XR Spring Rebellion - A Photo Reel
Yvonne Hanson
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Extinction Rebellion Vancouver's 4-day Mayday action started with a bang. At noon on Saturday, May 1st, a crowd of around 100 demonstrators gathered at the Vancouver Art Gallery. Meanwhile, “undercover” activists stealthily moved into their positions in the nearby intersection of Granville and Georgia. Just a few minutes after noon, a large SUV towing a giant covered trailer came to a stop in the middle of the intersection.
As it did, undercover activists on each street corner pulled on bright yellow safety vests, ran out into the road, and began unfastening the cover of the trailer to reveal a bright pink boat emblazoned with bold black letters reading “Tell the Truth.” As the boat was revealed and the trailer tires deflated, the crowd of demonstrators who had gathered at the art gallery marched towards the intersection along Georgia street, lead by four blue-clad “water rebels” and carrying the now-signature “Rebel for Life” banner.
The demonstrators made short work of decorating the surrounding area with colourful flags, banners, and signs.
Four activists sat in the pink boat, which presented a puzzle for police once an injunction against those still in the street was read. During the February 27th action at Hornby and Nelson, police had used chainsaws to slowly reduce the hight of two wooden tripod structures that activists had erected and occupied in the roadway, but the same tactic would not be possible given the metal frame that supported the boat.
Eventually, the fire department was called in and a large dump truck arrived. The truck backed up slowly until it reached the boat, and officers climbed into the back of the truck. Protestors were pulled from the boat into the truck, strapped onto stretchers, and then lowered down from the truck into a cluster of officers and fire rescuers below. In total, the intersection was blocked for nearly seven hours by this creative disruption effort on the part of Extinction Rebellion.
Extinction Rebellion is a global nonviolent network of civil disobedience and rebellion against the Government and institutions that threaten the planet and our future.
Yvonne Hanson is a climate activist and photographer