The Economist - USA (2020-11-13)

38 TheEconomistNovember 14th 2020

1

I

f the united nations staffers who

drafted Agenda 21 in 1992 had been pre-

sent at the protest on November 7th in a

park in Stroud, a market town carved into

the Cotswold hills, they would have been

bemused by the vitriol poured on their

work. But to those in the know, this non-

binding resolution to promote sustainable

development conceals a plan for “the Great

Reset”, which will change society beyond

recognition. Covid-19 has been faked to

soften the world up for it and allow a vacci-

nation programme that will render hu-

manity infertile. “I’ve heard this has been

planned for 60 years,” says a protester.

“Longer than that,” says another. “It’s been

planned since Babylonian times.” A third

dismisses the conspiracy theories as “bull-

shit”. He is protesting against “not being

able to go to the pub”.

The 200-odd people brought together

by the Stroud Freedom Group were an un-

likely marriage of cranks and conserva-

tives. Among them, said Bruce Fenton, a lo-

cal author, were “members of the Green,

Labour, Conservative and Brexit parties, xr

activists and members of the local Rudolf

Steiner community.”

The speeches were fiery, but swiftly dis-

rupted by police. A few arrests were made.

An organiser was fined £10,000 ($13,000).

Similar scenes played out in 26 other towns

that day. Further protests are planned each

Saturday until lockdown ends.

These gatherings are a sign not just of

the rise of weird ideas during the pandem-

ic, but also of the changing pattern of prot-

est. The route from Marble Arch to Parlia-

ment Square is no longer the only venue for

people wanting to make a point. The scene

in Stroud is increasingly common, as data

from police forces show (see chart).

The failure of big marches calling for a

second referendum to shift the dial may

have encouraged organisers to try other op-

tions. For much of this year, huge marches

have been out of the question. And current

protest movements are local affairs, not

top-down operations run from the capital.

Extinction Rebellion (xr), for instance, was

founded in Stroud and is organised on

what it calls a “holacratic” basis, in which

local groups operate as loosely regulated

franchises. Those who marched for Black

Lives Matter (blm) this year belong to a

variety of distinct regional groups. The

Democratic Football Lads Alliance (dfla),

whose followers protected statues threat-

ened by activists this summer, is a co-

alition of football-supporters’ groups.

The anti-lockdown movement includes

people with varying motivations—oppo-

nents of big government, covid-19 deniers,

raging conspiracy theorists and far-right

activists—and different competences.

StandUpxis better at street activism; Save

Our Rights focuses on legislation. Science

Protest

Small-town revolution

STROUD, GLOUCESTERSHIRE

Protest movements used to focus on Central London and ignore the provinces.

Now rebellion has spread around the country

Grab your pitchforks

Britain, number of protests

By police force area, 2017=100

Source:Policeforces;includesonlythosethat

recordedatleastfiveprotestsin 2017 and 2018

†Includes parades

500

400

300

200

100

0

2017 18 19 20

Greater Manchester

Northamptonshire†

Bedfordshire

Britain

39 Foreign-investmentrules

40 Bagehot: Princess Di the populist

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