Shell to Sea Solidarity Protest

by Flynn - agrescon@ agrescon. nl Wed Oct 18, 2006 15:24

Enlist the Public in a General Strike for One Day, the first week, Two Days the second week, ect,etc, enlist the Ferries, the Buses, the Airports,the Trains, untill the issue is addressed in the Dail. Ideas are like Calories, we give them out . Flynn O Flynn

by Jackeen Wed Oct 18, 2006 14:52

It feels very different when you are standing at a petrol station and most people hoot their horns and wave and make gestures of support.

Perhaps they are just humouring us, but the last time I was at a Shell station only four cars drove past in the hour we were picketing, and one of them decided not to use the pumps when he had the issue explained to him.

Perhaps you should make an effort to get down to Donnybrook tonight to see for yourself how popular this campaign is.

by Carthage Buckley Wed Oct 18, 2006 10:45

I dont think all of Michaels ideas need be written off so quickly. He makes a very important point that some of your good work may be going unnoticed. When so much effort is going to this excellent cause it is very important that it gets maximum publicity and attention.

You might find it worthwile some time to read up on the 80/20 principle which states that 20% of what we do produces 80% of the results. Therefore if you spend more time doing the activities or actions which get the best results your campaign will have greater effect.

Also, does anyone have a list of actions which the average punter can take to assist e.g. boycott shell stations, email addresses for TD's etc. Not everyone wants to protest in public but some might do so in private.

If not it might be good idea to produce one along with some info explaining your case. This could then be emailed to everybody in your contact book and you could ask them to forward it. This can get alot of attention with very little effort. Maybe somebody has already done this but I havent received anything. If there is something could someone please post a link?

Best of luck

Carthage

by LaLa Wed Oct 18, 2006 09:12

"holding up traffic on O Connell St", yeah this would definitely bring about a change in Dublin people's attitudes about Shell, they would actually start supporting them..

by Michael Timlin - Irish labour party Wed Oct 18, 2006 01:50

The vast majority of Irish people cannot see what is going on at the entrance to the plant at Belanaboy when cameras are not there and therefore much of the efforts of the protesters are going to waste.

A better alternative to protesting at Belanaboy would be to picket Dail Eireann at the gates of Leinster House and regular marches down O Connell St. where everyone can see who everyone is and where it really counts. Marches in Galway or any other Irish city or town are really too ineffective and do not have the same effect as holding up traffic on O Connell St.

The protesters should be careful not to divide the community unnecessarily around Rossport and North Mayo generally. The real culprits of the plot are Shell and the Irish government. The ordinary people in Rossport including those who are driving past the picket and those on the picket are all victims of the Biggies.

If the picket continues at Belanaboy then they the protesters should be careful not to leave themselves open to criticism because of risky picketing tactics. The government are using the fact that the protesters obstruct the course of justice by lying in front of vehicles bringing in the workers.
Its better to be quite careful in case anyone does anything that might influence the public against the protest. This might mean standing ‘orderly’ near the entrance but not blocking the entrance and remaining relatively silent or shouting only carefully chosen slogans arranged beforehand.

If the protesters ‘intimidate ‘ the workers by using the word ‘scabs’ or any other intimidating remarks or bad language then it will probably get adverse publicity for the protesters.

Broaden the Shell to Sea campaign to involve and engage with the Labour and Green movements. Some connection should be made with thye new industrial model of sustainable, ecological and safe energy industry in contrast to fossil fuel based industry model spouting out pollution and aggressive attitudes to communities and people. Some say the modern quest for fossil fuels is like a re-run of the film Mad Max and soon the wars will be for drinking water.

What Ireland needs at the moment is sustainable and ecological ‘people friendly’ industry with humane working hours and a just wage, in order to improve the quality of people's lives.

So if there is a march down O Connell St. then Shell to Sea should invite members of the Labour and Green movements and ask them to carry relevant posters linking Rossport to the major Green and Labour ideas and ideals.

by skeptomaniac Tue Oct 17, 2006 13:39

When were finished we can go across the road and picket the pub, thats where bertie 'tatcher' aherne fills up, ask him for a 'loan' .