Documentary Reflection

June 19, 2022 By: Brett Mathews

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/15-arrests-journalists-wetsuweten-cgl-1.6256696

https://thetyee.ca/News/2021/11/23/Journalists-Released/

I believe that civil disobedience is able to bring about change in the long run. Long term systemic change is complex, difficult, and can be looked at from multiple angles, but I believe that protests are an important part of this process. Looking at these two articles, I am not confident that this example itself will bring positive change to stop this pipeline from being built. This battle to stop the building of the pipeline has already been lost in my opinion. These protests, although valiant and understandable, will not bring the positive long term effects that they are hoping to achieve. If the history of civil disobedience in connection to environmental history has taught us anything, it is that the greatest strength that the people possess is planting a seed of education and passion in teenagers and young adults, in the people of the next generation. Although these protests are unlikely to stop this pipeline from being built, these efforts are something that people can look to for fuel to their fire, it can bring hope and courage, and it can cause people to get more education on why people are willing to be arrested for these reasons. This could lead to more people being concerned with how BC is treating its land, and more people being concerned with the pattern of prioritizing capitalist interests over what is good for the land and fair to the Indigenous people. I also think that if there was no resistance to this pipeline since the idea was first brought about, the damage and Indigenous land lost would be substantially larger. It is because of the civil disobedience that the people of BC have heard of the harm that come from this project, it is because of the protests that the government had to rethink their plan, and it is because of the peoples’ bravery and persistence that the culture around this pipeline is at least making people think. Could we imagine what this pipeline would have looked like if there was no civil disobedience going against its efforts, could we imagine the lack of perspectives on this if people did not put up newsworthy fights against it? It is in this long term systemic route of seed planting and education that I believe these protests, and civil disobedience, is making a positive change in the world. Even if the battle is lost, it is creating a better chance for the war to be won.