December 9,10,11 2024
The Climate Superfund Act was passed by the NY State Senate and Assembly in the summer of 2024, but the Governor had not yet signed it, much to the dismay of climate activists. Third Act, the organization of climate-concerned elders founded by Bill McKibben, spearheaded an "old fashioned sit-in/teach-in," vowing to stay in the Capitol Building until closing time for 2 days unless Governor Hochul signed the Act. By December 10, she had still not signed it.
Three of us from Rochester arrived on December 9, bringing 30 posters that we had made the week before, each showing a climate disaster with accompanying exhortation.
The next morning we appeared at the Capitol, got through security, and found our way to the War Room, a rotunda close to the Governor's offices. We knew that in the center of the room there would be a Christmas tree, but we didn't know much else about the room. The sit-in had been months in the planning, involving a coalition of activists from all over New York State and eventually Vermont, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. There would be a rally on the Million Dollar staircase the first day, followed by a "die-in." During the 2 1/2 days, participants would listen to a variety of invited speakers in the War Room. There would be singing and chanting of slogans. And finally, those who stayed past closing time would risk arrest.
I went into the action planning to be arrested, as did many others. We did not know exactly how it would come about, but we were not planning to resist arrest and did not anticipate any violence. I was arrested on the second evening, sitting around the Christmas tree singing climate-altered carols with seven of my colleagues. The state troopers handcuffed us with braided strings and led us down the wide flights of stairs to their headquarters in the basement of the Capitol. It took a while for mug shots and fingerprinting, after which we were released, one by one, to our waiting "jail support" companions. The charge was Criminal Trespassing, a misdemeanor. We were told to return to Albany Criminal Court on January 7th and 8th. There were 19 of us in total.
What was the point of being arrested? I wanted to demonstrate, in a very visible way, just how threatening the crises of global warming and climate catastrophes are to me. I wanted to be there with other climate activists in support. I wanted to show my children and my friends, who have not yet experienced major consequences of climate change, how serious this problem is already. The arrest and subsequent return to Criminal Court were mild disruptions to my life compared with what others have already experienced due to climate change.
Here’s a link to a more detailed article about our action:
Comments