a Petition - after all, you can't lock up the truth. A coalition has organised a demonstration to free truthtellers at 12pm, August 3rd in Parliament Square. Join them.
If you'd like to send me a message of support, you can email a note through to me in prison by sending it to rogerremanded@gmail.com
As always, you can sign up for nonviolent civil resistance with Just Stop Oil in the UK or via the A22 Network internationally.
