Civil Disobedience Has A Price and Thuggery Is No Substitute

Guest Post by Robert Bradley, Jr. of Master Resource.

A UK judge has reinforced the law that has climate alarmists up in protest. His was a good decision. But on LinkedIn, Ben Tolhurst, a climate busy body, complained:

My friend Amy [Pritchard of Extinction Rebellion] was jailed for 10 months this morning by judge Silas Reid for cracking a window [no, three windows costing $350,000] of JPMorgan Chase & Co., the world’s biggest funder of fossil fuels. I had the privilege of hearing her summing up speech last week and was sure that even the most hard hearted would be moved by her account of why she took the action. [Note: “Pritchard was also jailed last year by the same judge after being found in contempt of court after breaching rulings he made that she was not to mention the climate crisis in front of the jury, in a separate case for taking part in a roadblock in the City of London in October 2021.” Financial Times]

But no! Tolhurst continues:

The judge though was unmoved. Whilst he decreed that the other 4 women would have their sentences suspended, for Amy it was an immediate custodial term – straight from the court to the prison van to prison. She will start her first night tonight locked up, probably for 23 hours a day, until she is released.

Serial Protester Amy Pritchard

Here comes Tolhurst’s rationalization:

Whilst there was never any question that she and the others broke the windows and the jury deemed them guilty, there are 2 important points to emphasise;
1: The legal system, which has previously ruled that women should not vote, that people of colour cannot mix with white people, is not functioning at a meaningful, holistic or just level, if its really ok for a bank to finance the deaths of thousands but not ok for a group of individuals to raise the alarm by taking proportionate action. (the cost of the damage equates to less than 20 minutes profit for JPMorgan Chase & Co.). This is particularly pertinent given the famous leaked report from JPMorgan Chase & Co. which highlights that the bank knows exactly the consequences of their investment strategy but still continue with it

Secondly, it is outrageous for one man to have the power to play god over someone’s life to such an extent – Judge Reid could have chosen to give a more lenient sentence, but he chose not to, and is accountable to no one for that choice.

I am frankly outraged by the myopic outdated construct of the legal system and how people in that system use its rules to hide behind and justify their “rulings”.

I post this, not for reaction or comment, merely so people know the truth of what’s happening. All I ask is that you to spare at thought tonight and over the following weeks and months for what Amy (and indeed other “climate protestors”) have to endure whilst the agents of destruction such as JPMorgan Chase & Co. continue to operate with impunity.

I commented:

Breaking a window is thuggery. Should someone break a window at your house or place of business because, say, the person disagrees with you on, say, wind/solar/battery industrialization of the pristine?

Bravo Judge Reid. The rule of law is a precious thing….

I wonder if the court or a charity could provide Amy Pritchard (and other members of Extinction Rebellion) with a few books to quell her alarmism, one book being Alex Epstein’s Fossil Future: Why Global Human Flourishing Requires More Oil, Coal, and Natural Gas–Not Less.

Editor’s Comment: If you follow the above link to the FT story about the cost of the windows, you’ll find Judge Silas Reid stated he was sure Amy Pritchard (who is a serial protester) sincerely held the beliefs she articulated at trial. But, he said, ity didn’t mitigate her responsibility for the damages. That’s civil disobedience and the rule of law rolled into one. If you believe a law is unjust and you wish to say so through disobedience you accomplish nothing unless you willingly accept, even desire, the punishment. Complaining or bragging about it dilutes the message, which should be that “this is more important than me.” And, you don’t get to destroy the property or harm the lives of others in doing so. Judge Reid is a hero.

#Bradley #MasterResource #UK #Climate #ExtinctionRebellion