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Mixed Feelings About Taking My Baby to a Climate Demonstration
A few dozen parents and children were gathered in a circle outside the local library, holding placards and singing.
“Mothers gonna rise like the water, gonna face this crisis now.
Hear the voices of my sons and daughters, singing climate justice now!”
It was the day between International Women’s Day and Mother’s Day and I was taking my baby daughter to a climate demo. The event was organised by , and . This one was tiny as it’s a small town, but there were sister events happening in 60 cities across 20 countries.
As I joined in the songs and chants and listened to the speakers, holding my precious baby in my arms, my mind wandered to my own childhood.
I hazily remember my parents taking me to similar events (and some much more rowdy ones!). Some of my earliest memories are of protests and marches, waving placards, people chanting into megaphones, being raised up on shoulders to ogle at the crowds…
I felt a thread of continuity linking generations of people fighting for justice, again and again.
And I have mixed feelings about it…
