Activism

Climate Despair and the Rise of the Doomers

On the subreddit r/preppers, there’s a weekly thread for people to share what they did “to prepare.” In the comments, people share anecdotes of buying ammo, dehydrating pineapples, and stockpiling canned goods.

Published

2 years ago

May 5, 2022

Oakland Post

By Sarah Clemens

It’s Earth Month, and the movement to let earth die has never been stronger.

“Doomers’’ are people who believe climate change is irreversible and society as we know it, will soon collapse. The term may be recent, but it’s flourished in online communities like the subreddits r/collapse, /doomer, r/preppers, and /bugout.

Posts on these forums are endlessly fatalistic. The top post, for example, on r/doomer begins, “[s]ometimes I wonder how we are not all walking around in a state of pure unquellable panic.”)

On r/preppers, there’s a weekly thread for people to share what they did “to prepare.” In the comments, people share anecdotes of buying ammo, dehydrating pineapples, and stockpiling canned goods.

There’s also r/bugout, a subreddit named after the term for military retreat. Here, people share pictures of their “bugout bags” and judge how prepared they are for “when s**t hits the fan.”

On the flip side, you have r/collapse users, who post memes captioned, “me listening to people talking about net zero carbon by 2050 being enough when I know we’re completely f**ked already.” They crack jokes about a bygone future, a self-imploding civilization.

While these groups may not be mainstream, they’re not small either. A 2021 Yale survey concluded that 70% of Americans experience “climate depression.”

Noah Oderburg, a scientist located in California, used the term “pre-PTSD” and said, “it’s not a trauma that’s already occurred. It’s a fear of a future trauma.”

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a report on global warming on April 4. Jim Skea, IPCC co-chair, said it was “now or never, if we want to limit global warming…without immediate and deep emissions reductions across all sectors, it will be impossible.”

Three days later, four climate activists chained themselves to a JP Morgan Chase Building as an act of protest against the bank’s funding of fossil fuel projects. “The scientists of the world have been being ignored, and it’s got to stop,” said scientist Peter Kalmus in a video. He promptly breaks into tears.

The “doomer” movement is not without detractors who see it as too negative. At the 2019 United Nations Climate Change Conference climate advocate Greta Thunburg said, “You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words.” She spoke bleakly of reality, but also of hope for the future: “The world is waking up. And change is coming, whether you like it or not.”

Hank Green, an author and science communicator with a large online following, recently posted a Tiktok about the subject. In the video, he says that while he’s “very worried” about climate change, it “pisses” him off to see people say humanity is doomed. “I’m 41 years old. I’ve been working on this since I was f**king 18. We didn’t let hopelessness eat us then, and I’m not gonna you let hopelessness eat you now.”

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Oakland Post: Week of April 17 – 23, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 17 – 23, 2024

Published

6 days ago

April 19, 2024

Oakland Post

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Oakland Schools Honor Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties

Every Jan. 30, OUSD commemorates the legacy of Fred Korematsu, an Oakland native, a Castlemont High School graduate, and a national symbol of resistance, resilience, and justice. His defiant stand against racial injustice and his unwavering commitment to civil rights continue to inspire the local community and the nation. Tuesday was “Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution” in the state of California and a growing number of states across the country.

Published

6 days ago

April 19, 2024

Oakland Post

Fred Korematsu. Courtesy of OUSD.

By Post Staff

Every Jan. 30, OUSD commemorates the legacy of Fred Korematsu, an Oakland native, a Castlemont High School graduate, and a national symbol of resistance, resilience, and justice.

His defiant stand against racial injustice and his unwavering commitment to civil rights continue to inspire the local community and the nation. Tuesday was “Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution” in the state of California and a growing number of states across the country.
One OUSD school is named in his honor: Fred T. Korematsu Discovery Academy (KDA) elementary in East Oakland.

Several years ago, founding KDA Principal Charles Wilson, in a video interview with anti-hate organization “Not In Our Town,” said, “We chose the name Fred Korematsu because we really felt like the attributes that he showed in his work are things that the children need to learn … that common people can stand up and make differences in a large number of people’s lives.”

Fred Korematsu was born in Oakland on Jan. 30, 1919. His parents ran a floral nursery business, and his upbringing in Oakland shaped his worldview. His belief in the importance of standing up for your rights and the rights of others, regardless of race or background, was the foundation for his activism against racial prejudice and for the rights of Japanese Americans during World War II.

At the start of the war, Korematsu was turned away from enlisting in the National Guard and the Coast Guard because of his race. He trained as a welder, working at the docks in Oakland, but was fired after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941. Fear and prejudice led to federal Executive Order 9066, which forced more than 120,000 Japanese Americans out of their homes and neighborhoods and into remote internment camps.

The 23-year-old Korematsu resisted the order. He underwent cosmetic surgery and assumed a false identity, choosing freedom over unjust imprisonment. His later arrest and conviction sparked a legal battle that would challenge the foundation of civil liberties in America.

Korematsu’s fight culminated in the Supreme Court’s initial ruling against him in 1944. He spent years in a Utah internment camp with his family, followed by time living in Salt Lake City where he was dogged by racism.

In 1976, President Gerald Ford overturned Executive Order 9066. Seven years later, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco vacated Korematsu’s conviction. He said in court, “I would like to see the government admit that they were wrong and do something about it so this will never happen again to any American citizen of any race, creed, or color.”

Korematsu’s dedication and determination established him as a national icon of civil rights and social justice. He advocated for justice with Rosa Parks. In 1998, President Bill Clinton gave him the Presidential Medal of Freedom saying, “In the long history of our country’s constant search for justice, some names of ordinary citizens stand for millions of souls … To that distinguished list, today we add the name of Fred Korematsu.”

After Sept. 11, 2001, Korematsu spoke out against hatred and discrimination, saying what happened to Japanese Americans should not happen to people of Middle Eastern descent.
Korematsu’s roots in Oakland and his education in OUSD are a source of great pride for the city, according to the school district. His most famous quote, which is on the Korematsu elementary school mural, is as relevant now as ever, “If you have the feeling that something is wrong, don’t be afraid to speak up.”

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WOMEN IMPACTING THE CHURCH AND COMMUNITY

Published

1 week ago

April 17, 2024

Oakland Post

Juanita Matthews

Sister Juanita Matthews

55 Years with Oakland Public School District

The Teacher, Mother, Community Outreach Champion, And Child of God

Juanita Matthews, better known as “Sister Teacher,” is a walking Bible scholar. She moved to California from the great state of Arkansas in 1971. Sister Teacher has a passion for teaching. She has been a member of Bible Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church since 1971. She followed her passion for teaching, and in 1977 became the lead teacher for Adult Class #6. Her motto still today is “Once My Student, Always My Student”.

Beyond her remarkable love for the Lord, Sister Teacher has showcased her love for teaching by working for the Oakland Unified School District for 55 years, all but four of those years spent at Emerson Elementary and Child Development School. She truly cares about her students, making sure they have the tools/supplies needed to learn either at OUSD or Bible Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church.

She’s also had a “Clothes Closet Ministry” for 51 years, making sure her students have sufficient clothing for school. The Clothes Closet Ministry extends past her students, she has been clothing the community for over 50 years as well. She loves the Lord and is a servant on a mission. She is a loving mother to two beautiful children, Sandra and Andre. This is the impact this woman of God has on her church and the community.