It's a thoughtful and reflective piece with invaluable first-hand insights into the life and challenges of an environmental protestor.
The part-memoir All Hands on Deck by Jan Goodey wrests with the struggles of all who, like Cassandra, see the future but are doomed not to be given credence.
So what do we do? As anarchists, as people who care about living things? The landscape of struggle can seem sparse, a call to action is a reprieve from unwillingly being part of the slow march off the cliff.
READ: JAN GOODEY'S ARTICLES AT THE ECOLOGIST
Goodey recounts his experience of heeding the call to action from Insulate Britain, whilst remaining critical of many aspects of the organisation that do not co-exist well with the anarchism with which he cut his teeth.
Injustices
The first part is a plea for pragmatism – to work together and to form alliances across differences because what is at stake is bigger than our differences, it is everything. He brings important dilemmas and the contradictions inherent in any activism with the recognition that these are not always reconciled.
The middle section serves as a guide for aspiring environmental activists: on how to survive in prison, what to expect, and dos and don'ts. It's here that Goodey brings in his personal experience and where the book becomes an invaluable resource.
Specifics of different prisons are given, revealing the lottery within the system itself. Valuable survival tips are given as well as the positives; the mutual aid between oppressed people.
After the prison guide, there is a frank warning about the very real problems that arise when you are an ex-convict, which is an important part of any briefing, and one that is too often overlooked by activist groups. Solid practical advice is also given.
Goodey uses his experience to indite the prison system of the ills that it perpetuates, not only as a melting pot where the injustices of society are magnified but as the way that the wider injustices of society are allowed to continue – he was put inside for doing his part to stop the thing that is causing climate breakdown.
Change
Prison not only oppresses the people inside, it deters people outside from trying to improve their society and in in doing so maintains both harms.
Goodey's argument for cooperation in the face of environmental collapse continues into the final part with a concrete example of unlikely allies. If vegans can find common interest with farmers, maybe a leftist can work with, say, a different leftist?
By working together on agricultural problems caused by the collapse of the climate systems, Vegan Support the Farmers uses mutual aid to make allegiances that don't rely on the usual network of activist types.
This is also demonstrated via a campaign that has attracted local support through shared struggle. These connections are essential to achieving societal change.
Pitfalls
For me, the weaknesses in the text lie in casting action and theory as opposed, rather than trying to join them in praxis, and for not critically exploring the concept of 'accountability' so that the state mechanism is given primacy.
There was room for more discussion of the liberal roots of XR, as the example given was a great catalyst, whereas their more liberal tendencies can be found within their demands and analysis. Admittedly, these more academic discussions may fall outside of the scope of this text.
It's a thoughtful and reflective piece with invaluable first-hand insights into the life and challenges of an environmental protestor.
Goodey sets out his argument for action while showing an awareness of the pitfalls of the type of activism he is aligning with. But more than that, it is an honest engagement with the very real cost of putting yourself on the front line, and also the cost of not doing that.
This Author
Sylvia Mann is an activist former editor of Freedom, a London-based anarchist website and biannual journal published by Freedom Press.
Jan Goodey is a regular contributor to The Ecologist. All Hands on Deck: Climate Activism and the Way Ahead will be available in all social centres and independent bookshops from late May.
