I happen to live in Berkeley—and I say "happen to" because most people hear that and think I must be some sort of political radical. Please. I've been a journalist since I was 16, when I edited the school paper. I've never protested a day in my life. I even get kinda annoyed when protesters—"hippie wannabes," I mumble—are blocking the bridge on my drive to work.
But, but: I also love them. The protesters. Such idealists! Such dreamers! They're great for our purposes, as journalists, as editors. They say: There's a story here, and maybe you should pay attention. Because if you don't, we'll only keep going. We won't back down. We might even bust out the pickax.
Which is, of course, exactly what's happening right now, in the environmental movement. Call it what you want: climate activism, ecoterrorism—as Morgan Meaker writes in her new piece, people have been doing it for decades. But only recently have violent acts ramped up, and new leaders emerged. One of them is 26-year-old Léna Lazare, the subject of Meaker's piece. She's a sort of militarized, Frenchified Greta Thunberg, out to sabotage her way to media coverage of the crisis. It's working. Here's the piece.
What I mean to say is: It's not about agreeing or disagreeing. It's about understanding what's happening, and why.
