This is how the actions of the climate stickers work

From February 13, activists of the “last generation” in Vienna want to disrupt morning traffic as widely as possible with a “wave” for the second time. In the meantime, other people have also come forward who want to take part in the protest. The most important point here: non-violence. “If we start violence, we have lost,” said David Sonnenbaum of the APA.

The path from sympathizer to activist usually leads via a contact form on the homepage of the “Last Generation”. Once this is completed, individuals will be contacted by the organization and invited to collaborate. After the last week of action in January, the “last generation” received around 300 corresponding inquiries. 60 to 70 of them also expressed an interest in taking part in the controversial adhesive campaigns. “But before that, everyone has to complete the seminar,” said spokesman Sonnenbaum.

In the seminars, the activists are not only informed in small groups about the legal background and possible consequences of their participation, but also how to deal with any aggressive drivers, self-protection in the event of an attack or correct behavior when contacting the police – until then, whether you take the “parcel position” that is more comfortable for both of you when you are carried away by the officers or let yourself be carried off the road “like a sack”. “But we always behave defensively,” emphasized Sonnenbaum.

Motivation: Anger, but also desperation

The motivation of the participants is very often anger but also desperation, because for them the actors in politics and business are still doing far too little to combat the climate crisis and not even the “minimum requirement” of 100 km/h on the motorways is being met. This is all the more incomprehensible since, according to Sonnenbaum, the demands of the activists are now also a scientific consensus. “It’s simply about our survival,” said Sonnenbaum.

Once activists have completed their crash training, they are given the designation “Bee” and assigned to a group, typically of 10 to 15 people, with one activist serving as the “Queen Bee.” To prevent their plans from being revealed, only the “queen bees” are informed of the exact time and place on the days of action. The “bees” are only told the meeting point, usually a subway station.

This is how the actions work

The actions usually take place like this: The activists enter the roadway as soon as the pedestrian traffic light is “green”. Then they line up across the road and put on orange safety vests. As soon as the atmosphere heats up, they sit down on the road as a sign of de-escalation. The adhesive is only used when the police intervene in order to prolong the operation as much as possible. “We always make sure to keep the emergency lane free to allow any emergencies to occur,” emphasized Sonnenbaum.

The activists are aware that their protest will lead to rejection. After all, the actions are not aimed specifically at “climate-hostile” actors, but are carried directly to broad civil society. “We’re also sorry that it had to come to this, but we have no other choice,” said Sonnenbaum. In the meantime, however, “movement has also gotten into the discourse, we are getting a lot of encouragement”.

For Vienna, the “Last Generation” announced the next big wave from February 13th. This time, the situation could be even more tense than with the most recent “wave”, since the protest is likely to last for “two to three weeks”, as Sonnenbaum said. In the meantime, however, a bit of routine has returned when they meet the police: the activists are now gently removed from the street with cooking oil and a wooden spatula. At first, only metal spatulas without solvents were used: “That really hurt,” recalled Sonnenbaum.

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Climate stickers announced the next wave of protests

VIENNA. On the last day of their campaign week, activists from the “Last Generation” invaded the area around Vienna’s Naschmarkt in the area …

Climate stickers announced the next wave of protests

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