Activist Injured While Protesting “Ecocidal” Actions of Big Banks
Image courtesy of JRobertson.NYC
As you may already be aware, a rebel fell while attempting to scale the side of the Chase building on Friday afternoon, April 2. This was part of a #DefundLine3 action, meant to draw attention to the role big banks have in funding climate chaos in general and Enbridge’s toxic Line 3 tar sands pipeline in particular. Chase Bank is not the biggest funder of Line 3--that honor goes to TD Bank--but they have loaned Enbridge millions of dollars, and Rainforest Action Network has ranked Chase the number one banker of climate chaos across the board. The rebel’s actions were intended to call them out for their role in our planet’s climate and ecological destruction.
We at XR NYC are used to making sacrifices. We are dedicated volunteers who pour our time and energy and money into what we do, because we must. We hang banners off the sides of buildings and billboards, risking and often inviting arrest, because we need people to pay attention. We do these things because the stakes are so high. Because we are in a climate and ecological crisis that our government and media choose to ignore and downplay. Because, quite simply, we want to save the world.
Images Courtesy of Alex Nawrocky and ‘Tie in Oil Spill’ by JRoberston.NYC
This was a terrible accident, and we will be taking steps within XR NYC to prevent anything like this from happening again. Our hearts ache for him, and he is awake and coherent. He will be alright, but is badly injured and in pain and still in police custody.
But as the crisis becomes more and more dire, and our timeline for a livable future grows tighter and tighter, the sacrifices we are all willing to make become greater.
#StopLine3